ABSTRACT
This chapter presents safety, reliability, human factors, and human error basics considered useful for understanding subsequent chapters of this book. It covers safety management principles and safety and engineers, accident causation theories (i.e., the domino theory and the human factors theory), bathtub hazard rate curve, general reliability formulas, reliability networks, human factors objectives and typical human behaviors, human sensory capacities, useful human factors–related guidelines, useful mathematical human factors–related formulas, reasons for human error occurrence and types of human errors, and problems.
The general reliability formulas are for failure (or probability) density function, hazard rate (time-dependent failure rate) function, general reliability function, and mean time to failure. The reliability networks include series network, parallel network, k-out-of-n network, standby system, and bridge network. The useful mathematical human factors–related formulas are for inspector performance, character height, rest period, and glare constant.
At appropriate places, the chapter contains examples along with their solutions, and there are ten problems at the end of the chapter to test the reader's comprehension in the area.
