ABSTRACT
Ergonomic design for safety requires taking into account all possibilities of use of the
equipment, including misuse, both when the equipment is new and when wear may have
reduced its reliability. Where similar equipment already exists, failure and damage
records may be investigated, as well as accident and injury records. Human failures
should not be dismissed as ‘human error’, but considered as possibly reasonable actions
of the individuals at the time, where their understanding of the situation might have been
falsified by stress, lack of training, overload or social or operational difficulties. Only
where no other explanation can be offered should irrationality be assumed, and even then
on a provisional basis pending more information.
