Human and organizational influences on NDE reliability
M. Bertovic, R. Holstein
Human and organizational factors have always puzzled the NDE community. If the technology hasn’t failed, then it must be the “human factor”. But what are human factors exactly? What do they entail? And how can we use the knowledge about human factors to keep up with the highest reliability and safety standards in the everyday NDE practice? To be able to do this, a deeper understanding of human behavior in the context of NDE organizations is essential. This will be in focus of the third part of the tutorial. It will start with the definition of human factors, sources of human error, different approaches for identifying risks involving human inspectors, and offer practical strategies for how human factors can be further investigated and handled in practice. In the remaining time the focus will shift onto situating NDE reliability in the everyday NDE practice.
A basic need for the management of reliability is to know and understand the various influencing factors. Therefore, the framework of major influences from the society and the organization will be sketched in an open exchange with the participants of the tutorial. Furthermore, this framework will be systematically analyzed, resulting in an optimized organizational process. This part of the tutorial will deepen the participants’ understanding of human and organizational factors and their effects on the reliability of NDE in theory and practice. It is intended not only for all those involved in the design, management, and control of inspection processes and procedures, but also for inspectors and scientists, wishing to obtain more knowledge on the complexities of human factors.
Topics:
- NDE reliability in the daily practice (influence of management and society)
- Introduction to human factors (definition, human error)
- Methods for assessment of human factors (e.g. rist assessment methods)
- Human factors in theory and practice (examples from studies and practice)
- Implications for the NDE practice (optimization strategies, procedure writing guidelines, etc.)