Mónica Frias Costa Paz Barroso

HEDOMS—Human Error and Disturbance Occurrence in Manufacturing Systems: Toward the development of an analytical framework

Demands on modern manufacturing systems include those for increased flexibility, higher quality standards, and higher innovative capacities; these demands emphasize the need for high levels of overall system reliability. This article focuses on the reliability of all human elements of a manufacturing system and the way these interrelate with overall system performance. A contrast is made with how human reliability has been approached typically in high-risk industries. The concept of “disturbance” is used for assessment of the influence of human reliability on manufacturing system performance. An analytical framework has been proposed, currently under development, which is aimed at assessing the potential for human error and disturbance occurrence in manufacturing systems, and which accounts for active and latent failures and direct and root causes.

Evaluation of Occupational Exposure to Noise in Portuguese Industrial Companies

This study analyses the developments occurred with regard to occupational noise exposure in industrial companies, over a period of three years. Data has been gathered in a total of 121 companies, involving 1753 different workplaces from different industrial sectors. Results indicate a slight decrease on the number of operators exposed to Daily Exposure Levels above the maximum threshold set. A discussion is included on the type of measures implemented for noise control at the companies visited.

HEDOMS: A Framework and Toolkit for Analysis of Human Error and Disturbance Occurrence in Manufacturing Systems

New demands on modern manufacturing systems have emphasised the need for higher levels of overall system reliability. The main focus of this paper is that of the reliability of manufacturing personnel and the way in which this interrelates with overall system performance. A framework - Human Error and Disturbance Occurrence in Manufacturing Systems (HEDOMS) is proposed, which integrates human reliability with overall system performance, relating human error with disturbance occurrence and handling. The HEDOMS framework has been extended into a toolkit to enable the identification of potential for human error and disturbance occurrence in manufacturing systems, as well as the definition of suitable error reduction measures.