Human Factors Disciplines and Capabilities

14-3 important to aviation maintenance. Human Capabilities Human Capabilities Human Limitations Environmental Conditions Environmental Conditions Human-Machine Interface Human-Machine Interface Human Factors Human Factors Mental State Mental State Physical State Physical State Emotional State Emotional State The focus initiates on the technician but extends to the entire engineering and technical organization. Research is optimized by incorporating the many disciplines that affect human factors in an effort to understand how people can work more efficiently and maintain work performance. By understanding each of the disciplines and applying them to different situations or human behaviors, we can correctly recognize potential human factors and address them before they develop into a problem or create a chain of problems that result in an accident or incident.

Clinical Psychology Clinical psychology includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. It focuses on the mental well-being of the individual. Clinical psychology can help individuals deal with stress, coping mechanisms for adverse situations, poor self-image, and accepting criticism from coworkers. Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology includes the study of a variety of basic behavioral processes, often in a laboratory environment.

These processes may include learning, sensation, perception, human performance, motivation, memory, language, 14-4 thinking, and communication, as well as the physiological processes underlying behaviors, such as eating, reading, and problem solving. In an effort to test the efficiency of work policies and procedures, experimental studies help measure performance, productivity, and deficiencies. Anthropometry Anthropometry is the study of the dimensions and abilities of the human body. This is essential to aviation maintenance due to the environment and spaces that AMTs have to work with. For example, a man who is 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 230 pounds may be required to fit into a small crawl space of an aircraft to conduct a repair. Another example is the size and weight of equipment and tools. Men and women are generally on two different spectrums of height and weight. Although both are equally capable of completing the same task with a high level of proficiency, someone who is smaller may be able to perform more efficiently with tools and equipment tailored to their size. In other words, one size does not fit all and the term “average person” does not apply when employing such a diverse group of people.

Computer Science The technical definition for computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. Yet how this relates to aviation maintenance is simpler to explain. As mentioned earlier, AMTs spend as much time documenting repairs as they do performing them. It is important that they have computer work stations that are comfortable and reliable. Software programs and computer-based test equipment should be easy to learn and use, and not intended only for those with a high levels of computer literacy.

Cognitive Science Cognitive science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of minds as information processors. It includes research on how information is processed (in faculties such as perception, language, reasoning, and emotion), represented, and transformed in a nervous system or machine (e.g., computer). It spans many levels of analysis from low-level learning and decision mechanisms to high-level logic and planning. AMTs must possess a great ability to problem solve quickly and efficiently. They are constantly required to troubleshoot situations and quickly react to them. This can be a vicious cycle creating an enormous amount of stress. The discipline of cognitive science helps us understand how to better assist AMTs during situations that create high levels of stress so that their mental process does not get interrupted and affect their ability to work.

Safety Engineering Safety engineering ensures that a life-critical system behaves as needed even when the component fails. Ideally, safety engineers take an early design of a system, analyze it to find what faults can occur, and then propose safety requirements in design specifications up front and changes to existing systems to make the system safer. Safety cannot be stressed enough when it comes to aviation maintenance, and everyone deserves to work in a safe environment. Safety engineering plays a big role in the design of aviation maintenance facilities, storage containers for toxic materials, equipment used for heavy lifting, and floor designs to ensure no one slips, trips, or falls. In industrial work environments, the guidelines of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are important.

Medical Science Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness. Disposition and physical well-being are very important and directly correlated to human factors. Just like people come in many shapes and sizes, they also have very different reactions to situations due to body physiology, physical structures, and biomechanics. Organizational Psychology Organizational psychologists are concerned with relations between people and work. Their interests include organizational structure and organizational change, workers’ productivity and job satisfaction, consumer behavior, and the selection, placement, training, and development of personnel. Understanding organizational psychology helps aviation maintenance supervisors learn about the points listed below that, if exercised, can enhance the work environment and productivity.

• Rewards and compensations for workers with good