Human factors: what makes us fumble at work?

 

“To err is human”
“Failure is the pillar of success”

 

While still in school or universities, these two proverbs have indeed been rather comforting on days we weren’t performing up to the mark. However, the minute we’re launched into the job market, ‘mistakes’ and ‘failures’ can sometimes help us learn or make us run. On more serious accounts, it can really jeopardize our careers. Be it exchanges with clients and managers misconstrued as ‘rude’ or ‘unprofessional’ or writing a customer’s name wrong- the scopes for errors are aplenty; and they will take many different forms and will be made by employees, bosses, clients and customers. They can be measured as minor, major or even devastating. In fact, data from Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) state that in 2020, workplace accidents took 732 lives in events such as accidents, torture and labor unrest. The Daily Star reports “The highest number of deaths, 348, were in the transport sector, and the second highest, 84, in the construction sector. ”

Hence, it’s evident that no individual or organization is devoid of errors. But what can be done in this context is to understand what sets us up for failure and find ways to promote a culture of accountability that takes ownership of mistakes, emphasizes on job roles and deliverables and also keeps track of past mistakes to perform better, moving forward. In order to do so, one must understand human factors and the integral role they play in the formation of one or more mistakes in workplaces.

 

The field of Human Factors

 

According to NEA Shibly CEO and Chief Consultant of Pro-edge Associates Limited, ‘human factors’ is a field of study in which human abilities, limitations and other characteristics are systematically identified for application to the design of equipment, systems and jobs with a view to improving safety, efficiency and well-being. During an in-depth talk (https://youtu.be/jhX-mlDeW4s) about human factors and errors moderated by Proedge Associates Limited, NEA Shibly along with experts from different industries shared their experiences of errors, management and mitigation to identify how organizations can perform effectively and in a risk-free manner.

“Mistakes and errors don’t come with prior warnings; they can happen any moment. Hence, we don’t wait when preparing ourselves to combat that situation,” he explained. However, Shibly also added that people’s abilities and adaptability can sometimes reach extremes which further gives rise to human errors. Keeping the conversation centered on human error management and systematic danger reduction, he asked AKM Zahiruddin to provide a breakdown of human factors.

In his opinion, human mistakes occur particularly in four different categories of interaction- software, hardware, environment and livewire. Zahiruddin defined software as things we use and follow such as rules, instructions, regulation, procedure, policies, laws, orders and commands. Hardware are elements that are tactile and functional for our daily lives. For example equipment, tools, computers, buildings and various other elements within our grasp which need to be physically interacted with. The third component, environment, describes organizational structure, working environment as well as the social, economic, geographic, political and cultural settings in which people and organizations are functioning.
The fourth category livewire is focused on ourselves and the people we interact with.

Through this, he emphasized on people’s physical, sensory capabilities and limitations focusing on experience. This elaborates our interpersonal relationships, mental, emotional, medical and physical processes all of which determines how we cooperate and communicate with each other and what we perceive of the society, individuals or a team? Any incompatibility or discrepancies between any of these elements will lead to human error.

 

4 Errors in the workplace

 

These are further elaborated using the four types of errors that are often experienced by individuals as well as organizations. They are called slip, lapse, mistake and violation. This fictional office scenario below would help you understand better how the components and types of errors unfold in a professional setting:

 

The ‘Slip’

 

Abir works as a front desk executive in a garment company; before clocking out from work, his boss asks him to make a call to the head of procurement. “Sure, I’ll get it done,” he says confidently. The extension to the procurement head’s room is 344. Instead, he dials, 345 and gets connected to the compliance floor. Despite making enough calls to the procurement head’s office, it ‘slipped’ his mind that 345 was not the extension number. ‘Slip’ , is the kind where you’re ‘not doing what you’re meant to do. If observed carefully one will see that slips happen at the action stage, just like the times when many of us switch on the wiper lever instead of the indicator despite knowing the difference between the two.

 

The ‘Lapse’

 

The next day, Abir sets out for work; halfway through his commute he realizes he left his lunch box on his desk at home. “Oops, I forgot it…”- this error known as the ‘lapse,’ happens at the memory stage.  On the same day, Abir is seen fetching something for his supervisor from outside; he usually takes the foot overbridge to cross the main road. But seeing that he’s pressed for time, he decides to dash through a busy street. In the process, he almost gets grazed by a speeding car. This is called a mistake or a ‘decision failure’, meaning the plan that was taken does not fit the situation. Although he went back to office in one piece, there was a chance of him getting into a serious accident. Finally, when we intentionally deviate from a procedure or a good practice that is called ‘violation’. So if Abir is seen coughing out in the open, despite office rules emphasizing on COVID-19 precautions, he is clearly ‘violating’ a rule that’s meant to be followed by everyone. 

 

The ‘Mistake’

 

Zahiruddin further explained that ‘slips’, and ‘lapse’ are skill based errors- meaning, we’re so skilled about something that we’re confident we won’t make mistakes. The avenue for mistakes further increases due to rule based and knowledge based behaviors. While it’s impossible to predict when a mistake will be committed by us or how seriously it’ll impact the organizations we’re working for, it’s certainly possible to revise the systems put in place to avert minor or major risks.

 

Steps to curb the ‘Violations’

 

To do so, the expert suggested we must have a positive attitude towards errors and have an open-book system so that if a feedback goes through or something is reported, they are taken seriously. Additionally, it’s necessary to create a blame-free culture and address the psychology of errors to develop all our processes in a brain-friendly way. Finally, we should focus on education as opposed to training. Training is given for skills development while education is for behavioral change and if we can adopt these policies, it will eventually reduce human errors. 

But to say these will happen overnight would clearly be an overstatement as organizations are still tackling multifaceted challenges in the country. Now is the perfect time, to not just discuss at length but also put in place processes for human factor and error identification, in order to hold employees, entrepreneurs and organization’s HRs accountable in regards to workplace crises. For years, we’ve seen innocent people and major organizations bear the brunt of devastating events. 

 

The larger impact of Errors

 

Factory accidents in particular have taken center stage for falling into a toxic cycle of mishaps resulting in a string of accidents for more than decades.  Between 1990 to 2013, at least 1,841 workers have been killed in different types of accidents including building collapse and fire in the readymade garment industry in the last 12 years, as found by BILS. Be it the fire outbreak in Tazreen Fashion factory in 2012, the collapse of Rana Plaza in 2013 or the fire in Shezan Juice Factory in Narayanganj a few days ago, the mass casualties resulting from all these events have left workers and their families in a state of deep despair. The Daily Star reports that 49 bodies have been recovered so far from the Narayanganj factory, with a death toll standing at 52.  Seeing that reality paints a grim picture, the question remains as to how far the owners of these factories have been able to curb the slips, lapses and mistakes when major violations continue to become the norm in their premises? How long till that behaviour seeps into the larger professional ecosystem? 

 

Diving Deeper into Human Factors and Managing Errors – and what it means for your business

Curious to know more about the impacts of Human Factors and Managing Errors for your workplace? Connect with Pro-edge to hear from professionals across countries in the fields of Medical, IT/AI, and Aerospace Engineering, as they share their experiences of human errors and how to manage them:  Pro-edge presents Webinar on Human Factors and Managing Errors