Citation

Yu FJ, Hwang SL, Huang YH, Lee JS. Int. J. Ind. Ergonomics 2000; 26(1): 87-99.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In the design, development, and production phases of the initiator of a missile system, engineers usually focus on the function approach of hardware and software but sometimes ignore the "human error" which is another important factor affecting the quality of the product and the safety of operators. In order to assure the safety of operators and to upgrade the quality and reliability of the initiator, the human error criticality analysis (HECA) method was applied to identify the critical human tasks, critical human error modes, and the human reliability information of initiator assembly tasks in this study. Several corrective actions have been taken based upon the analysis results. It is concluded that not only was the reliability of the human assembly process enhanced by 9% but also the risk occurrence probability and safety severity decreased significantly. Finally, corrective actions are suggested for which quantitative outcomes can be estimated.

Relevance to industry: The results of this study indicate that the HECA method is very effective in identifying the critical human tasks and critical human error modes, and can be applied to evaluate the system safety and human reliability in the manufacturing process of industry.