Design methodology protects air passengers from human error
The system could cut the incidence of design-induced human errors, which can lead to air crashes
An international team of scientists, including members from Brunel and Cranfield Universities, has developed a system that could lessen the impact of flaws in aircraft cockpit design – such as air accidents.
Design-induced errors are human errors caused by a combination of a lack of understanding of automation and poor design of the operating logic of the controls of a cockpit.
The Human Error Template (HET) project recently received the Bronze Medal and Hodgson Award from the Royal Aeronautical Society.
The HET is a tool used during the design and building phases of an aircraft to identify potential design flaws that could increase the likelihood of human error, allowing them to be remedied before completion of the aircraft. It is the only method of its kind to be designed specifically to identify design-induced pilot error.
Professor Neville Stanton at Brunel University’s School of Engineering and Design said: “HET is designed to identify instances of design-induced pilot error in the early phases of the design life cycle.”