Human Factors Engineering Flashcards
7 cards from real AEP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Human Factors Engineering flashcards as text
According to Endsley's model, which level of situation awareness involves predicting the future status of elements in the environment?
Answer: Level 3 — Projection
Level 3 SA (Projection) involves extrapolating perceived and comprehended information to anticipate future system states and operator options.
A 'use error' in medical device human factors refers to:
Answer: Error caused by operator deviation from intended use
A use error is an act or omission by the user that results in a different outcome from that intended by the manufacturer, regardless of whether the device functioned correctly.
The principle of 'feedback' in human factors design requires that the system:
Answer: Provide clear, timely information about the result of an action
Effective feedback means the system communicates the outcome of each user action clearly and promptly so users can verify their intentions were fulfilled.
Which automation level corresponds to 'the computer executes automatically and informs the human only if asked'?
Answer: Level 8
On Sheridan's 10-level automation scale, Level 8 is 'executes automatically and informs the human only if asked,' with levels 9-10 representing even less human involvement.
A manufacturing facility redesigns a workstation so that the correct action is physically impossible to perform incorrectly. This is an example of which error-proofing approach?
Answer: Prevention (poka-yoke)
Poka-yoke (mistake-proofing) prevention designs make incorrect actions physically impossible, eliminating rather than just detecting or warning about errors.
In the context of team cognition, 'shared mental models' primarily benefit team performance by:
Answer: Enabling team members to predict each other's needs and actions
Shared mental models allow team members to anticipate each other's needs and coordinate implicitly, reducing communication overhead especially under high workload.
The 'ironies of automation' described by Bainbridge highlight that increasing automation can paradoxically:
Answer: Increase the operator's manual skill demands during failures
Bainbridge showed that automation removes routine practice, causing manual skill decay — yet operators must intervene and perform manually precisely when automation fails.