ABSTRACT
Human error is often related to design flaws which might have been avoided had greater attention been paid to human factors knowledge and methods throughout various stages of system development. This chapter emphasises the importance of adopting an operational perspective in understanding how tasks are carried out since this ensures that subsequent human factors advice is focused upon real needs and considers the issue of timeliness of human factors input. Railway companies acknowledge the relevance of human factors through the commitment of senior management and by employing safety specialists who use inspection and audit processes to investigate actual incidents, near misses and potential problems. The operational perspective also gives designers and managers more freedom to consider different approaches to choose solutions that are most beneficial for the system. Adopting an operational perspective is a long-standing approach in the application of human factors.
