Human factors specialist

This occupation is found in the defence and security, transportation, manufacturing, energy, and healthcare sectors.

The broad purpose of the occupation is to make systems, products, tasks, jobs, organisations and work environments better for their intended users. The occupation is also referred to as Ergonomics and it is broadly accepted that the terms 'ergonomics' and 'human factors' can be used interchangeably. The role involves the application of scientific information about the capabilities of human beings to the design of equipment, working practices, organisations and working environments in order to make people’s jobs safer, more efficient and more productive. Human Factors Specialists are found in a broad range of occupational sectors. For example, they may contribute to the design of power plant control rooms in the energy sector in order to minimise the risk of human error. In the defence sector they might contribute to the design of a fast jet cockpit ensuring that the pilot can use all the information, control the systems and make optimal decisions under high pressure. In the transportation sector they may support the design of a railway carriage layout; ensuring the comfort and safe accommodation of passengers. In a manufacturing context, a Human Factors Specialist may be involved in the design of production line processes, including the definition of line workers’ tasks and the physical layout of the equipment. Similarly, in the healthcare sector a Human Factors Specialist may be involved in the design of human computer interfaces (HCI) on medical devices such as scanners and X-ray machines. Across all sectors the common aim is to ensure that users of a system or process can perform their tasks safely and effectively, often in demanding and stressful environments.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with End Users of systems (e.g. military personnel, pilots, plant operators, radiographers etc.) in order to understand their goals and performance objectives and accommodate features into the design to enable them to achieve these aims. They may also advise experts in specialist fields (such as safety) on the characteristics of Human Performance in given situations. They are also likely to interact with programme managers, customer representatives, suppliers, colleagues in other business functions (e.g. engineering, legal), researchers and academics, Government agencies and regulators. Their daily work is mainly office based with occasional laboratory or field based trials and offsite visits to industrial sites and offices.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for leading human factors elements of projects or programmes to create optimum products or processes that meet the needs of the users and ensure the required operational performance. They will be responsible for the application of specialist methodologies, tools and techniques across the full lifecycle of the system (i.e. from initial concepts, through manufacture and in-service phases to disposal). They may work autonomously but are more likely to be part of wider multidisciplinary teams, typically reporting to project or programme leaders or to a head of human factors. They will typically have responsibility for the human factors team budget for each project. The size of the role is project dependent and may vary from providing a short period of expert consultancy to leading a team of human factors professionals on a large development project over a number of years..