Human Error Prevention

Since the products we use today have increased in complexity and power, their potential to damage us has also increased. For instance, power tools have much more potential for misuse, and the consequences of that error, or the damage done, has also increased. This is a result of technological progress and increasing complexity.

More and more, consumer protection agencies and organizations have attempted to hold manufacturers responsible for the damage done with their products. For this reason, human factors psychologists, in designing products, must be concerned with the safety of their products. If their products fail or are misused, companies are held legally responsible for the damage done. For instance, a handgun manufacturer would be very motivated to have human factors psychologists on staff to examine the design of gun. If the design of the gun is faulty, and lends itself to an obvious misuse, the designer or psychologist will save the company money and credibility (as well as possible lives) if they find that defect and change it. Even when this product is improperly used, and the user is responsible for that, if the error is foreseeable, the company is liable. This has opened up a whole new specialization within the field of human factors psychology.

Often, we find that human's errors are predictable and thus can be prevented by changing the design of a product. Human factors psychologists in this specialization use their knowledge of human perception, response time, and cognition to predict and prevent likely errors.

Here are some interesting internet links to sites about human error:

This site tells about how human factors can reduce error in the medical field.

This is an interesting site about a specific study on human error.

This is an online government brochure about product safety.

This is the homepage for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, one of the main organizations that police this liability issue.

This is an introductory explanation of what we know about the study of human error.

	This site tells about how human factors can reduce error in the medical field.
	This is an interesting site about a specific study on human error.
	This is an online government brochure about product safety.
	This is the homepage for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, one of the main organizations that police this liability issue.
	This is an introductory explanation of what we know about the study of human error.