ABSTRACT
By employing quantifiable and measurable ways to assess the role of these uncertainties and by treating a human-in-the-loop (HITL) as a part, often the most critical part, of the complex human-instrumentation-equipment-vehicle-environment system, one could improve dramatically the human's performance, to predict, minimize and even specify the probability of the occurrence of a mishap that is never completely avoidable. An adequate human performance in whatever situation or application cannot be assured if it is not quantified, and since no one is perfect, that quantification should preferably be done on a probabilistic basis. In the simplest model, such a failure should be attributed to an insufficient human capacity factor (HCF), when an individual has to cope with a high cognitive (mental) workload (MWL). Our suggested MWL/HCF models and their possible modifications and generalizations can be helpful, after appropriate sensitivity factors are established and sensitivity analyses (SA) are carried out, when developing guidelines for personnel selection and training; when choosing the appropriate simulation conditions; and/or when there is a need to decide if the existing levels of automation and of the employed equipment (instrumentation) are adequate in off-normal, but not impossible, situations.
