HUMAN ELEMENT FACTORS AFFECTING RELIABILITY AND SAFETY

Many system reliability predictive methods are based solely on equipme nt failures, neglecting the human component of man-machine systems (MM S). These methods do not consider the identification of the root cause s of human errors, The reliability and safety of industrial and commer cial power systems and processes (i.e., MMS) are dependent upon human characteristics and many dependent and dynamic interactive factors [1] , The consequences of human errors are very diverse and can range from damage to equipment and property, injury to personnel or fatalities, to disruption of scheduled system operation, all of which represent a significant cost to society, This paper will focus on accidents-injuri es and the disruption of scheduled system operation caused by human el ement factors [2] and show that the human element is a very significan t factor affecting the reliability and safety of electrical systems, T he paper will initially present several case studies to reveal the fre quency of human errors which disrupted scheduled computer and utility system operation, This paper mill also present statistics on the injur y accident rate in utilities and the number of days lost to injury acc idents,This paper will present some of the factors that direct human b ehavior and discuss how these factors help identify the possible root causes of electrical accidents, using an accident-injury sequence mode l to determine the cause of human errors, Knowledge of human factors c an be used to mitigate their impact on system interruptions and injury accidents (e.g., increased productivity, increased reliability, decre ased errors, increased safety, etc.).