Block 1: Hazards, risk and consequence in safety-critical domains

Industrial safety; the safety case; reliability and assurance; barrier management and hierarchy of controls; ALARP.

(Bowtie; Hazard and Operability [HAZOP], Failure Modes and Effects Analysis [FMEA], Hierarchical Task Analysis [HTA])



Block 2: The psychology of safety

Objective and subjective risk; attribution, behavioural safety, cognitive safety, situated safety; human reliability.

(Human Reliability Analysis [HRA])



Block 3: Organisational learning

Incident/accident reporting, investigation and analysis; adverse event classification.

(Root Cause Analysis [RCA], Accimap, Datix, Performance Influencing Factors [PIFs], latent and active failures)



Block 4: Safety II

Complexity; everyday work; leading and lagging indicators; Resilience Engineering and Resilient Health Care; proactive safety.

(Resilience Analysis Grid, Concepts for Applying Resilience Engineering model [CARE], Functional Resonance Analysis Method [FRAM])

Final assessment: Practical report on a safety case

You should: briefly describe the system you have chosen, its aims, and the context; describe and assess hazards and controls (‘safety barriers’); make the safety case argument; critically reflect on the methods and data you have utilised; briefly describe roles and responsibilities for ongoing monitoring. (LO1, LO3, LO4)


If your system is not currently ‘safe’ you should include prospective barriers / improvements that would be necessary so that levels of risk would be As Low As Reasonably Practicable (ALARP).



In considering your system you should make use of appropriate tool(s)/ material learned during the module (for example Hazard and Operability Analysis, Resilience Analysis Grid, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, Bowtie analysis, task analysis). (LO2)


The report length does not include figures, tables or references.

Formative assessments

Each teaching block will conclude with a simple formative assessment to allow students to track progress and work towards the final assessment. These will be a mixture of discussion posts, quizzes and critical appraisal tasks.



Examples for this module include:

A group HAZOP or Bowtie analysis to be posted for peer comment, facilitated by tutors

Students will have the option of being individually mentored by the course leads towards application for an appropriate membership level of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors. This can involve reviewing professional competencies and keeping logbook records of the HF/E activities students are undertaking.

Module Learning Outcome


2.1 Demonstrate a systematic understanding of risk assessment and management in safety-critical socio-technical systems

Knowledge and Understanding; Learning; Communication; Reflection

2.2 Demonstrate critical awareness in selecting and implementing tools and methods for assessment of hazards, risk, barriers, reliability and system resilience

Knowledge and Understanding; Enquiry; Analysis; Application; Problem Solving

2.3 Critically analyse and evaluate the human contribution to safety-critical socio-technical system outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding; Analysis; Enquiry; Reflection

2.4 Demonstrate originality in the application of scientific approaches to safety in health and care systems

Application; Communication; Reflection

HF/E privileges the expertise of the user in any system and aims to support them to apply tools and models systematically to design better systems. Thus the main pedagogical approach is to support students in work-based learning (this may include applying their learning in home and community environment).

Blackboard Learn Ultra will be the main application for online teaching, learning, community building, and knowledge sharing.

Material will be introduced in blocks of around 3-4 weeks. Each will have a dedicated asynchronous video introduction and a synchronous tutor-led discussion at the end, recorded. All blocks will include a mixture of audio, video and written material.

Class conversations will be enabled for selected teaching material to facilitate inquiry.

As well as general graduate attributes (see university learning outcomes) the focus is on gaining applied skills/ professionally recognised competencies in HF/E which will enhance employability across health and social care and other safety critical domains.

Successful completion of this module will require access to a computer and good internet access.

We provide:

A range of materials on Blackboard Learn Ultra Virtual Learning Environment (induction is provided) including articles, video and audio lectures and interactive activities.

A variety of digital material through Library services and specialist databases (Library and Academic Skills sessions are provided).

Software downloads and IT support.

A dedicated course lead, module leads and tutors.

Additional study support from the Academic Skills team and additional needs support from AccessAbility Services.

Shorrock, S. and Williams, C. (2016) Human Factors and Ergonomics in Practice. London: CRC Press

Bridger, R. (2017) Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics, 4th edition. London: CRC Press

Stanton NA, Salmon PM, Rafferty LA, Walker GH (2013) Human factors methods: a practical guide for engineering and design, second edition. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978- 140945754

Wears, R. & Sutcliffe, K.M. (2019) Still Not Safe. New York: Oxford University Press

Health Foundation (2012) Using safety cases in industry and healthcare

https://www.health.org.uk/sites/default/files/UsingSafetyCasesInIndustryAndHealthcare.pdf

This module covers the assessment and management of hazards, risk and consequence in safety-critical domains. Modern and historical approaches to safety are outlined and lessons from various high-consequence industries and domains are discussed in relation to health and care systems. Students study the effectiveness of safety controls/barriers and safeguards and then HF/E contribution to organisational learning from adverse events and to continuous improvement methods. Accident aetiologies, probabilistic methods of assurance, reliability and resilience, and subjective/objective risk are studied and critically appraised with reference to patient safety and quality improvement in health care.