Operator Functional State Assessment [L’évaluation de l’aptitude opérationnelle de l’opérateur humain]

Operator Functional State Assessment [L’évaluation de l’aptitude opérationnelle de l’opérateur humain]

TNO Technische Menskunde
Wilson, G.
Schlegel, R.E.
Veltman, J.A.

2004

The human operator is a crucial component of complex modern systems. The complexity of these systems, the rapid tempo of contemporary military operations and reduced staffing all contribute to the high cognitive demands experienced by military personnel. Unfortunately, these systems do not account for the functional state of the human operator. The rate of information flow, the number of decisions, and actions that must be carried out can become so demanding that the cognitive capacity of the operator can be exceeded. This can result in disastrous consequences. These catastrophic events are brought about by human error when operators are placed in situations requiring cognitive resources beyond those currently available. Other system components are routinely monitored for their state of health. If deficiencies are found thene taken or the mission is aborted. Similar monitoring and corrections are needed for the human component. The goal of this report is to assemble pertinent information concerning the factors that produce suboptimal performance in human operatotors and the methods that can be used to detect the presence of these factors. Typically, these factors are considered in isolation. By bringing this information together in one report, decision makers and scientists will be able to consider the numerous factors that have deleterious effects. on operator performance and can take measures to prevent catastrophic errors. In this report, theoretical issues are presented as a framework for the discussions of the risk factors that reduce the functioning of human operators and the assessment methods for measuring these effects. The obstacles to implementation of operator functional state assessment in the ôreal worldö are discussed. The demands of the work place are much more rigorous than those of the laboratory. For implementation in. the operational environment, solutions for problems having a negative impact upon the operator and overall system performance must be demonstrated to be robust and repeatable. Without such qualities, operator functional state assessment will not be built into systems by managers and system designers nor will operators use it. This report provides a comprehensive survey of the factors that negatively impact the operatorÆs functional state to perform the job. These factors include environmental factors such as noise, acceleration and thermal stress. States within the individual operator can interfere with optimal performance and include illness, sleep loss and disruption of circadian rhythms. Task characteristics can also be problematic and include the cognitive and physical demands of the task. Methods which can detect these effects are described. Identifying suboptimal operator states makes it possible to take corrective actions. The methods incmethods incmethods include physiological, performance, and subjective assessment. The rationale for each measure is presented as are the procedures required to make the measurements. The information provided by the measures is described as are the limitations and eqpment required. Matrices are presented that can be used to determine which assessment method is appropriate for each of the risk factors that impair operator performance. Modelling and mathematical tools for data analysis are also presented. (P)

TM bijdragen aan dit rapport: chapter 1: Introduction, chapter 3.3.1: Cognitive Load, chapter 4.1.2: Cardiorespiratory Measures

Chronobiology
Circadian physiology
Military
Acceleration stresses (physiology) Aerospace environment Anthropometry
Biomedical measurement Environments
Human factors engineering
Job analysis
Models
Noise (sound) Operational effectiveness Operators (personnel) Performance evaluation Reviews
Risk
Scenarios
Situational awareness

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:f8edd4ca-1b44-4c38-bf8b-8fc409b1a077

12754

RTO ; NATO Research and Technology Organization

9283711114

RTO-TR-HFM-104 AC/323(HFM-104)TP/48 RTO technical report HFM 104

This Technical Report has been prepared by the RTO Human Factors and Medicine Panel (HFM) Task Group HFM-056/TG-008. The material in this publication also supported a Lecture Series under the sponsorship of the Human Factors and Medicine Panel (HFM) presented on 8-9 September 2003 in Kiev, Ukraine; 11-12 September 2003 in Brussels, Belgium; and 2-3 October 2003 in San Diego, USA.

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