Human Factors and Performance
Human Factors and Performance
Human factors questions test how controllers detect and manage error, workload and fatigue. The exam favours practical mitigations over personality labels.
Core rules
- Situational awareness has three levels: perception, comprehension and projection. Loss of projection is the dangerous stage.
- Reason’s Swiss cheese model: errors occur when holes in defences align. Mitigations include readback, cross-check, checklists and redundancy.
- SHELL model examines Software, Hardware, Environment and Liveware interactions; mismatch at interfaces creates error.
- Threat and error management: anticipate threats, trap errors, avoid undesired aircraft states.
- Fatigue impairs vigilance and reaction time; controlled rest and roster limits are defences, not weakness.
Worked example
A controller plans to hand an aircraft to the next sector but is interrupted by a phone call. After the call, the aircraft is still on frequency and has crossed the boundary. The error is a memory lapse under interruption. The trap is relying on memory. The mitigation is to strip-mark the transfer, use a next-action note, and complete the coordination before answering non-urgent calls. The controller should also inform the adjacent sector immediately.
Traps
Do not answer more training for every human-factors question; identify the defence that fits the error. Do not confuse stress with workload; stress is a response, workload is task demand. Do not treat automation as a cure for boredom or complacency. Do not ignore the readback as an error-trapping tool.