In order to improve safety without limiting the research to conventional boundaries set by disciplines, the PSE Lab embarked the cross disciplinary theme i.e. Human Factors since 2010.
The term Human Factors (HF) is considered equivalent to Ergonomics and these two terms are often interchangeable. The most accepted definition of HF which is  developed by International Ergonomics Association is as follows:
“Human Factors or Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.”
Human Factors research is composed of various theories and constructs analyzed together under one umbrella. Several collaborations have been established by the PSE lab in order to satisfy the demands of this interdisciplinary field of research. The relevant topics which are focused in PSE-Lab are listed below:
- Situation Awareness
- SA Models for Industrial Operators
- For Field Operators
- For Control Room Operators
- Factors Affecting SA of Industrial Operators
- Training Methods to Improve Industrial SA
- SA Models for Industrial Operators
- Further details about the theory of Situation Awareness (SA)
- Distributed Situation Awareness
- DSA Models for Industrial Operators
- For Field Operators
- For Control Room Operators
- Factors Affecting DSA of industrial operators
- Training methods to improve Industrial DSA
- Identification of Indicators constructing DSA in Process Industry
- DSA Models for Industrial Operators
- Further details about the theory of Distributed Situation Awareness (DSA)
- Teamwork analysis
- Key communication among teams
- Teams distribution in Field
- Teams distribution in Control Room
- Socio-Technical system
- Interaction of operators with technology and systems
- Cognitive demands and mental work load
- Operator response in abnormal situation
- Technology response in abnormal situation
- Decision making
The responsible member of research activity in the rubric of Human Factors at PSE-Lab is Salman Nazir. Â The head of PSE-Lab is Davide Manca.
