What is a human error and how does it come about?
“Every mistake seems incredibly stupid when others make them,” the physicist Christoph Lichtenberg once said. And he put his finger in the wound: mistakes may seem stupid, but they are a part of every human being and a prerequisite for people to improve.
But let's take a look at the theory first. A human error is - you guessed it - an error caused by a human being - whether knowingly or unknowingly, through action or inaction.
And human errors always have very human causes. These include, for example
- fear
- reduced concentration
- careless action
- incorrect assumptions
- recklessness
- lack of motivation
- insufficient knowledge and skills
- fatigue and exhaustion
- injury and pain
- illness
- influence of impairing substances
- chains of error
What is a human error in an industrial context?
Human error can be found wherever you meet people. It is therefore not surprising that they are also at home in an industrial context. But unlike in everyday life, it's not about spilled coffee or accidentally running a red light. A human error in industry reduces productivity and ultimately costs your company money.
In most cases, such a human error occurs during interaction with other people or with machines. Increasing process and task complexity do the rest.
Engineer and trainer Gordon Dupont has therefore summarized the 12 most common types and causes of errors as the “Dirty Dozen”. These include
- poor communication
- poor teamwork
- lack of attention
- stress
- lack of resources
- fatigue and exhaustion
- social norms
- time and performance pressure
- lack of skills and knowledge
- low assertiveness
- complacency
- distraction
With this list of the usual suspects, companies should go into the field and systematically eliminate the 12 types of error. In this way, accidents, mishaps and mistakes can be effectively avoided in the long term.
Starting points for avoiding human error
So does this mean that you should admonish your somewhat arrogant colleague to be a better team player? Of course not. You can't bend your employees, but you can adapt the working environment to them so that human error can no longer creep in.
To do this, you should first of all clearly define tasks and responsibilities and make them transparent.
Your processes also deserve an upgrade. Optimize what can be optimized and invest in the digitalization of processes or even in automation.
Don't forget about communication. Every change, every innovation and every optimization must be communicated - and in such a way that the employees affected understand it. At the same time, set up regular training courses.
Keep an eye on the points of interaction between people and between people and machines. This will allow you to uncover potential risks that you should make your employees aware of.
At some of these points of interaction, a suitable system such as a worker assistance system or a concept such as Poka Yoke can also help to minimize human error.
And then there is the question of how you should specifically deal with errors or those who cause them: Establish an open, positive error culture to prevent errors in the long term. Avoid at all costs to criticize employees
Avoiding errors made easy – with weasl
The best way to ensure error-free work in production and assembly is to provide your workers with reliable process instructions using digital work instructions. Our worker guidance system weasl has everything you need to eliminate “human error” from your production vocabulary.
Experience it for yourself - in our free showcase environment.
