Handbook

Human Factors refers to environmental, organisational and job factors, and human and individual characteristics that influence behaviour at work and can affect health, safety and productivity. When the abilities and limitations of humans are not identified and designed for within a work environment, significant failures can occur. Such failures can affect the health and safety of both individuals and the organisation, and can have significant economic and reputational implications.

In the aviation industry, human error has been observed to have a highly detrimental effect in areas such as flight operations, maintenance practices and air traffic management. In fact, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) states human error as the single most serious threat to aviation safety with human error being cited as the main cause of up to 80 percent of incidents and accidents in the aviation industry and more than 70 percent of commercial aeroplane hull-loss accidents.

Understanding human factors and safety holistically is key for designing well-considered work systems that can mitigate the risk of human failures by taking the abilities and limitations of humans into account. In a time where the aviation industry is undergoing a "technological renaissance" with the introduction of emerging technologies and initiatives, there is an ever-increasing need for aviation managers with a deep and current understanding of safety management systems to ensure safe handling and operations of aircraft, airspace and people working within these systems.

In this Human Factors and Aviation Safety 24 UOC minor, students will be provided with an opportunity to undertake current, relevant and thought-provoking learning with key human factors experts in academia and the aviation industry, leading to the acquisition of a specialised set of skills highly desired in industry for effectively managing human factors and safety systems in an aviation context.