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What is HOF?
Human and Organisational Factors (HOF) study interactions between humans and system elements, using theories and methods to optimize human well-being and system performance (International Ergonomics Association).
HOF, also known as Human Factors or Ergonomics outside the rail sector, integrates knowledge from various sciences such as Management, Sociology, Design, Politics, Economics, Psychology, Physiology, and Engineering. This broadens the study to include organisational, cultural, and political factors affecting safety (ERA).
HOF supports safety integration in design and identifies gaps between prescribed tasks and actual work, addressing residual risks. This approach enhances management in complex organisations like railway systems, crucial for safety improvements (European Railway Agency).
What are HOFs in concrete terms?
Human Factors is one of those terms that everybody has heard of, but the full scope of what human factors covers isn’t always obvious. Human Factors (the American term), ergonomics (the UK term), or Human and Organisational Factors (ERA term), is about designing work in a way that matches the abilities, needs and limitations of the people doing the work. It is a very broad discipline, rooted in an understanding of the psychology and physiology of humans, but applying that knowledge to the design of equipment, tools, information, processes, and procedures. Read more
Why do people make errors?
What are non-technical skills?
What are error prevention techniques?
Why do people break rules?
What are performance influencing factors?
Our Solutions
Our SolutionsEnhancing safety management
The safety management system (SMS) is part of the business processes of the organisation and is not just a paper-based system specifically developed for demonstrating compliance with the regulatory framework. …
Categories
- Safety culture
- Safety leadership
- Return on operating experience
- HOF in change management
- HOF in event investigation
- HOF in Design
- HOF in risk management
- Just and Fair Culture
- Competence management system
Human Performance
The term Human Performance refers to the contribution that humans make to the performance of a system. It describes how people carry out their work, whether as an individual or as a team, in order to meet a required objective. ….
Categories
- Non-technical skills
- Fatigue management
- Human error (and violations)
- Workload
- Vigilance and distraction
- Fitness for duty
- Physical ergonomics
- Stress
- Situation awareness
- Attention
HOF regulations, standards and tools
The systematic integration of HOF cannot be done without having a consistent reference base in the form of regulations, standards and tools. This basis makes it possible to develop the integration of HOF in the Safety Management System (SMS). …
Categories
HOF in practice
The human factors discipline provides a theoretical knowledge base which can be applied to optimise systems for safety, human performance and wellbeing. These theory, principles, and methods can be applied in at different stages of the lifecycle …
Categories
Share Your Experiences
Share Your ExperiencesUIC HOFWG: Video of the webinar on ETCS & Human and Organisational Factors (HOF) Return of Experience 2025
Click here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NolMtorsMw0 READ MORE
Read, G. et al. (2021), “State of science: evolving perspectives on ‘human error’”, (Ergonomics 64, 9, 1091-1114).
Abstract: This paper reviews the key perspectives on human error and analyses the core theories and methods developed and applied over the last 60 years. These theories and methods have sought to improve our understanding of what human error is, and how and why it occurs, to facilitate the prediction of errors and use these insights to support safer work and societal systems. Yet, while this area of Ergonomics and Human ... READ MORE
Reason, J. (1997), “Managing the risk of organisational accidents”, (Ashgate: Farnham).
Abstract: Major accidents are rare events due to the many barriers, safeguards and defences developed by modern technologies. But they continue to happen with saddening regularity and their human and financial consequences are all too often unacceptably catastrophic. One of the greatest challenges we face… READ MORE
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION (ILO): Stress Prevention at Work Checkpoints. Practical improvements for stress prevention in the workplace
Click here https://www.ilo.org/publications/stress-prevention-work-checkpoints-practical-improvements-stress-prevention READ MORE
Karasek, R. et al. (1998), “ The job Content Questionnaire (JCQ): An Instrument for Internationnally Comparative Assessments of Psychosocial Job Characteristics”.
Abstract: Part I discusses the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), designed to measure scales assessing psychological demands, decision latitude, social support, physical demands, and job insecurity. Part II describes the reliability of the JCQ scales in a cross-national context using 10,288 men and 6,313 women from 6 studies conducted in 4 countries. READ MORE
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