What are human factors and how does it influence the design of a control room?

The interaction of human factors, source WorkSafeBC

Ignoring human factors in control room design has terrible consequences. There are social and economic consequences, like musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and high turnover rate. Designing an ergonomic workplace results in improved employee well-being and enhanced control room performance.

What are human factors?

Unnoticed, the discipline of human factors has influenced how large organizations create the workspaces for their employees. It began in the US military during the 1960s, when after a number of airplanes crashes, they figured out that the way the cockpit was designed did not support the capabilities of a human body. They discovered the problem was that the pilot could not reach the systems needed to operate because the cockpit was designed for a very large person and then when they put a shorter pilot inside, they couldn’t reach the same systems.

Today, human factors specialists make sure that a control room (and any other workplace for that matter) is moulded to the needs of the person who works there. But it’s a lot more than making sure nodes and switches are within reach.

The terrible consequences of poor ergonomics in 911 centers.

Results of a 2023 nationwide 911 staffing survey reveals that stress is one of the major reasons why telecommunicators and emergency dispatchers reported leaving the profession. A workplace that is not ergonomic contributes to fatigue, increases workplace injuries and causes telecommunicators to lose focus easily.

Stress can be caused by many things, one of them is a poorly designed workspace, which results in workplace MSDs. A workplace that is not designed to accommodate the human body can result in catastrophic consequences, especially when the stakes are too high, as is the case in PSAPs.

As an example, In the U.S., upper extremity MSDs and low back pain are the most prominent occupational injuries and illnesses. MSDs account for almost one-third (31%) of all occupational injuries and illnesses in the U.S. and incur a median of nine days absence from work. When one telecommunicator is absent, others are required to pick up the slack. This can result in a situation where the control room is perpetually understaffed.

Implications in Canada and the USA

In Canada and the USA, upper extremity MSDs and low back pain are the leading causes of disabling work-related injuries. Evidence suggests that the leading cause of occupational injuries in the U.S. is forceful exertions or over-exertions. In other, words that is when operators have to go out of their way to complete a simple but recurring task, every single day.

To address these issues, organizations that require control rooms, like power generation corporations and air traffic control centers employee an in-house specialist on human factors and well-being, whose job is to ensure the control room is moulded to the needs of the person who work there.

One survey respondent answered that: “it is very hard to retain employees because of the stress of the job and the low level of pay.” Today, agencies are using various strategies to fill the gaps left by vacancies, like increasing the pay for 911 professionals, improving retirement and other benefits, etc. But attracting new employees can be difficult even with improvements in benefits because of the center’s location and working conditions. While the center’s location is a lot harder to change, the working conditions inside it are much easier to address.

How to optimize the control room with human factors

Human factors is a lot more than making sure nodes and switches are within reach. It’s mainly about making sure the employees don’t lose focus. The human is able to sustain best optimal attention for about 30 minutes (that is if it is sustained) after that, it starts to degrade. For example, in mission critical environments like air traffic control centers, controllers work in 45 to 60 intervals of time before taking a break.

This is because the maximum limit on air controllers is accepted to be 90 minutes, but it is very rare that someone will go up to that.

Telecommunicators, regardless of their level of experience, benefit from a control room layout where the supervisor has a line of sight to the consoles they are in charge of. So, if someone struggles, they can ask for relief so the room is arranged to facilitate that. At the center everything is geared towards the controllers being able to do this core work safely and efficiently over the span of days weeks and years.

When designing a new control room, it is important to gather feedback from stakeholders throughout the organization. In 911 centers, as is the case with other mission critical environments, there are strict rules and procedures, which everyone must follow. It is up to each organization to determine what these are.

Human factor specialists study the ways in which workers and the workplace can clash. They make sure everything about the control room has been engineered to minimize human error. At Sustema we can help you design and build a control room that adapts to the needs of your organization, contact us to get started.