Flying high
Derby has been the home of Rolls-Royce since 1908, manufacturing luxury cars then moving into the development and production of aeroplane engines. In designing, building, and maintaining such a complex machine which has to operate faultlessly, every time, human factors plays a big part.
Human factors ensures errors in the manufacturing process are reduced, as well as providing safety checklists to pilots before take-off. It also concerns itself with the design and layout of the displays and controls in the cockpit, as well as providing guidance on the workload of pilots, managing fatigue, crew interactions and the behaviour of passengers, especially during emergency escape situations.
But human factors looks wider still, such as at check-in and security procedures, at wayfinding in the airport, at airside operations such as baggage handling and refuelling, and, importantly, at air traffic control. Aviation is classed as an ultra-safe system, thanks in large part to human factors. Next time you’re at an airport, see how you can Think Human.
Rolls Royce jet engine