About the Author
Steven Shorrock is an interdisciplinary humanistic, systems and design practitioner interested in human work from multiple perspectives.
Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) & Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist (CErgHF)
Now available (usually £27-£37)
Tag Archives: systems thinking
Bonding and Bridging at the Philosophical Breakfast Club
On 26 April 2018, I presented at the ‘Philosophical Breakfast Club’ (@philosophicalBC) conference on High Performing Teams (#PBCHPT2018). It was a remarkable conference bringing together healthcare professionals, psychologists, sports scientists, athletes, managers, human factors/ergonomics specialists, military officers and specialists, and others, My first conversation while having tea before the conference was with a spinal surgeon and bomb disposal expert. Throughout the conference I had many other fascinating conversations with people from a diverse range of backgrounds.
This leads me to the focus of my talk: collaboration at the interfaces, and what happens between teams, groups, professions, layers of management, organisations… In this post, I summarise the talk, slide by slide, with tweet-sized explanations. Continue reading
Four Kinds of Human Factors: 4. Socio-Technical System Interaction
This is the fourth in a series of posts on different ‘kinds’ of human factors, as understood both within and outside the discipline and profession of human factors and ergonomics itself. This post explores a fourth kind of human factors: Socio-technical system interaction. Continue reading
Four Kinds of Human Factors: 3. Factors Affecting Humans
This third post explores another perspective on ‘human factors’: Factors Affecting Humans. Continue reading
Posted in Human Factors/Ergonomics, Safety, systems thinking
Tagged ergonomics, human factors, human performance, safety, systems thinking, work
2 Comments
Four Kinds of ‘Human Factors’: 1. The Human Factor
This is the first of a short blog post series, on four kinds of ‘Human Factors’: ‘The Human Factor. Continue reading
The Varieties of Human Work
The analysis of work cannot be limited to work as prescribed in procedures etc (le travail prescrit), nor to the observation of work actually done (le travail réalisé). Similarly, it cannot be limited to work as we imagine it, nor work as people talk about it. Only by considering all four of these varieties of human work can we hope to understand what’s going on. Continue reading
Posted in Human Factors/Ergonomics, Safety, systems thinking
Tagged aviation, ergonomics, field experts, focus groups, healthcare, human factors, interviews, observation, oil and gas, policy, procedures, QF32, rail, safety, safety-I, safety-II, systems thinking, task analysis, WebOps, work to rule, work-as-disclosed, work-as-done, work-as-imagined, work-as-judged
11 Comments
Human Factors at The Fringe: My Eyes Went Dark
Written and directed by Matthew Wilkinson. A thrilling modern tragedy about a Russian architect driven to revenge after losing his family in a plane crash. Cal MacAninch and Thusitha Jayasundera give electrifying performances in this searing new play about the … Continue reading
Posted in Human Factors/Ergonomics, Safety, systems thinking
Tagged accidents, art, blame, human error, human factors, just culture, management, safety, systems thinking, theatre
7 Comments
Never/zero thinking
There has been much talk in recent years about ‘never events’ and ‘zero harm’, similar to talk in the safety community about ‘zero accidents’. It sounds obvious: no one would want an accident. And we all wish that serious harm would not result from accidents. But as expressed and implemented top-down, never/zero is problematic for many reasons. In this post, I shall outline just a few, as I see them. Continue reading
Posted in Human Factors/Ergonomics, Safety, systems thinking
Tagged accidents, blame, human error, human factors, just culture, management, never events, safety, safety-I, safety-II, systems thinking, targets, zero harm
9 Comments
