CERES :: Browsing by Author "Nixon, Jim"

Browsing by Author "Nixon, Jim"

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Open Access
Automation transparency and the design of intelligent aircraft engine interfaces
(BCS Learning and Development Ltd., 2022-07-13) Nixon, Jim; Clewley, Richard; Rukasha, Tendai
In this article we report progress on a programme of research to implement intelligent engine systems in civil aircraft. Modern turbofan engines capture data about their performance and health during flight. Until now, this information has remained hidden from the flight deck. Our research will examine how best to communicate these new information sources to the flight deck to deliver intelligent assistance in understanding engine health and offering choices to minimise disruption should an engine develop a fault that affects performance. We have adopted automation transparency as a key design pillar to ensure that flight crew have an appropriate understanding of the reasoning of the intelligent system under different operating conditions. User-centred design will inform the degree to which the different interface elements are transparent, informing the balance between the provision of information necessary to ensure safe and efficient performance. Currently, there is significant uncertainty as to whether automation transparency can confer a performance advantage in all cases. Our research will empirically investigate different levels of automation transparency to validate performance.
Open Access
Blink counts can differentiate between task type and load
(Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors, 2017-04-27) Charles, Rebecca; Nixon, Jim
Physiological 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.
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, Carsten
In 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.
Open Access
The development and assessment of behavioural markers to support counter-IED training
(Elsevier, 2014-12-16) Nixon, Jim; Leggatt, Andrew P.; Campbell, James
This article describes the method used to develop and test a checklist of behavioural markers designed to support UK military forces during Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) training. IEDs represent a significant threat to UK and allied forces. Effective C-IED procedures and techniques are central to reducing risk to life in this safety critical role. Behavioural markers have been developed to characterise and assess non-technical skills which have been shown to be important in maintaining high performance in other safety critical domains. The aims of this study were two-fold. Firstly to develop a method which could be used to capture and assess operationally relevant behavioural markers for use in C-IED training relating primarily to non-technical skills. Secondly, to test the user acceptance of the behavioural marker checklist during military training activities. Through engagement with military subject matter experts, operationally relevant and observable behaviours seen in C-IED training have been identified and their links to stronger and weaker performance have been established. Using a card-sort technique, the content validity of each of the markers was assessed in addition to their detectability in an operational context. Following this assessment, a selection of the most operationally relevant and detectable behaviours were assimilated into a checklist and this checklist was tested in C-IED training activities. The results of the study show that the method used was effective in generating and assessing the behavioural markers using military subject matter experts. The study also broadly supports the utility and user-acceptance of the use of behavioural markers during training activities. The checklist developed using this methodology will provide those responsible for delivering instruction in C-IED techniques and procedures with a straightforward process for identifying good and poor performance with respect to non-technical skills. In addition it will provide a basis for the provision of focussed feedback to trainees during debrief.
Open Access
Distributed sensemaking: A case study of military analysis
(MITRE Corporation, 2015) Attfield, Simon; Fields, Bob; Wheat, Ashley; Hutton, Rob; Nixon, Jim; Leggatt, Andrew; Blackford, Hannah
Sensemaking frequently involves the use of representations ‘in the world’ embodied within representational artefacts. However, theories of sensemaking tend not to engage with this issue in depth. Such an understanding, we propose, is important for supporting artefact design. This article develops a perspective on distributed sensemaking by taking as the unit of analysis an assembly of people and/or artefacts, potentially distributed physically, socially and over time rather than the mind of an individual sensemaker. Through an observational study of military analysts we explore how a sensemaking task can be understood in terms of the distribution of task-relevant representations across internal and external representations. We conclude that in sensemaking, as with many cognitive activities, the design and interactional properties of external representational media has a profound effect on the properties of the combined distributed sensemaking system.
Open Access
Evaluating process-based and crew- centred approaches to procedure design in aviation: workload and performance changes in go-around manoeuvres
(Elsevier, 2020-09-10) Schmidt, Tim André; Kourdali, Houda Kerkoub; Nixon, Jim
In this article, we compare and evaluate two methods of procedure design using an aircraft go-around (GA) as a test scenario. We contrast the manufacturer specified, crew-centric procedure with a redesigned process-centred perspective. We test the claim that the process-centred design can take into account situational factors more effectively and generate less workload. We report a heuristic assessment of the new procedure against design guidelines and an evaluation in a full-flight simulator at the German Aerospace Centre (DLR) using qualified airline pilots to assess workload and performance. Both the manufacturer specified and new procedure were employed in three GA scenarios representative of increasing operational complexity. Results demonstrate an advantage for the new procedure design in the most complex scenario. The new, process-based procedure can reduce reported crew workload and improve response flexibility in more complex scenarios, improving rated performance. This study suggests that the process-based account in procedure design has advantages when compared to the flight crew-centric approach. These advantages include enhanced flexibility, robustness and improved crew performance during GA.
Open Access
Evaluation of the concept of criminalisation of human error in aviation in the Middle East.
(Cranfield University, 2020-10) Bazaid, Ahmed Saleh M.; Braithwaite, Graham R.; Nixon, Jim
Aviation is one of the safest modes of transportation, due to the high standards and regulations that govern this industry. One of the methods that enhance aviation safety is accident and incident investigation, where root causes and contributing factors are analysed to generate safety recommendations that assist in the prevention of future, similar accidents. However, there has been an increasing trend of criminalising aviation professionals in the wake of aviation accidents where aviation accident investigators were also invited to testify as experts to help judges deliver justice for affected parties. The research was conducted over 9 phases starting with a literature review, exploring the issues surrounding the concept of the criminalisation of pilot error in the aviation industry. From there knowledge gaps were identified and research questions generated from them. To fill these gaps a questionnaire was developed and field studies and online surveys were conducted to gather data, which was used to generate an initial framework which was subsequently evaluated using subject matter experts (SMEs) and hypothetical case studies to validate them. The results of the evaluation and validation were then used to generate the final Criminalisation of Pilot Error (CoPE) framework for use in the aviation industry that helps to guide independent safety investigators to address and prevent the escalation of pilot error cases from reaching the court. The research also created well-defined elements that cover all aspects of the criminalisation of pilot error, as well as, a detailed study addressing cultural aspects in different parts of the world, with a focus on the Middle East, and how these affect the concept of the criminalisation of pilot error.
Open Access
Event prototypes in airline transport operations
(Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors, 2016-04-21) Clewley, Richard; Nixon, Jim
Evidence from accident reports indicate that pilots are not always able to categorise events in real-time, which can lead to delayed or inappropriate response. The prototype view proposes that category judgements are influenced by the clearest and best cases of category membership. Flight crew may not always experience events and situations in their prototypical forms. We outline future research on event prototypes in airline transport operations in order to develop better explanations of event judgements amongst flight crew.
Open Access
Helicopter pilots' views of air traffic controller responsibilities: a mismatch
(Taylor and Francis, 2018-02-21) Martin, Daniel; Nixon, Jim
Controllers and pilots must work together to ensure safe and efficient helicopter flight within the London control zone. Subjective ratings of pilot perception of controller responsibility for five key flight tasks were obtained from thirty helicopter pilots. Three types of airspace were investigated. Results indicate that there is variation in pilot understanding of controller responsibility compared to the formal regulations that define controller responsibility. Significant differences in the perception of controller responsibility were found for the task of aircraft separation in class D airspace and along helicopter routes. Analysis of the patterns of response suggests that task type rather than the airspace type may be the key factor. Results are framed using the concept of a shared mental model. This research demonstrates that pilots flying in complex London airspace have an expectation of controller responsibility for certain flight tasks, in certain airspace types that is not supported by aviation regulation.
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, Jim
Open Access
Measuring mental workload using physiological measures: a systematic review
(Elsevier, 2018-09-13) Charles, Rebecca L.; Nixon, Jim
Technological advances have led to physiological measurement being increasingly used to measure and predict operator states. Mental workload (MWL) in particular has been characterised using a variety of physiological sensor data. This systematic review contributes a synthesis of the literature summarising key findings to assist practitioners to select measures for use in evaluation of MWL. We also describe limitations of the methods to assist selection when being deployed in applied or laboratory settings. We detail fifty-eight peer reviewed journal articles which present original data using physiological measures to include electrocardiographic, respiratory, dermal, blood pressure and ocular. Electroencephalographic measures have been included if they are presented with another measure to constrain scope. The literature reviewed covers a range of applied and experimental studies across various domains, safety-critical applications being highly represented in the sample of applied literature reviewed. We present a summary of the six measures and provide an evidence base which includes how to deploy each measure, and characteristics that can affect or preclude the use of a measure in research. Measures can be used to discriminate differences in MWL caused by task type, task load, and in some cases task difficulty. Varying ranges of sensitivity to sudden or gradual changes in taskload are also evident across the six measures. We conclude that there is no single measure that clearly discriminates mental workload but there is a growing empirical basis with which to inform both science and practice.
Open Access
Modelling and supporting flight crew decision-making during aircraft engine malfunctions: developing design recommendations from cognitive work analysis
(Elsevier, 2019-09-25) Asmayawati, Saryani; Nixon, Jim
In this article, we analyse flight crew response to an in-flight powerplant system malfunction (PSM) using control task analysis. We demonstrate the application of the decision ladder template and the skills, rules, and knowledge (SRK) framework to this new area of inquiry. Despite the high reliability of turbofan engines, accidents and incidents involving PSM still occur. During these unusual events, flight crew have not always responded appropriately, leading to a reduction in safety margins or disruption of operations. This article proposes recommendations for technological and information system that can support flight crew in responding safely and appropriately to a PSM. These recommendations focus on new ways in which information from engine health monitoring system and other sources of data can be utilised and displayed. Firstly, we conducted knowledge elicitation using Critical Decision Method (CDM) interviews with airline pilots who have experienced real or simulated PSM events. We then developed generic decision ladders using the interview data, operations manual, training manual, and other guideline documents. The generic decision ladders characterise the different stages of responding to PSM identified as part of the research. These stages include: regaining and maintaining control of aircraft, identifying PSM and selecting appropriate checklists to secure the engine, and modifying the flight plan. Using the decision ladders and insights from the CDM interviews, we were able to identify cognitive processes and states that are more prone to errors and therefore more likely to generate an inappropriate response. Using the SRK framework, we propose design recommendations for technological and information systems to minimise the likelihood of such inappropriate response. We conclude that this combination of methods provides a structured and reliable approach to identifying system improvements in complex and dynamic work situations. Our specific contributions are the application of these techniques in the unrepresented area of flight operations, and the development of evidence-based design recommendations to improve flight crew response to in-flight powerplant system malfunctions.
Open Access
Modified immersion suits for helicopter aircrew: evidence for improved conspicuity from sea trials
(Elsevier, 2020-07-13) Nixon, Jim; Hodgkinson, Jane; Bennett, Christopher
In this article we evaluate a modified immersion suit for use by helicopter aircrew. Helicopter aircrew operating over water are subject to international regulations which govern the personal protective equipment and clothing worn. Our modification increases the area of retroreflective material in a unique configuration. Highly reflective materials can cause unwanted reflections in the cockpit and data as to their efficacy in improving conspicuity in rescue at sea has not previously been captured. In this study we address this problem. Two methods were developed to test the acceptability and efficacy of a modified immersion suit to improve conspicuity in rescue operations at sea. Firstly, land-based trials employing subject matter experts were conducted to assess the tolerability of reflections in the cockpit from the modifications made to the immersion suit. Secondly, trials at sea using UK search and rescue teams captured data to assess the efficacy of the modification. Our results provide preliminary evidence for the acceptability of the modified immersion suit design and that the modification improves conspicuity in night time conditions, measured using the distance at which a target is detected. Our results support re-examination of the standard associated with passive lifesaving systems in helicopter aircrew immersion suit design to include an increase in the area of retroreflective material in the proposed novel configuration. Finally, our results support the use of coloured retroreflective tape to provide increased visual contrast, especially where this colour is coordinated with the main suit fabric.
Open Access
A new facet of category theory: cognitive disadvantage and its implications for safety in the cockpit
(Taylor and Francis, 2022-09-28) Clewley, Richard; Nixon, Jim
The typicality effect suggests typical category members provide a cognitive advantage, such as being quicker and easier to recognise and describe. The reverse effect has not been explored in an applied environment. Non-typical flight safety events appear to pose problems for pilots, leading to delayed recognition and ineffective use of checklists. Fifty-six airline pilots completed an experiment that tested a real-world typicality gradient, comparing pilot performance on a group of four non-typical events against four randomly selected events. Non-typical flight safety events elicited a greater number of response errors and a greater response latency when compared with a random selection of safety events. We specify and measure cognitive disadvantage and suggest innovations in pilot education, such as locating troublesome events and improving recognition guidance. Our new findings can be used to better prepare pilots for event diversity and inform safety in other work systems of interest to ergonomics.
Open Access
Now you see it, now you don’t: dynamism amplifies the typicality effect
(Springer, 2021-10-07) Clewley, Richard; Nixon, Jim
Some safety events do not stabilise in a coherent state, presenting with transient or intermittent features. Such dynamism may pose problems for human performance, especially if combined with non-typical stimuli that are rarely encountered in everyday work. This may explain undesirable pilot behaviour and could be an important cognitive factor in recent aircraft accidents. Sixty-five airline pilots tested a real-world typicality gradient, composed of two cockpit events, a typical event, and a non-typical event, across two different forms of dynamism, a stable, single system transition, and an unstable, intermittent system transition. We found that non-typical event stimuli elicited a greater number of response errors and incurred an increased response latency when compared to typical event stimuli, replicating the typicality effect. These performance deteriorations were amplified when a form of unstable system dynamism was introduced. Typical stimuli were unaffected by dynamism. This indicates that dynamic, non-typical events are problematic for pilots and may lead to poor event recognition and response. Typical is advantageous, even if dynamic. Manufacturers and airlines should evolve pilot training and crew procedures to take account of variety in event dynamics.
Open Access
Penguins, birds, and pilot knowledge: can an overlooked attribute of human cognition explain our most puzzling aircraft accidents?
(Sage, 2020-10-06) Clewley, Richard; Nixon, Jim
Objective: We extend the theory of conceptual categories to flight safety events, to understand variations in pilot event knowledge. Background: Experienced, highly trained pilots sometimes fail to recognize events, resulting in procedures not being followed, damaging safety. Recognition is supported by typical, representative members of a concept. Variations in typicality (“gradients”) could explain variations in pilot knowledge, and hence recognition. The role of simulations and everyday flight operations in the acquisition of useful, flexible concepts is poorly understood. We illustrate uses of the theory in understanding the industry-wide problem of nontypical events. Method: One hundred and eighteen airline pilots responded to scenario descriptions, rating them for typicality and indicating the source of their knowledge about each scenario. Results: Significant variations in typicality in flight safety event concepts were found, along with key gradients that may influence pilot behavior. Some concepts were linked to knowledge gained in simulator encounters, while others were linked to real flight experience. Conclusion: Explicit training of safety event concepts may be an important adjunct to what pilots may variably glean from simulator or operational flying experiences, and may result in more flexible recognition and improved response. Application: Regulators, manufacturers, and training providers can apply these principles to develop new approaches to pilot training that better prepare pilots for event diversity
Open Access
Pragmatic science? Reflections on the academic - industry interactions in a European aviation research programme
(EDP Sciences, 2019-12-17) Nixon, Jim; Pilbeam, Colin; Kirwan, Barry
In this article we explore the types of science produced and disseminated in human factors research in the cognitive domain. We reflect on the methods and techniques used in the European, Horizon 2020 Future Sky Safety Project: Human Performance Envelope (P6). This project has spanned multiple research paradigms successfully, and engaged academia and research organizations throughout. We discuss the challenges of conducting practically focused work that can also be brought to publication in peer-reviewed journals. Finally, we frame our research contributions within this project using a model of practitioner engagement.
Open Access
Understanding pilot response to flight safety events using categorisation theory
(Taylor & Francis, 2019-02-27) Clewley, Richard; Nixon, Jim
Categorisation theory explains our ability to recognise events in terms of a similarity overlap between either a prototypical, ideal case or a stored exemplar derived from experience. Evidence from aviation accident reports indicate that pilots are not always able to recognise flight safety events in real-time and this can lead to undesirable pilot behaviour. Flight safety events may not always arise in recognisable formats, especially as rare and unusual cue combinations are possible. Correspondence with prototypes or exemplars may be weak, creating borderline cases and harming recognition. In this article we extend categorisation theory to develop a new framework which characterises flight safety events. We model three case studies using the new framework to demonstrate how categorisation theory can be used to understand flight safety events of different types. Finally, we propose a roadmap for future research and discuss how categorisation theory could be applied to training or the organisation of flight crew reference material to improve response to inflight events
Open Access
What do aircraft accident investigators do and what makes them good at it? Developing a competency framework for investigators using grounded theory
(Elsevier, 2017-11-29) Nixon, Jim; Braithwaite, Graham R.
We present a new analysis of the tasks carried out by air accident investigators and propose a new competency framework which captures the competencies demanded of an effective investigator. Using a subject-matter expert panel, a hierarchical task analysis (HTA) was developed to frame and organise the diverse activities that are required of the air accident investigator. Supported by the HTA, a competency framework was developed using structured interviews based on repertory-grid interview technique. Grounded theory was used to abstract competencies derived from the interviews. The resultant competency framework could be applied to selection and training future investigators in other safety critical domains. More immediately, the framework can deliver insight into what differentiates the good investigator from the excellent investigator.

Browsing by Author "Nixon, Jim"

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