Human Error & Human Performance
Everyone makes mistakes, including the most experienced workers. Human performance thinking accepts that and asks a better question: how do we set up the work so that when someone makes a normal mistake, nobody gets hurt?
- Construction
- General Industry
Types of errors
| Type | What happens | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Slip | You meant to do the right thing but did it wrong | Grabbing the wrong lever on a familiar machine |
| Lapse | You forgot a step | Forgetting to reinstall a guard after maintenance |
| Mistake | Your plan was wrong, often from missing knowledge | Choosing the wrong sling for a load |
| Violation (shortcut) | Knowingly skipping a rule, usually to save time or because the rule seems unworkable | Not tying off for “just a minute” |
Error traps
- Time pressure and rushing
- Distraction and interruptions, including phones
- Fatigue and long shifts
- First time doing a task, or first time in a long time
- Overconfidence on routine work
- Unclear instructions or confusing equipment
- Changes to the plan, the crew or the site
When you notice two or more traps at once, slow down and pay extra attention. See Situational Awareness.
Tools that catch errors
- Pre-job brief: what are we doing, what could go wrong, and what’s our plan if it does?
- Self-check (STAR): Stop, Think, Act, Review before critical steps.
- Peer check: a second person verifies critical settings, isolations or rigging.
- Repeat-backs: say instructions back to confirm them. See Jobsite Radios.
- Checklists for steps that are easy to forget.
- Stop when unsure: question the plan instead of guessing.
Fix the system, not just the person
Telling people to “be more careful” doesn’t prevent the next mistake. Better controls make errors less likely or less harmful: interlocks, guardrails, color coding, better lighting, simpler procedures, enough time and people. When something goes wrong, ask what made the error easy and what failed to catch it. See Incident Investigation and Hierarchy of Controls.
Learn from normal work. Ask crews where the plan doesn’t match reality, and what they do to make it work. Those workarounds show where the next incident could come from.
Standards & references
- See also: Safety Culture & Stop-Work Authority · Fitness for Duty
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