NET-HARMS: A new systems thinking-based risk assessment method

The NETworked Hazard Analysis and Risk Management System (NET-HARMS) Although the systems thinking philosophy is widely accepted in accident analysis and investigation, it has not yet gained traction in the area of risk assessment. A recent review of over 300 risk assessment methods found that most focus predominantly on the risks associated with human error … More NET-HARMS: A new systems thinking-based risk assessment method

Human Performance and the Intersection of Technology in Defence

Our director, Professor Paul Salmon, and adjunct member Professor Neville Stanton are spending this week and next week contributing to a seminar focussing on the role of human factors research in understanding and optimising future defence systems. The seminars are being presented by the Defence Science and Technology Group in the lead up to the launch of … More Human Performance and the Intersection of Technology in Defence

Links to all Centre Conversation articles

Over the past few years Centre members have published a series of short articles outlining our human factors and systems thinking research via The Conversation. These quick to read and easy to digest articles cover various topics ranging from transport safety, accident causation, automation, corruption in sport, land use planning and urban design, and sports performance … More Links to all Centre Conversation articles

Running away from reductionism: Why the development and prevention of distance running-related injury is a complex problem

From July to October 2013, I was in Kenya, residing on the edge of the spectacular Rift Valley in a small hillside town called Iten. Colloquially known as the ‘Home of Champions’, the purpose of visiting Iten, aside from improving my own endurance running ability, was to witness firsthand why the East Africans were the … More Running away from reductionism: Why the development and prevention of distance running-related injury is a complex problem

The problem of reliability in the design of ergonomics methods…and a potential solution

At the Centre for HF & STS, much of our work focuses on the design of new ergonomics methods to better understand safety and performance in sociotechnical systems. An “ergonomics method” is essentially a procedure for coding and interpreting qualitative data through the lens of a particular theory. For example, Rasmussen’s Accimap is a procedure … More The problem of reliability in the design of ergonomics methods…and a potential solution

Call for papers – Sociotechnical Systems Thinking in the Manufacturing and Service Industries

Special issue of the Journal of Human Factors in Manufacturing and Service Industries on Sociotechnical Systems Thinking Sociotechnical systems theory emerged in the 1950s from a program of research that focussed on the disruptive impacts of new technologies on human work (Eason, 2014; Trist & Bamforth, 1951). Primarily a work design theory, sociotechnical systems is … More Call for papers – Sociotechnical Systems Thinking in the Manufacturing and Service Industries