Human factors in systems engineering

People perform many critical functions within systems and human factors must be an essential part of systems engineering. CARMAN (consensus-based approach to risk management) has been developed as tool for addressing human factors issues in a way that is compatible with the principles of systems engineering. There is the requirement, however, for people from a technical background to integrate human factors principles into system design. It is also essential to get everyone actively involved in the consensus process as ownership is essential if it is to succeed. One essential lesson that we have learnt from the practical application of human factors principles in systems is that it is better to develop the right culture as part of the overall systems design than to try to modify the culture at a later stage.