ABSTRACT

The purpose of this book is to cover the topic of human reliability assessment (HRA) in some depth from the viewpoint of a practitioner. There have been a lot of changes in the topic over the last number of years. Because HRA is still developing, it has elements of controversy in terms of the appropriate methods for the representation of human failure probability. Even the term human error causes problems for certain individuals. The idea that human error is a random event is not acceptable, and the concept that humans can be set up to fail due to the context or situation under which they are operating is gaining credibility. This concept means that one can do something to avoid human errors, and it is not a case of firing “error-prone” individuals. In the study of human error, simulators are now seen as a valuable resource, and their use in this field has gone through a change in attitude. This book will cover aspects associated with data and data sources, choice of methods, training of individuals, use of simulators for HRA purposes, and relationships between psychology, human factors, accident analyses, and human reliability.