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Searching for the perfect transportation
system is a never-ending journey
If you are looking for perfect safety, you would do well to sit
on the fence.
-Wilbur Wright
Clearly, today’s travelers are not sitting on the fence. Although
Clemson’s Scott Shappell might agree with Wilbur Wright’s
observation, he has devoted his career to moving today’s transportation
industry closer toward that elusive goal of “perfect safety.”
His focus is on the human factors associated with transportation
accidents.
Human error has been associated with 60 to 80% of all transportation
incidents and accidents. Professor Shappell and his colleague, Douglas
Wiegmann, who is with the University of Illinois and the Mayo Clinic,
have developed the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System
(HFACS). HFACS is a system-safety model that effectively bridges
the gap between human error theory and applied human error analysis.
Originally developed for use with U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation
accidents, HFACS has been used by a number of other aviation organizations
in the U.S. and around the world. Applications have also been made
in a variety of other industries, including mining, oil, manufacturing,
and medicine. What makes HFACS particularly unique is its ability
to identify data-driven interventions.
Shappell and Wiegmann have also developed a companion tool, the
Human Factors Intervention matriX (HFIX) for mapping intervention
strategies onto specific forms of human error identified within
HFACS. When used together, HFACS and HFIX allow users to systematically
generate comprehensive intervention strategies that directly target
underlying systemic causes of errors.
The FAA has provided Shappell and Wiegmann over $2 million over
the past 6 years to fully explore the use of HFACS and HFIX with
commercial and general aviation accidents. Recently, Shappell was
awarded a 3-year $560,000 grant to identify interventions for general
aviation using HFIX.
For more information on Shappell’s work at Clemson University
visit the industrial engineering website at www.ces.clemson.edu/ie
or contact him directly at HFEng@clemson.edu.
Scott Shappell, industrial engineering
professor, has devoted his career to studying human factors associated
with transportation accidents.
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