BUSINESS SCHOOL
BSc Air Transport Management – TOP UP
EA302MAA HUMAN FACTORS IN AVIATION
Outcome 2: Identify the characteristics of human factors in the aviation industry.
Outcome 3: Evaluate the human factors contributing to incidents/accidents.
Outcome 5: Design policies that reduce the effects of human factors on active failures.
This is an individual assignment and carries a total mark of 100 and constitutes 70% of your course score.
Your task is to select and research two specific aircraft accidents and to write a report that covers the following:
Task 1: Choose an accident where the outcome was disastrous and Human Factors had a significant contribution to the situation and the poor outcome. (Total 35 marks/100)
1. (LO 2) Choose an accident (marks will be given for the originality of your choice) and give a brief description of the circumstances of the accident. (5 marks)
2. (LO 2) Identify the chain of events and error sequence that led to the accident (10 marks)
3. (LO 3) Identify, classify and evaluate the human factors and errors which contributed to the accident, using the SHEL model interfaces and mismatches, error classification and other analytical tools. (10 marks)
4. (LO 3) Explain how the investigation findings enable us to understand Human Factors better. (5 marks)
5. LO 3,5) Analyse and evaluate the findings of the official investigation and compare them to your own findings and opinions as to the causes of the accident. Note any differences and/exclusions between your findings and those published in the official report. Comment on possible reasons as to why the official report did not cover all of the issues you have identified. (5 marks)
Task 2: Choose a different accident where the outcome was significantly improved due to successful application of Human Factors principles (Total 25 marks/100)
6. LO 2) Choose an accident (marks will be given for the originality of your choice) and give a brief description of the circumstances of the accident. (5 marks)
7. (LO 2) Identify the chain of events and error sequence that led to the accident. (10 marks)
8. (LO 3) Identify, explain, classify and evaluate the human factors principles that were applied and the effect they had in mitigating the effect of errors and their contribution to a better than expected outcome. (10 marks)
Task 3: Conclusion and Policy Proposal (Total 30 marks/100)
9. (LO 3,5) In your conclusion evaluate what the Aviation Industry has learnt and applied in terms of HF from the two accident/incident cases and analyse how these Industry Learnings will contribute to aviation safety. Comment on how effectively the lessons learnt were applied in terms of changes to aircraft design, regulations, operations and maintenance procedures, flight and maintenance training, engineering design, security procedures and standards, customer service and processes etc. (20 marks)
10. (LO 5) Based on your research findings and your individual learning from the course material, formulate one (1) specific policy that you believe can reduce the effects of human factors on latent conditions and active failures. (10 marks)
Presentation, Style and Referencing (10 marks/100)
11. Your report should comprise approximately 3500 words plus appendices and be fully referenced in Harvard style. Marks will be allocated for the originality of your choice of accident/incident, the breadth and depth of your research, and the style and clarity of your analysis, and the quality and clarity of your analysis and presentation. (10 marks)
12. Note: submissions should be in Times New Roman or Arial font, 12 point size, 1.5 line spacing
Note that you are required to submit your report via Turnitin on or before the due date and you should ensure that you use your own words and avoid plagiarism at all costs. An excessive similarity report will result in severe penalties up to and including the outright rejection of your report.
Late submission will results in penalties as follows:
Up to seven days late in submission: 10% reduction in score
Seven to fourteen days late in submission: 20% reduction in score
More than 14 days late in submission: rejection of the report
Guidelines:
a. Select accidents that you find interesting but also that have multiple sources of original research material.
b. When analyzing the accident incident using the SHEL model look at the liveware (operator) as the focus when analyzing the error but be aware that that the liveware (operator) may change depending the aspect you are analyzing. For instance if an accident involves both a PF and an ATC error you need to look at both the PF and the ATC operator separately as the centre of their own SHEL system.
c. The length and complexity of your answers for each section of the report should be guided by the mark allocation and overall word count.
d. Be sure to distinguish between your own original opinions and those of others through careful and precise in text referencing, particularly in sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 above.
End