Browsing by Author "Charles, Rebecca"
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Item Open Access Blink counts can differentiate between task type and load(Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors, 2017-04-27) Charles, Rebecca; Nixon, JimPhysiological measures have been increasing in popularity due to the growing availability of equipment that allows measurement in real time. Eye blinks are an easy measure to collect using video capture. Our findings indicate that blink counts effectively differentiate between taskloads and task types during a computer based task. Blink counts were significantly lower during the tasks involving high visual load when compared to non-visually demanding tasks. Lower numbers of blinks were observed under higher taskloads across all visual tasks. Paper originally presented international conference on Ergonomics & Human Factors, held 25 - 27 April 2017, Staverton Estate, Daventry, Northamptonshire.Item Open Access Charting the edges of human performance(EDP Sciences, 2019-12-17) Kirwan, Barry; Wies, Matthias; Charles, Rebecca; Dormoy, Charles-Alban; Letouze, Theodore; Lemkadden, Alia; Maille, Nicolas; Nixon, Jim; Ruscio, Daniele; Schmidt-Moll, CarstenIn the Horizon 2020 funded Future Sky Safety programme, the Human Performance Envelope project pushed airline pilots to the edges of their performance in real-time cockpit simulations, by increasing stress and workload, and decreasing situation awareness. The aim was to find out how such factors interact, and to detect the edges of human performance where some form of automation support should be employed to ensure safe continued flight. A battery of measures was used, from behavioural to physiological (e.g. heart rate, eye tracking and pupil dilation), to monitoring pilot performance in real time. Several measures – e.g. heart rate, heart rate variability, eye tracking, cognitive walkthrough, and Human Machine Interface (HMI) usability analysis – proved to be useful and relatively robust in detecting performance degradation, and determining where changes in information presentation are required to better support pilot performance in challenging situations. These results led to proposed changes in a prototype future cockpit human-machine interface, which were subsequently validated in a final simulation. The results also informed the development of a ‘Smart-Vest’ that can be worn by pilots to monitor a range of signals linked to performance.Item Open Access How and why we need to capture tacit knowledge in manufacturing: Case studies of visual inspection(Elsevier, 2018-08-03) Johnson, Teegan L.; Fletcher, Sarah R.; Baker, W; Charles, RebeccaHuman visual inspection skills remain superior for ensuring product quality and conformance to standards in the manufacturing industry. However, at present these skills cannot be formally shared with other workers or used to develop and implement new solutions or assistive technologies because they involve a high level of tacit knowledge which only exists in skilled operators' internal cognitions. Industry needs reliable methods for the capture and analysis of this tacit knowledge so that it can be shared and not lost but also so that it can be best utilised in the transfer of manual work to automated systems and introduction of new technologies and processes. This paper describes two UK manufacturing case studies that applied systematic task analysis methods to capture and scrutinise the tacit knowledge and skills being applied in the visual inspection of aerospace components. Results reveal that the method was effective in eliciting tacit knowledge, and showed that tacit skills are particularly needed when visual inspection standards lack specification or the task requires greater subjective interpretation. The implications of these findings for future research and for developments in the manufacturing industry are discussed.Item Open Access How eye tracking data can enhance human performance in tomorrow's cockpit(Royal Aeronautical Society, 2017-12-31) Biella, Marcus; Wies, Matthias; Charles, Rebecca; Maille, Nicolas; Berberian, Bruno; Nixon, JimItem Open Access Understanding the human performance envelope using electrophysiological measures from wearable technology(Springer, 2017-09-13) Nixon, James; Charles, RebeccaIn this article, we capture electrophysiological measures from a new wearable technology to understand the human performance envelope. Using the NASA Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB II), participants completed tasks associated with flight control which included communication, tracking and system and resource monitoring. Electrophysiological measures relating to cardiac activity and respiration were taken using the new wearable technology. Our results show significant differences in both heart rate and respiration rate in response to different taskloads and that higher taskloads were associated with higher mental workload. Frequency measures of heart rate variability discriminated different task types but not taskloads. This finding may be related to differences in task complexity being more important than the number events which we have used to manipulate taskload. We suggest that this new generation of wearable sensors could be used to inform operator locus in a human performance envelope, indicating when assistance by the aircraft or another crew member may be necessary to maintain safe and efficient performance.Item Open Access The use of job aids for visual inspection in manufacturing and maintenance(Elsevier, 2015-10-27) Charles, Rebecca; Johnson, Teegan L.; Fletcher, Sarah R.Visual inspection is a task regularly seen in manufacturing applications and is still primarily carried out by human operators. This study explored the use of job aids (anything used to assist the operator with the task, such as lists, check sheets or pictures) to assist with visual inspection within a manufacturing facility that inspects used parts. Job aids in the form of inspection manuals were used regularly during the inspection process, and how accurately they were followed was dependent on a number of factors such as size of part, experience of the operator, and accuracy of the inspection manuals. If the job aids were well structured, well written and accessible, then the inspectors were seen to follow them, however for certain jobs inspectors were seen to change the inspection order making inspection more efficient. The findings of the study suggest that prior experience can help in designing efficient, easy to use job aids and that a collaborative approach to design as well as using pictorial examples for comparison purposes would improve the inspection process.Item Open Access Your new colleague is a robot. Is that ok?(CRC Press: Taylor and Francis Group, 2015-04-13) Charles, Rebecca; Charalambous, George; Fletcher, Sarah R.Human robot collaboration is a concept under development that will be applied within manufacturing environments in the near future to increase efficiency and quality. While there have been significant advances in technology to enable this progress there is still little known about the wider human factors issues of employing such systems in High Value Manufacturing environments. This paper sets out our current understanding of key organisational and individual factors which need to be explored.