Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Guidance.and.direction.can.come.from.a.variety.of.sources..Written.plans,.poli-
cies,.and.procedures.can.be.direct.and.guide.behavior..Verbal.direction.and.guidance.
from. supervisors. and. co-workers. provide. other. information.. Whatever. the. source,.
however,.direction.and.guidance.that.are.not.clear,.consistent,.or.accurate.can.be.an.
even.greater.barrier.to.human.performance.than.no.information.at.all.
t ools or E quiPmEnt
When.the.appropriate.tools.or.equipment.to.do.a.job.are.not.available.or.are.improp-
erly.designed,.a.barrier.to.human.performance.is.created..Where.improper.design.
is. the. cause. for. problems,. the. general. talk. is. about. human. factors.. Tools. are. not.
physical.barriers.because.they.generally.do.not.function.to.protect.the.person.from.
the.energy.source..Tools.and.equipment.are.extensions.of.the.person.that.are.instru-
mental.in.getting.the.required.performance..To.determine.if.tools.or.equipment.are.
a.barrier,.the.question.to.ask.is:.“Were.the.appropriate.tools.or.equipment.available,.
and.were.they.properly.designed.for.the.job?”
An.example.of.tools.as.a.barrier.is.a.piece.of.rebar.was.used.as.a.pry.bar.because.
the.correct.bar.was.not.provided.
k nowlEDgE
Sometimes. people. do. unsafe. things. because. they. do. not. know. any. better.. When.
they.do.not.know.how.to.perform.safely,.a.knowledge.barrier.to.human.performance.
exists..Knowing.how.to.do.things.safely.is.acquired.principally.through.education,.
training,. and. experience.. Deicient,. limited,. or. nonexistent. education,. training,. or.
experience.may.indicate.that.a.knowledge.barrier.exists..The.question.to.ask.to.see.
if.there.is.a.knowledge.barrier.is:.“Did.the.person.know.how.to.do.the.job.as.it.is.
supposed.to.be.done?”
An.example.of.a.knowledge.barrier.is.a.newly.hired,.inexperienced.worker.with.
very.little.training.is.put.to.work.driving.a.forklift..If.the.forklift.is.not.driven.prop-
erly. because. the. worker. does. not. know. how,. then. a. knowledge. barrier. to. human.
performance. exists.. Knowledge. is. not. the. same. as. information.. It. implies. much.
more..It.implies.that.the.person.can.use.information,.and.can.put.education,.train-
ing,. and. experience. together. to. act. appropriately. on. information.. Knowledge. is,.
therefore,. internal. to. the. person,. something. that. the. person. brings. into. the. work.
environment..Externals,.such.as.information.and.incentives,.operate.on.the.person's.
use.of.knowledge.
C APACity
Capacity.refers.to.physical.ability,.concentration,.spreading.too.thin,.and.habit.intru-
sion..Capacity.is.also.internal.to.the.person,.and.is.both.mental.and.physical..When.a.
task.exceeds.the.capacity.of.the.individual.performing.it.or.when.something.impairs.
the.person's.capacity,.a.barrier.to.performance.exists.
The. impairment. of. capacity. can. take. many. forms.. If. the. job. requires. an.
extended.high.level.of.concentration,.a.person.with.a.short.attention.span.will.be.
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