What is Human Factors?

Human factors involves the application of what we know about people, their abilities, characteristics, and limitations to the design of equipment they use, environments in which they function, and jobs they perform. Human factors is a multi-disciplinary field grounded in the behavioral and engineering sciences, synonymous with ergonomics where engineering and psychology meet.

Human factors professionals study how the limitations and capabilities of people, including memory, perception, reaction time, judgment, physical size, and dexterity, affect the way they interact with the environment, a product, or process.

What Questions Do Human Factors Experts Answer?

  • Could they see it?

  • Could they hear it?

  • Were they distracted?

  • Would they understand it?

  • Does that decision make sense?

  • Would someone else do that?

  • Would they expect that?

When Should You Consider Retaining A Human Factors Expert?

Human Factors experts are frequently engaged in cases involving vehicle, pedestrian, bicycle, and motorcycle collisions; visibility and conspicuity of roadway hazards; open and obviousness of slips, trips, and falls; workplace injuries; lighting analysis; and sound measurements.

Transportation Accidents

Human factors experts are often called upon to assist vehicle accident reconstruction experts when difficult questions arise in the reconstruction process. For example, "How fast could someone respond? Could the driver see the pedestrian or hazard? What if the street lighting were different? Could the driver tell that the vehicle ahead was stopped? Was the driver distracted? Did the driver make a safe or smart decision? Did talking on the cell phone matter?" Typically, a human factors expert deals with everything that happens pre-impact and the accident reconstructionist deals with impact onward.

Construction Zone Accidents

Construction zone cases are common areas of practice. Did the construction zone provide the necessary information to guide the driver safely through the zone without conflict? Did it provide positive guidance?

Premises Liability Incidents

Human factors experts can evaluate design, construction, maintenance, and use of the premises, as well as in various products and transportation systems that played a role in the incident. The human factors expert can assess information-processing, such as eye scanning patterns, focus of attention, sensory cues, competing stimuli, task loading, user expectations, and impairments. Key questions for the expert include: "Was the alleged hazard open and obvious? Could the user see it or hear it? Was the lighting sufficient? Would more light have made the hazard detectable?"

Products Liability Matters

Each year, thousands of fatal accidents arise from alleged product design defects, manufacturing defects, and failures to warn. Defects oftentimes involve core human factors/ergonomics principles affecting a user's reasonable expectations about products and their use(s). The human factors/ergonomics approach in product cases focuses on the hierarchy of controls which specifies that dangerous features first be designed-out of the product or, second, protected by shields or guards. Warnings, instructions, and/or training addressing proper use and any foreseeable misuse are required if the other two options are not possible.

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