ABSTRACT
Post-analysis discussions with raters suggested that the definitions and examples used to describe Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) were too closely tied to military aviation and therefore somewhat ambiguous to those without a military background. Reliability is only one of four criteria essential to the validity of any error framework. Comprehensiveness, or the extent to which a framework captures all the key information surrounding an accident, is important to the validity of any error classification system as well. The clearest evidence of HFACS' usability however, is that large organizations like the United States (US) Navy Corps or Marine Corps and the US Army have adopted HFACS as an accident investigation and data analysis tool. In addition, HFACS is being utilized within other organizations such as the Federal Aviation Administration and NASA as a supplement to their pre-existing systems. Perhaps the main reason why these organizations have embraced HFACS is that the system is highly malleable and adaptable.
