Managing the risks associated with technological disruption in the road transport system: a control structure modelling approach

Road transport is experiencing disruptive change from new first-of-a-kind technologies. While such technologies offer safety and operational benefits, they also pose new risks. It is critical to proactively identify risks during the design, development and testing of new technologies. The Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) method analyses the dynamic structure in place to manage safety risks. This study applied STAMP to develop a control structure model for emerging technologies in the Australian road transport system and identified control gaps. The control structure shows the actors responsible for managing risks associated with first-of-a-kind technologies and the existing control and feedback mechanisms. Gaps identified related to controls (e.g. legislation) and feedback mechanisms (e.g. monitoring for behavioural adaptation). The study provides an example of how STAMP can be used to identify control structure gaps requiring attention to support the safe introduction of new technologies.

Forecasting emergent risks in advanced AI systems: an analysis of a future road transport management system

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being increasingly implemented within road transport systems worldwide. Next generation of AI, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is imminent, and is anticipated to be more powerful than current AI. AGI systems will have a broad range of abilities and be able to perform multiple cognitive tasks akin to humans that will likely produce many expected benefits, but also potential risks. This study applied the EAST Broken Links approach to forecast the functioning of an AGI system tasked with managing a road transport system and identify potential risks. In total, 363 risks were identified that could have adverse impacts on the stated goals of safety, efficiency, environmental sustainability, and economic performance of the road system. Further, risks beyond the stated goals were identified; removal from human control, mismanaging public relations, and self-preservation. A diverse set of systemic controls will be required when designing, implementing, and operating future advanced technologies.Practitioner summary: This study demonstrated the utility of HFE methods for formally considering risks associated with the design, implementation, and operation of future technologies. This study has implications for AGI research, design, and development to ensure safe and ethical AGI implementation.

Who is responsible for global road safety? A cross-cultural comparison of Actor Maps

The traditional three 'E's approach to road safety (engineering, education, enforcement) has had, and will continue to have, a significant impact on road traffic casualty rates worldwide. Nevertheless, with rising motorisation in many countries, global fatality numbers have changed little over the past decade. Following calls for the application of sociotechnical systems thinking to the problem, we widen the road safety discussion with an additional four 'E's; economics, emergency response, enablement, and, the umbrella term for the approach taken, ergonomics. The research presents an application of Rasmussen's Risk Management Framework to the road safety systems of five distinct nations; Bangladesh, China, Kenya, the UK, and Vietnam. Following site visits, reviews of literature, and interviews with subject matter experts in each of the countries, a series of Actor Map models of the countries' road safety systems were developed. These are compared and discussed in terms of the wide variety of interconnecting organisations involved, their influences on road safety outcomes, the differences between nations, and the need to look beyond road users when designing road safety interventions.

Transition to manual: Comparing simulator with on-road control transitions

BACKGROUND

Whilst previous research has explored how driver behaviour in simulators may transfer to the open road, there has been relatively little research showing the same transfer within the field of driving automation. As a consequence, most research into human-automation interaction has primarily been carried out in a research laboratory or on closed-circuit test tracks.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to assess whether research into non-critical control transactions in highly automated vehicles performed in driving simulators correlate with road driving conditions.

METHOD

Twenty six drivers drove a highway scenario using an automated driving mode in the simulator and twelve drivers drove on a public motorway in a Tesla Model S with the Autopilot activated. Drivers were asked to relinquish, or resume control from the automation when prompted by the vehicle interface in both the simulator and on road condition.

RESULTS

Drivers were generally faster to resume control in the on-road driving condition. However, strong positive correlations were found between the simulator and on road driving conditions for drivers transferring control to and from automation. No significant differences were found with regard to workload, perceived usefulness and satisfaction between the simulator and on-road drives.

CONCLUSION

The results indicate high levels of relative validity of driving simulators as a research tool for automated driving research.

State-of-science: situation awareness in individuals, teams and systems

Our review addresses one of the most used, but debated, topics in Ergonomics: Situation Awareness (SA). We examine and elaborate upon key SA models. These models are divided into individual SA, team SA and systems SA categories. Despite, or perhaps because of, the debates surrounding SA it remains an enduring theme for research and practice in the domain of Ergonomics, now for over two decades. A contingent approach, which seeks to match different models of SA to different types of ergonomics problem, enables the differences between positions to be revealed and reconciled, and the practitioner guided towards optimum methodological solutions. Practitioner Summary: Measuring SA in individuals, teams and systems has become a key objective in Ergonomics. One single approach to SA does not fit all problems encountered. This review shows the importance of considering all three types of models and achieving a match between them and the problem at hand.

Divide and rule: A qualitative analysis of the debriefing process in elite team sports

This article aimed to gain an understanding of the process of debriefing during major competitions in elite team sports. Debrief interviews were conducted with 9 head coaches. The interview data were used to identify how head coaches divided up the tasks given to staff and team members prior to, and during the post-match debriefing. Results showed that debriefing consisted of two steps: preparation and presentation. Preparation referred to four successive tasks. Presentation to the team of players consisted of eight tasks relating to transformational and transactional styles of leadership. Coaches were shown to divide the labor within the staff and team. The data tend to support the view that in elite team sports, coaches are both transformational and transactional leaders, adapting their style of leadership to the situation, athletes and time available. This study provides insights into the task-work and team-work underlying team functioning and division of labor.

Assessing the 'system' in safe systems-based road designs: using cognitive work analysis to evaluate intersection designs

While a safe systems approach has long been acknowledged as the underlying philosophy of contemporary road safety strategies, systemic applications are sparse. This article argues that systems-based methods from the discipline of Ergonomics have a key role to play in road transport design and evaluation. To demonstrate, the Cognitive Work Analysis framework was used to evaluate two road designs - a traditional Melbourne intersection and a cut-through design for future intersections based on road safety safe systems principles. The results demonstrate that, although the cut-through intersection appears different in layout from the traditional intersection, system constraints are not markedly different. Furthermore, the analyses demonstrated that redistribution of constraints in the cut-through intersection resulted in emergent behaviour, which was not anticipated and could prove problematic. Further, based on the lack of understanding of emergent behaviour, similar design induced problems are apparent across both intersections. Specifically, incompatibilities between infrastructure, vehicles and different road users were not dealt with by the proposed design changes. The importance of applying systems methods in the design and evaluation of road transport systems is discussed.

Using social network analysis and agent-based modelling to explore information flow using common operational pictures for maritime search and rescue operations

The concept of common operational pictures (COPs) is explored through the application of social network analysis (SNA) and agent-based modelling to a generic search and rescue (SAR) scenario. Comparing the command structure that might arise from standard operating procedures with the sort of structure that might arise from examining information-in-common, using SNA, shows how one structure could be more amenable to 'command' with the other being more amenable to 'control' - which is potentially more suited to complex multi-agency operations. An agent-based model is developed to examine the impact of information sharing with different forms of COPs. It is shown that networks using common relevant operational pictures (which provide subsets of relevant information to groups of agents based on shared function) could result in better sharing of information and a more resilient structure than networks that use a COP.

PRACTITIONER SUMMARY

SNA and agent-based modelling are used to compare different forms of COPs for maritime SAR operations. Different forms of COP change the communications structures in the socio-technical systems in which they operate, which has implications for future design and development of a COP.

Investigating accident causation through information network modelling

Management of risk in complex domains such as aviation relies heavily on post-event investigations, requiring complex approaches to fully understand the integration of multi-causal, multi-agent and multi-linear accident sequences. The Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork methodology (EAST; Stanton et al. 2008) offers such an approach based on network models. In this paper, we apply EAST to a well-known aviation accident case study, highlighting communication between agents as a central theme and investigating the potential for finding agents who were key to the accident. Ultimately, this work aims to develop a new model based on distributed situation awareness (DSA) to demonstrate that the risk inherent in a complex system is dependent on the information flowing within it. By identifying key agents and information elements, we can propose proactive design strategies to optimize the flow of information and help work towards avoiding aviation accidents. Statement of Relevance: This paper introduces a novel application of an holistic methodology for understanding aviation accidents. Furthermore, it introduces an ongoing project developing a nonlinear and prospective method that centralises distributed situation awareness and communication as themes. The relevance of findings are discussed in the context of current ergonomic and aviation issues of design, training and human-system interaction.

Using cognitive work analysis to explore activity allocation within military domains

Cognitive work analysis (CWA) is frequently advocated as an approach for the analysis of complex socio-technical systems. Much of the current CWA literature within the military domain pays particular attention to its initial phases; work domain analysis and contextual task analysis. Comparably, the analysis of the social and organisational constraints receives much less attention. Through the study of a helicopter mission planning system software tool, this paper describes an approach for investigating the constraints affecting the distribution of work. The paper uses this model to evaluate the potential benefits of the social and organisational analysis phase within a military context. The analysis shows that, through its focus on constraints, the approach provides a unique description of the factors influencing the social organisation within a complex domain. This approach appears to be compatible with existing approaches and serves as a validation of more established social analysis techniques. As part of the ergonomic design of mission planning systems, the social organisation and cooperation analysis phase of CWA provides a constraint-based description informing allocation of function between key actor groups. This approach is useful because it poses questions related to the transfer of information and optimum working practices.

Representing situation awareness in collaborative systems: a case study in the energy distribution domain

The concept of distributed situation awareness (DSA) is currently receiving increasing attention from the human factors community. This article investigates DSA in a collaborative real-world industrial setting by discussing the results derived from a recent naturalistic study undertaken within the UK energy distribution domain. The results describe the DSA-related information used by the networks of agents involved in the scenarios analysed, the sharing of this information between the agents and the salience of different information elements used. Thus, the structure, quality and content of each network's DSA is discussed, along with the implications for DSA theory. The findings reinforce the notion that when viewing situation awareness (SA) in collaborative systems, it is useful to focus on the coordinated behaviour of the system itself, rather than on the individual as the unit of analysis and suggest that the findings from such assessments can potentially be used to inform system, procedure and training design. SA is a critical commodity for teams working in industrial systems and systems, procedures and training programmes should be designed to facilitate efficient system SA acquisition and maintenance. This article presents approaches for describing and understanding SA during real-world collaborative tasks, the outputs from which can potentially be used to inform system, training programmes and procedure design.

What's skill got to do with it? Vehicle automation and driver mental workload

Previous research has found that vehicle automation systems can reduce driver mental workload, with implications for attentional resources that can be detrimental to performance. The present paper considers how the development of automaticity within the driving task may influence performance in underload situations. Driver skill and vehicle automation were manipulated in a driving simulator, with four levels of each variable. Mental workload was assessed using a secondary task measure and eye movements were recorded to infer attentional capacity. The effects of automation on driver mental workload were quite robust across skill levels, but the most intriguing findings were from the eye movement data. It was found that, with little exception, attentional capacity and mental workload were directly related at all levels of driver skill, consistent with earlier studies. The results are discussed with reference to applied theories of cognition and the design of automation.

Changing drivers' minds: the evaluation of an advanced driver coaching system

This paper reports on the study of an advanced driver coaching system. The study distinguishes between different types of post-licensure programmes in order to explore a system based on a model of identifying and responding to hazards, called 'information, position, speed, gear and acceleration' (IPSGA). Previous literature has been sceptical about the benefits of advanced driver education; thus, the current study was designed to control for the effects of coaching drivers in the 'IPSGA' system (the treatment group) against the effects of being accompanied (control group 1), as well as the mere effects of time (control group 2). Measures were taken before the driver coaching began (as a baseline measure) and again after 8 weeks (to see if any changes had occurred). These measures included driver knowledge via a post-drive interview, observations of driving skill and driver attitude using a locus of control scale. The results suggest that advanced driver coaching using the IPSGA system had a beneficial effect on all of these measures. Drivers in the coaching condition improved their situation awareness, driving skills and reduced attributions of external locus of control. The study lends support to the case for one-to-one individualized driver coaching using a systematic model of driving.

Distributed situation awareness in dynamic systems: theoretical development and application of an ergonomics methodology

The purpose of this paper is to propose foundations for a theory of situation awareness based on the analysis of interactions between agents (i.e. both human and non-human) in subsystems. This approach may help to promote a better understanding of technology-mediated interaction in systems, as well as helping in the formulation of hypotheses and predictions concerning distributed situation awareness. It is proposed that agents within a system each hold their own situation awareness, which may be very different from (although compatible with) that of other agents. It is argued that we should not always hope for, or indeed want, sharing of this awareness, as different system agents have different purposes. This view marks situation awareness as a dynamic and collaborative process binding agents together on tasks on a moment-by-moment basis. Implications of this viewpoint for the development of a new theory of, and accompanying methodology for, distributed situation awareness are offered.

Behavioural compensation by drivers of a simulator when using a vision enhancement system

Technological progress is suggesting dramatic changes to the tasks of the driver, with the general aim of making driving environment safer. Before any of these technologies are implemented, empirical research is required to establish if these devices do, in fact, bring about the anticipated improvements. Initially, at least, simulated driving environments offer a means of conducting this research. The study reported here concentrates on the application of a vision enhancement (VE) system within the risk homeostasis paradigm. It was anticipated, in line with risk homeostasis theory, that drivers would compensate for the reduction in risk by increasing speed. The results support the hypothesis although, after a simulated failure of the VE system, drivers did reduce their speed due to reduced confidence in the reliability of the system.

A field study of team working in a new human supervisory control system

This paper presents a case study of an investigation into team behaviour in an energy distribution company. The main aim was to investigate the impact of major changes in the company on system performance, comprising human and technical elements. A socio-technical systems approach was adopted. There were main differences between the teams investigated in the study: the time of year each control room was studied (i.e. summer or winter), the stage of development each team was in (i.e. < 3 months or > 10 months), and the team structure (i.e. hierarchical or heterarchical). In all other respects the control rooms were the same: employing the same technology and within the same organization. The main findings were: the teams studied in the winter months were engaged in more 'planning' and 'awareness' type of activities than those studies in the summer months. Newer teams seem to be engaged in more sharing of information than older teams, which may be indicative of the development process. One of the hierarchical teams was engaged in more 'system-driven' activities than the heterarchical team studied at the same time of year. Finally, in general, the heterarchical team perceived a greater degree of team working culture than its hierarchical counterparts. This applied research project confirms findings from laboratory research and emphasizes the importance of involving ergonomics in the design of team working in human supervisory control.

Learning to predict human error: issues of acceptability, reliability and validity

Human Error Identification (HEI) techniques have been used to predict human error in high risk environments for the past two decades. Despite the lack of supportive evidence for their efficacy, their popularity remains unabated. The application of these approaches is ever-increasing, to include product assessment. The authors feel that it is necessary to prove that the predictions are both reliable and valid before the approaches can be recommended with any confidence. This paper provides evidence to suggest that human error identification techniques in general, and SHERPA in particular, may be acquired with relative ease and can provide reasonable error predictions.

Human error identification techniques applied to public technology: predictions compared with observed use

In this paper, we consider the use of human error identification (HEI) techniques as a possible alternative to observation studies for product evaluation. The HEI techniques used were Task Analysis for Error Identification (TAFEI) and Predictive Human Error Analysis (PHEA). The comparison was undertaken in connection with the prediction of errors in the use of a ticket vending machine. Two main findings emerged from the study. First, predictions derived from the HEI techniques compared favourably with errors observed in actual machine use. Second, the HEI techniques took far less time than direct observation to reach comparable levels of performance. Such rates suggest that these techniques can be usefully applied to the study of consumer products.