Safety investigators from around the world will converge in Canberra this month to take part in the ATSB’s Human Factors for Transport Safety Investigators course.
Participants from Indonesia, Finland, New Zealand, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Nauru and Vietnam will join Australians for an overview of human factors in safety-critical systems in the aviation, marine and rail industries.
ATSB Manager International Richard Batt says demand for the course, run twice per year, is always high.
“The ATSB is a leader in the application of human factors to transport safety investigations and is well placed to share its extensive knowledge,” Dr Batt said.
“The course was originally designed for ATSB staff but we recognise our commitment to improving safety investigations internationally in aviation, marine and rail industries.”
Dr Batt said human factors comprise the effects of physical, psychological and environmental factors on human performance in different task environments.
“This is a multi-disciplinary science that applies knowledge about the capabilities and limitations of human performance to all aspects of the design, manufacture, operation and maintenance of products and systems.
“After any accident or incident, a thorough operational and technical investigation is essential to determine what happened. Often it is only by investigating humans factors at both the operational and organisational level that it can be determined how and why events occurred.
“I should reiterate that in any ATSB investigation, we do not seek to lay blame or apportion liability. We incorporate this important philosophy throughout all aspect of the course.”
The course will cover issues such as perception, memory, attention, situational awareness, decision making, fatigue, stress, workload, ergonomics, safety culture as well as aviation, marine and rail case studies.
Presenters at the course come from the ATSB, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Macquarie University as well as private organisations Humanology, Flight Medicine Systems, Convergent Safety and Westwood-Thomas Associates.