PIA Training Centre Module 9A – HUMAN FACTORS

Category – B Sub Module 9.2 – Human Performance and Limitations

MODULE 9A
Sub Module 9.2

HUMAN PERFORMANCE AND LIMITATIONS

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3.3 IMPACT OF NOISE ON PERFORMANCE-------------------------------- 10
Contents 3.4 HEARING IMPAIRMENT --------------------------------------------------- 11
3.5 HEARING PROTECTION ---------------------------------------------------- 11
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION --------------------------------------------------- 1
3.6 PRESBYCUSIS ---------------------------------------------------------------- 12
SECTION 2: VISION --------------------------------------------------------------- 2
3.7 HEARING AND THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER -------- 12
2.1 VISION ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
SECTION 4: INFORMATION PROCESSING --------------------------------- 13
THE BASIC FUNCTION OF THE EYE --------------------------------------- 2
4.1 INFORMATION PROCESSING -------------------------------------------- 13
THE CORNEA ------------------------------------------------------------------ 2
4.2 AN INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL ----------------------------- 13
THE IRIS AND PUPIL --------------------------------------------------------- 2
4.3 SENSORY RECEPTORS AND SENSORY STORES ----------------------- 13
THE LENS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 2
SECTION 5: ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION ------------------------------ 15
THE RETINA-------------------------------------------------------------------- 3
5.1 ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION: HOW DOES IT WORK? ----------- 16
2.2 FACTORS AFFECTING CLARITY OF SIGHT---------------------------- 4
5.2 DECISION MAKING --------------------------------------------------------- 17
PHYSICAL FACTORS ---------------------------------------------------------- 5
5.3 SITUATION AWARENESS -------------------------------------------------- 17
OTHER VISUAL PROBLEMS INCLUDE: ----------------------------------- 5
SECTION 6: LEARNING AND MEMORY ------------------------------------ 19
FOREIGN SUBSTANCES ----------------------------------------------------- 5
6.1 SHORT TERM OR WORKING MEMORY -------------------------------- 19
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS----------------------------------------------- 6
6.2 LONG TERM MEMORY (LTM) -------------------------------------------- 19
2.3 THE NATURE OF THE OBJECT BEING VIEWED --------------------- 6
6.3 MOTOR MEMORY ---------------------------------------------------------- 20
2.4 COLOUR VISION ----------------------------------------------------------- 6
6.4 SHORT TERM MEMORY AID --------------------------------------------- 20
2.5 VISION AND THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER --------- 7
SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 21
SECTION 3: HEARING ------------------------------------------------------------ 8
SECTION 7: DECISION MAKING, MEMORY, AND MOTOR
3.1 THE BASIC FUNCTION OF THE EAR -------------------------------------- 8
PROGRAMMES ------------------------------------------------------------------ 22
OUTER EAR -------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
SECTION 8: CLAUSTROPHOBIA AND PHYSICAL ACCESS -------------- 23
MIDDLE EAR ------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
INNER EAR --------------------------------------------------------------------- 8
3.2 PERFORMANCE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE EAR --------------------10

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SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION Mechanical components in aircraft can, on occasion, suffer

catastrophic failures. Man, can also fail to function properly in
The intention of this chapter is to provide an overview of those certain situations. Physically, humans become fatigued, are
key physical and mental human performance characteristics affected by the cold, can break bones in workplace accidents,
which are likely to affect an aircraft maintenance engineer in his etc. Mentally, humans can make errors, have limited perceptual
working environment, such as his vision, hearing, information powers, can exhibit poor judgment due to lack of skills and
processing, attention and perception, memory, judgment and knowledge, etc.
decision making.
In addition, unlike mechanical components, human performance
The human performance can be affected by physical condition is also affected by social and emotional factors. Therefore
and psychological condition. The physical condition can be due failure by aircraft maintenance engineers can also be to the
to the health of the person’s body, the environment of home and detriment of aircraft safety.
workplace. The mental state of the person, i.e. the psychology
condition, can be due to hereditary factors, historical factors and The aircraft engineer is the central part of the aircraft
mental pressures. We may not be able to do much about maintenance system. It is therefore very useful to have an
hereditary factors. Historical factors such as education due to a understanding of how various parts of his body and mental
poor early environment can be worked on and improved. processes function and how performance limitations can
However, we can certainly look at the factors which affect influence his effectiveness at work.
human performance mentally and physically, i.e.:
To have a better idea of how a person reacts with his/her
 The performance of the human body’s senses. surroundings it is necessary to understand at least something of
how the body works.
 The effect of the environment of the workplace on
the person. The parts that will be covered are those that directly affect a
person’s ability to perform maintenance tasks namely:
While the precise range of human capabilities and limitations
might not be as well-defined as the performance range of  Vision
mechanical or electrical components, the same principles apply  Hearing
in that human performance is likely to degrade and eventually
‘fail’ under certain conditions (e.g. stress).

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SECTION 2: VISION THE CORNEA

2.1 VISION The cornea is a clear ‘window’ at the very front of the eye. The
cornea acts as a fixed focusing device. The focusing is
Of the senses, this is the most useful to man. We are more achieved by the shape of the cornea bending the incoming light
aroused to anger or passion by visual inputs than by says feel rays. The cornea is responsible for between 70% and 80% of
or smell. the total focusing ability (refraction) of the eye.

The eye receives light information from the outside world and THE IRIS AND PUPIL
passes it to the brain. The eye acts very similarly to a camera.
Light is taken in through the cornea and lens, a clear window at The iris (the coloured part of the eye) controls the amount of
the front of the eyeball. The cornea acts as a focusing device light that is allowed to enter the eye. It does this by varying the
and is responsible for between 70-80% of the total focusing size of the pupil (the dark area in the centre of the iris). The size
ability of the eye. The iris will control the amount of light of the pupil can be changed very rapidly to cater for changing
entering the eye by altering the size of the hole in the middle. It light levels. The amount of light can be adjusted by a factor of
can change shape very quickly to cater for changing light levels 5:1.
i.e. luminance level up to 5 times.
THE LENS
THE BASIC FUNCTION OF THE EYE
After passing through the pupil, the light passes through the
In order to understand vision, it is useful first to know a little lens. Its shape is changed by the muscles (cillary muscles)
about the anatomy of the eye (see Figure 4.1). The basic surrounding it which results in the final focusing adjustment to
structure of the eye is similar to a simple camera with an place a sharp image onto the retina. The change of shape of the
aperture (the iris), a lens, and a light sensitive surface (the lens is called accommodation. In order to focus clearly on a
retina). Light enters the eye through the cornea, then passes near object, the lens is thickened. To focus on a distant point,
through the iris and the lens and falls on the retina. Here the the lens is flattened. The degree of accommodation can be
light stimulates the light-sensitive cells on the retina (rods and affected by factors such as fatigue or the ageing process.
cones) and these pass small electrical impulses by way of the
optic nerve to the visual cortex in the brain. Here, the electrical
impulses are interpreted and an image is perceived.

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THE RETINA

The retina is located on the rear wall of the eyeball. It is made

up of a complex layer of nerve cells connected to the optic
nerve. Two types of light sensitive cells are found in the retina -
rods and cones. The central area of the retina is known as the
fovea and the receptors in this area are all cones. It is here that
the visual image is typically focused. Moving outwards, the
cones become less dense and are progressively replaced by
rods, so that in the periphery of the retina, there are only rods.

At the point at which the optic nerve joins the back of the eye, a
‘blind spot’ occurs. This is not evident when viewing things with
both eyes (binocular vision), since it is not possible for the
image of an object to fall on the blind spots of both eyes at the
same time. Even when viewing with one eye (monocular vision),
the constant rapid movement of the eye (saccades) means that Figure 2.1 the Human Eye
the image will not fall on the blind spot all the time. It is only
when viewing a stimulus that appears very fleetingly (e.g. a light
flashing), that the blind spot may result in something not being
seen. In maintenance engineering, tasks such as close visual
inspection or crack detection should not cause such problems,
as the eye or eyes move across and around the area of interest
(visual scanning).

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2.2 FACTORS AFFECTING CLARITY OF SIGHT Various factors can affect and limit the visual acuity of the eye.
These include:
The eye is very sensitive in the right conditions (e.g. clear air,
good light, etc.). In fact, the eye has approximately 1.2 million  Physical factors such as:
nerve cells leading from the retinas to the area of the brain
responsible for vision, while there are only about 50,000 from  Physical imperfections in one or both eyes
the inner ears - making the eye about 24 times more sensitive (short sightedness, long sightedness)
than the ear.
 Age
Before considering factors that can influence and limit the
performance of the eye, it is necessary to describe visual acuity.  The influence of ingested foreign substances such as:
When a person is tired accommodation is reduced, resulting in
less sharp vision (sharpness of vision is known as visual acuity).  Drugs
Cones function in good light and are capable of detecting fine  Medication
detail and are colour sensitive. This means the human eye can  Alcohol
distinguish about 1000 different shades of colour. Rods cannot  Cigarettes
detect colour. They are poor at distinguishing fine detail, but
good at detecting movement in the edge of the visual field  Environmental factors such as:
(peripheral vision). They are much more sensitive at lower light
levels. As light decreases, the sensing task is passed from the  Amount of light available
cones to the rods. This means in poor light levels we see only in
 Clarity of the air (e.g. dust, mist, rain, etc.)
black and white and shades of grey. Visual acuity is the ability
of the eye to discriminate sharp detail at varying distances.
 Factors associated with object being viewed such as:
An individual with acuity of 20/20 vision should be able to see at
 Size and contours of the object
20 feet that which the so-called ‘normal’ person is capable of
seeing at this range. It may be expressed in meters as 6/6  Contrast of the object with its surroundings
vision. The figures 20/40 mean that the observer can read at 20  Relative motion of the object
feet what a ‘normal’ person can read at 40 feet.  Distance of the object from the viewer
 The angle of the object from the viewer

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PHYSICAL FACTORS OTHER VISUAL PROBLEMS INCLUDE:

Long sight - known as Hypermetropia - is caused by a shorter  Cataracts - clouding of the lens usually associated with
than normal eyeball which means that the image is formed ageing
behind the retina. If the cornea and the lens cannot use their
combined focusing ability to compensate for this, blurred vision  Astigmatism - a misshapen cornea causing objects to
will result when looking at close objects. appear irregularly shaped

 Glaucoma - a build-up in pressure of the fluid within the

eye which can cause damage to the optic nerve and
even blindness

 Migraine - severe headaches that can cause visual

disturbances

Fig 2.2 a convex lens will overcome long sightedness by Finally, as a person grows older, the lens becomes less flexible
bending light inwards before it reaches the cornea. meaning that it is unable to accommodate sufficiently. This is
known as presbyopia and is a form of long sightedness.
Short sight - known as Myopia - is where the eyeball is longer Consequently, after the age of 40, spectacles may be required
than normal, causing the image to be formed in front of the for near vision, especially in poor light conditions. Fatigue can
retina (Figure 2.3). If the accommodation of the lens cannot also temporarily affect accommodation, causing blurred vision
counteract this then distant objects are blurred. for close work.

FOREIGN SUBSTANCES

Vision can be adversely affected by the use of certain drugs and

medications, alcohol, and smoking cigarettes. With smoking,
carbon monoxide which builds up in the bloodstream allows less
oxygen to be carried in the blood to the eyes. This is known as
hypoxia and can impair rapidly the sensitivity of the rods.
Fig 2.3 a concave lens will overcome short-sightedness by Alcohol can have similar effects, even hours after the last drink.
bending light outwards before it reaches the cornea

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ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS 2.3 THE NATURE OF THE OBJECT BEING VIEWED

Vision can be improved by increasing the lighting level, but only Many factors associated with the object being viewed can also
up to a point as the law of diminishing returns operates. Also, influence vision. We use information from the objects we are
increased illumination could result in increased glare. Older looking at to help distinguish what we are seeing. These are
people are more affected by the glare of reflected light than known as visual cues. Visual cues often refer to the comparison
younger people. Moving from an extremely bright environment of objects of known size to unknown objects. An example of this
to a dimmer one has the effect of vision being severely reduced is that we associate small objects with being further away.
until the eyes get used to less light being available. This is Similarly, if an object does not stand out well from its
because the eyes have become light adapted. If an engineer background (i.e. it has poor contrast with its surroundings), it is
works in a very dark environment for a long time, his eyes harder to distinguish its edges and hence its shape. Movement
gradually become dark adapted allowing better visual acuity. and relative motion of an object, as well as distance and angle
This can take about 7 minutes for the cones and 30 minutes for
of the object from the viewer, can all increase visual demands.
the rods. As a consequence, moving between a bright hanger
(and the inside of an aircraft) to a dark apron area at night can
mean that the maintenance engineer must wait for his eyes to 2.4 COLOUR VISION
adjust (adapt). In low light conditions, it is easier to focus if you
look slightly to one side of an object. This allows the image to Although not directly affecting visual acuity, inability to see
fall outside the fovea and onto the part of the retina which has particular colours can be a problem for the aircraft maintenance
many rods. engineer. Amongst other things, good colour vision for
maintenance engineers is important for:
Any airborne particles such as dust, rain or mist can interfere
with the transmission of light through the air, distorting what is  Recognizing components
seen. This can be even worse when spectacles are worn, as
they are susceptible to getting dirty, wet, misted up or  Distinguishing between wires
scratched. Engineers who wear contact lenses (especially hard
or gas-permeable types) should take into account the advice  Using various diagnostic tools
from their optician associated with the maximum wear time -
usually 8 to 12 hours - and consider the effects which extended
wear may have on the eyes, such as drying out and irritation.  Recognizing various lights on the airfield (e.g. warning
This is particularly important if they are working in an lights)
environment which is excessively dry or dusty, as airborne
particles may also affect contact lens wear. Goggles should be Colour defective vision is usually hereditary, although may also
worn where necessary. occur as a temporary condition after a serious illness.

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There are degrees of colour defective vision, some people 2.5 VISION AND THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE ENGINEER
suffering more than others. Individuals may be able to
distinguish between red and green in a well-lit situation but not It is important for an engineer, particularly one who is involved
in low light conditions. Colour defective people typically see the in inspection tasks, to have adequate vision to meet the task
colours they have problems with as shades of neutral grey. requirements. As discussed previously, age and problems
developing in the eye itself can gradually affect vision. Without
regular vision testing, aircraft maintenance engineers may not
Ageing also causes changes in colour vision. This is a result of notice that their vision is deteriorating.
progressive yellowing of the lens, resulting in a reduction in
colour discrimination in the blue-yellow range. Colour defective In the UK, the CAA has produced guidance which states:
vision and its implications can be a complex area and care
should be taken not to stop an engineer from performing certain “A reasonable standard of eyesight is needed for any aircraft
engineer to perform his duties to an acceptable degree. Many
tasks merely because he suffers from some degree of colour maintenance tasks require a combination of both distance and
deficient vision. It may be that the type and degree of colour near vision. In particular, such consideration must be made
deficiency is not relevant in their particular job. However, if where there is a need for the close visual inspection of
absolutely accurate colour discrimination is critical for a job, it is structures or work related to small or miniature components.
important that appropriate testing and screening be put in place. The use of glasses or contact lenses to correct any vision
Colour-defective vision (normally referred to incorrectly as problems is perfectly acceptable and indeed they must be worn
colour blindness) affects about 8% of men but only 0.5% of as prescribed. Frequent checks should be made to ensure the
continued adequacy of any glasses or contact lenses. In
women. The most common type is difficulty in distinguishing addition, colour discrimination may be necessary for an
between red and green. More rarely, it is possible to confuse individual to drive in areas where aircraft manoeuvre or where
blues and yellows. colour coding is used, e.g. in aircraft wiring. Organizations
should identify any specific eyesight requirement and put in
place suitable procedures to address these issues.”
Often, airline companies or airports will set the eyesight
standards for reasons other than aircraft maintenance safety,
e.g. for insurance purposes, or for driving on the airfield.
Ultimately, what is important is for the individual to recognize
when his vision is adversely affected, either temporarily or
permanently and to consider carefully the possible
consequences should they continue to work if the task requires
good vision.

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SECTION 3: HEARING It does explain why a person is temporarily ‘deafened’ for a few
seconds after a sudden loud noise. The middle ear is usually
3.1 THE BASIC FUNCTION OF THE EAR filled with air which is refreshed by way of the Eustachian tube
which connects this part of the ear with the back of the nose
The ear performs two quite different functions. It is used to and mouth. However, this tube can allow mucus to travel to the
detect sounds by receiving vibrations in the air, and secondly, it middle ear which can build up, interfering with normal hearing.
is responsible for balance and sensing acceleration. Of these
two, the hearing aspect is more pertinent to the maintenance INNER EAR
engineer, and thus it is necessary to have a basic appreciation
of how the ear works.
Unlike the middle ear, the inner ear is filled with fluid. The last of
As can be seen in Figure 8, the ear has three divisions: outer the ossicles in the middle ear is connected to the cochlea. This
ear, middle ear and inner ear. These act to receive vibrations contains a fine membrane (the basilar membrane) covered in
from the air and turn these signals into nerve impulses that the hair-like cells which are sensitive to movement in the fluid. Any
brain can recognize as sounds. vibrations they detect cause neural impulses to be transmitted
to the brain via the auditory nerve.
OUTER EAR

The outer part of the ear directs sounds down the auditory
canal, and on to the eardrum. The sound waves will cause the
eardrum to vibrate.

MIDDLE EAR

Beyond the eardrum is the middle ear which transmits vibrations

from the eardrum by way of three small bones known as the
ossicles, to the fluid of the inner ear. The middle ear also
contains two muscles which help to protect the ear from sounds
above 80 dB by means of the acoustic or aural reflex, reducing
the noise level by up to 20 db. However, this protection can only
be provided for a maximum of about 15 minutes and does not
provide protection against sudden impulse noise such as
gunfire.

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Figure 2.4 the Human Ear

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3.2 PERFORMANCE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE EAR 3.3 IMPACT OF NOISE ON PERFORMANCE

The performance of the ear is associated with the range of Noise can have various negative effects in the workplace. It
sounds that can be heard - both in terms of the pitch can:
(frequency) and the volume of the sound. Volume (or intensity)
of sound is measured in decibels (dB). Table 2.1 below shows  Be annoying (e.g. sudden sounds, constant loud
intensity levels for various sounds and activities. sound, etc.)
 Interfere with verbal communication between
individuals in the workplace
 Cause accidents by masking warning signals or
messages
 Be fatiguing and affect concentration, decision
making, etc.
 Damage workers’ hearing (either temporarily or
permanently)

The amount of vibration detected in the cochlea depends on the

volume and pitch of the original sound. The audible frequency
range that a young person can hear is typically between 20 and
20,000 cycles per second (or Hertz), with greatest sensitivity at
about 3000 Hz.

Intermittent and sudden noise is generally considered to be

more disruptive than continuous noise at the same level. In
addition, high frequency noise generally has a more adverse
effect on performance than lower frequency. Noise tends to
increase errors and variability, rather than directly affect work
rate.
Table 2.1 Typical sound levels for various activities

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3.4 HEARING IMPAIRMENT b) 90 decibels (if normal speech cannot be heard clearly at
1meter) employer must:
Hearing loss can result from exposure to even relatively short
duration noise. The degree of impairment is influenced mainly  Do all that is possible to reduce exposure to the noise by
by the intensity of the noise. Such damage is known as Noise means other than by providing hearing protection
Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL). The hearing loss can be
temporary - lasting from a few seconds to a few days - or  Mark zones where noise reaches the second level and
permanent. Temporary hearing loss may be caused by provide recognized signs to restrict entry
relatively short exposure to very loud sound, as the hair-like
cells on the basilar membrane take time to ‘recover’. With c) 140 decibels (noise causes pain)
additional exposure, the amount or recovery gradually
decreases and hearing loss becomes permanent. Thus, regular The combination of duration and intensity of noise can be
exposure to high levels of noise over a long period may described as noise dose. Exposure to any sound over 80 dB
permanently damage the hair like cells in the cochlea, leading to constitutes a noise dose and can be measured over the day as
irreversible hearing impairment. an 8-hour Time Weighted Average sound level (TWA).
Permanent hearing loss may occur if the TWA is above the
The UK ‘Noise at Work’ regulations (1989) impose requirements recommended maximum.
upon employers. They stipulate three levels of noise at which an
employer must act: 3.5 HEARING PROTECTION

a) 85 decibels (if normal speech cannot be heard clearly at 2 Hearing protection is available, to a certain extent, by using ear
meters), employer must: plugs or ear defenders. It is good practice to reduce noise levels
at source or move noise away from workers. Often this is not a
 Assess the risk to employees’ hearing practical option in the aviation maintenance environment.
Hearing protection should always be used for noise, of any
 Tell the employees about the risks and what precautions duration, above 115 db. Referring again to Table 1, this means
are proposed that the aviation maintenance engineer will almost always need
to use some form of hearing protection when in reasonably
 Provide their employees with personal ear protectors close proximity (about 200 - 300m) to aircraft whose engines
and explain their use are running.

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3.6 PRESBYCUSIS

Hearing deteriorates naturally as one grows older. This is

known as presbycusis. This affects ability to hear high pitch
sounds first, and may occur gradually from the 30’s onwards.
When this natural decline is exacerbated by Noise Induced
Hearing Loss, it can obviously occur rather sooner.

3.7 HEARING AND THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE

ENGINEER

The UK CAA makes the following recommendations regarding

hearing:

“The ability to hear an average conversational voice in a quiet

room at a distance of 2 meters (6 feet) from the examiner is
recommended as a routine test. Failure of this test would
require an audiogram to be carried out to provide an objective
assessment. If necessary, a hearing aid may be worn but
consideration should be given to the practicalities of wearing the
aid during routine tasks demanded of the individual.”

It is very important that the aircraft maintenance engineer

understands the limited ability of the ears to protect themselves
from damage due to excessive noise. Even though engineers
should be given appropriate hearing protection and trained in its
use, it is up to individuals to ensure that they actually put this to
good use. It is a misconception that the ears get used to
constant noise: if this noise is too loud, it will damage the ears
gradually and insidiously. Noise levels can be reduced
(attenuated) by up to 20 decibels using ear plugs and 40
decibels using ear muffs. However, using ear protection will
tend to adversely interfere with verbal communication. Despite
this, it must be used consistently and as instructed to be
effective.

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SECTION 4: INFORMATION PROCESSING

4.1 INFORMATION PROCESSING

The previous sections have described the basic functions and

limitations of two of the senses used by aircraft maintenance
engineers in the course of their work. This section examines the
way the information gathered by the senses is processed by the
brain. The limitations of the human information processing
system are also considered.

4.2 AN INFORMATION PROCESSING MODEL

Information processing can be represented as a model. This

captures the main elements of the process, from receipt of
information via the senses, to outputs such as decision making
and actions. One such model is shown in Figure 2.5.

4.3 SENSORY RECEPTORS AND SENSORY STORES

Physical stimuli are received via the sensory receptors (eyes,

ears, etc.) And stored for a very brief period of time in sensory
stores (sensory memory). Visual information is stored for up to
half a second in iconic memory and sounds are stored for
slightly longer (up to 2 seconds) in echoic memory. This
enables us to remember a sentence as a sentence, rather than
merely as an unconnected string of isolated words, or a film as
a film, rather than as a series of disjointed images.

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Fig 2.5 A functional model of human information

processing
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SECTION 5: ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION Focused attention is merely the skill of focusing one’s attention
upon a single source and avoiding distraction.
Having detected information, our mental resources are
concentrated on specific elements - this is attention. Although Sustained attention as its name implies, refers to the ability to
attention can move very quickly from one item to another, it can maintain attention and remain alert over long periods of time,
only deal with one item at a time. Attention can take the form of: often on one task. Most of the research has been carried out in
connection with monitoring radar displays, but there is also
 Selective attentions associated research which has concentrated upon inspection
tasks.
 Divided attention
Attention is influenced by arousal level and stress. This can
 Focused attention improve attention or damage it depending on the
circumstances.
 Sustained attention
Perception involves the organization and interpretation of
Selective attention occurs when a person is monitoring several sensory data in order to make it meaningful, discarding non-
sources of input, with greater attention being given to one or relevant data, i.e. transforming data into information. Perception
more sources which appear more important. A person can be is a highly sophisticated mechanism and requires existing
consciously attending to one source whilst still sampling other knowledge and experience to know what data to keep and what
sources in the background. Psychologists refer to this as the to discard, and how to associate the data in a meaningful
‘cocktail party effect’ whereby you can be engrossed in a manner.
conversation with one person but your attention is temporarily
diverted if you overhear your name being mentioned at the
other side of the room, even though you were not aware of
listening in to other people’s conversations. Distraction is the
negative side of selective attention.

Divided attention is common in most work situations, where

people are required to do more than one thing at the same time.
Usually, one task suffers at the expense of the other, more so if
they are similar in nature. This type of situation is also
sometimes referred to as time sharing.

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5.1 ATTENTION AND PERCEPTION: HOW DOES IT WORK? Expectation can also affect our memory of events. The study
outlined above was extended such that subjects were asked, a
A proportion of ‘sensed’ data may be lost without being week later, whether they recalled seeing glass on the road after
‘perceived’. An example with which most people are familiar is the collision. (There was no glass). The group, who had been
that of failing to perceive something which someone has said to told that they would see a crash, recalled seeing glass; the
you, when you are concentrating on something else, even other group recalled seeing no glass.
though the words would have been received at the ear without
any problem. The other side of the coin is the ability of the
information processing system to perceive something (such as
a picture, sentence, concept, etc.) even though some of the
data may be missing. The danger, however, is that people can
fill in the gaps with information from their own store of
knowledge or experience, and this may lead to the wrong
conclusion being drawn. Fig 2.6 the Muller –Layer Illusion

There are many well-known visual ‘illusions’ which illustrate the

limits of human perception. Figure 2.6 shows how the
perceptual system can be misled into believing that one line is
longer than the other, even though a ruler will confirm that they
are exactly the same.
Fig 2.7 the importance of context
Figure 2.7 illustrates that we can perceive the same thing quite
differently (i.e. the letter “B” or the number “13”). This shows the
influence of context on our information processing.

In aviation maintenance it is often necessary to consult

documents with which the engineer can become very familiar. It
is possible that an engineer can scan a document and fail to
notice that subtle changes have been made. He sees only what
he expects to see (expectation). To illustrate how our eyes can
deceive us when quickly scanning a sentence, read quickly the
sentence below in Figure 2.8. Fig 2.8 the effects of expectation

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At first, most people tend to notice nothing wrong with the 5.3 SITUATION AWARENESS
sentence. Our perceptual system sub-consciously rejects the
additional “THE”. Although not shown explicitly in Figure, the process of attention,
perception and judgment should result in awareness of the
5.2 DECISION MAKING current situation. Situation awareness has traditionally been
Having recognized coherent information from the stimuli used in the context of the flight deck to describe the pilot’s
reaching our senses, a course of action has to be decided upon. awareness of what is going on around him, e.g. where he is
In other words, decision making occurs. This may range from geographically, his orientation in space, what mode the aircraft
deciding to do nothing, to deciding to act immediately in a very is in, etc. In the maintenance engineering context, it refers to
specific manner. A fire alarm bell, for instance, may trigger a the:
well-trained sequence of actions without further thought (i.e.
evacuate); alternatively, an unfamiliar siren may require further  Perception of important elements, e.g. seeing loose
information to be gathered before an appropriate course of bolts or missing parts, hearing information passed
action can be initiated. verbally
We are not usually fully aware of the processes and information
 Comprehension of their meaning, e.g. why is it like
which we use to make a decision. Tools can be used to assist
the process of making a decision. For instance, in aircraft this? Is this how it should be?
maintenance engineering, many documents (e.g. maintenance
manuals, fault diagnosis manuals), and procedures are  Projection of their status into the future, e.g. future
available to supplement the basic decision-making skills of the effects on safety, schedule, airworthiness
individual. Thus, good decisions are based on knowledge
supplemented by written information and procedures, analysis As with decision making, feedback improves situation
of observed symptoms, performance indications, etc. It can be awareness by informing us of the accuracy of our mental
dangerous to believe that existing knowledge and prior models and their predictive power. The ability to project system
experience will always be sufficient in every situation as will be status backward, to determine what events may have led to an
shown in the section entitled ‘Information Processing observed system state, is also very important in aircraft
Limitations’. maintenance engineering, as it allows effective fault finding and
diagnostic behaviour. Situation awareness for the aircraft
Finally, once a decision has been made, an appropriate action
can be carried out. Our senses receive feedback of this and its maintenance engineer can be summarized as the:
result. This helps to improve knowledge and refine future
judgment by learning from experience.

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 Status of the system the engineer is working on

 The relationship between the reported defect and the

intended rectification

 The possible effect of this work on other systems

 The effect of this work on that being done by others and

the effect of their work on this work

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SECTION 6: LEARNING AND MEMORY Information once transferred from the short-term memory is
never lost. If we are unable to remember anything in this part of
By definition, learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skill the memory it is because we cannot retrieve it (recall). It is
through instruction or experience. Essentially, learning involves there but we cannot find it. Confusions in LTM recollection are
the storage of information within memory as this information is much more likely to involve mixing up words rather than similar
acquired through experience. The human brain must be able to meanings. The word ‘car’ may be recalled instead of ‘van’ for
store information for as long as several decades (Long Term example.
Memory) or for as short a time as several seconds (Short Term
Memory). Additionally, the human brain is able to transfer Episodic memory is that part of the memory system that deals
information from short term to long term memory through the with ‘episodes’, specific events in your life. This part of the
process of memory consolidation. For example, one can memory changes over the years. It can result in similar events
remember a telephone number long enough to dial it or it can becoming mixed, even into one event. This is due to the
be transferred to long term memory for future use. retention rate over time - approximately only 35% is
6.1 SHORT TERM OR WORKING MEMORY remembered after one day and 22% after 31 days. This also
means that when asked to recall an incident, any two people will
From the example of the telephone number we can see that if often give conflicting reports. Therefore, if you are a witness to
nothing is done to try to remember then a minute or so later the an accident or incident, write your evidence down immediately,
information is lost. Looking up the index in a book to find a even take photos. This will help in the interrogation later on,
page number for a particular item would use this part of the when your memory is weaker on the facts you hoped to retain.
memory. Once the page is found the number is forgotten. Of the two types of long term memory, semantic is said to last
Unless actively rehearsed, information in working memory is longer, whereas episode is more accurate.
lost in about 20 to 30 seconds. Acoustic information is easier to
remember than visual because it is easier to rehearse a sound
than memorise written data.

6.2 LONG TERM MEMORY (LTM)

Long term memory can be divided into Semantic Memory and

Episodic Memory. Semantic memory is where the knowledge
is retained in the long term, where the general meaning rather
than the specific sounds of the original message is
remembered.

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6.3 MOTOR MEMORY 6.4 SHORT TERM MEMORY AID

This memory is associated with the skill of controlling hand, To improve your chances of remembering information,
feet, leg movement etc. When performing or learning a new particularly numbers, it is sometimes useful to break the number
task a great deal of central processing of information will be down into more easily handled ‘chunk’. For example, the
required by the brain. Firstly, in the short-term memory and number 19391914999365 would not be easy to remember when
then with rehearsal, stored in the long-term memory. taken as a whole. However, we can break this number down
into more manageable chunks:
Learning to drive a car is a good example. At the first stage of
learning, the Cognitive Stage, we have to understand what each  1939 – Start of World War 2.
control in the car is for and how it works. The first time we set  1914 – Start of World War 1.
off in the car we have to think hard about what we are doing.  999 – Emergency phone number in the UK.
The second stage of learning is the Associative Stage. With a  365 – Days in a year.
little practice each element of the driving process is learnt, for
example the use of the clutch whilst gear changing, yet still By remembering the smaller chunks, we are far more likely to
looking ahead. remember the larger number.
When well-rehearsed, all the elements of car driving become
automatic and you are aware little conscious thought is used.
This is the automatic stage of learning when the task no longer
requires thought to perform it. Whilst driving, a conversation
can be carried out with only a monitoring function of the brain
left to check the process of driving.

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SUMMARY  Physical shock can disturb memory, especially for

events that occurred up to half an hour before the shock.
 There are three parts to memory: encoding, storage and
retrieval.  Highly emotionally charged material might be repressed.
This does not make total loss but is in the
 Most material that is forgotten is lost in the first few sub-conscious. It may affect behaviour.
hours after learning. If something is still remembered
after a few days, it is unlikely to be forgotten.  Acoustic information is easier to remember as the brain
finds it easier to rehearse a sound than a visual image.
 STM has a very small capacity, but the amount in the
storage can be increased by chunking. Material in STM
will be lost within 20-30 seconds if it is not rehearsed.

 LTM has a more or less unlimited capacity but the

problem is how to retrieve the information.

 Memory is not like a video-recording. When we

remember we reconstruct the event on the basis of
information available in schemata. Material can be
distorted in memory.

 Memory is most efficient where there are lots of recall

cues. When there are few recall cues it may help to be
in the same physical or mental state as you were when
you first came across the material.

 What we do before and after learning something may

interfere with later recall. This is especially true if the
interfering material is of a similar nature to the learnt
material and is presented just before or just after it.

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SECTION 7: DECISION MAKING, MEMORY, AND MOTOR someone on the way), he may forget the setting or confuse it
PROGRAMMES (possibly with a different torque setting appropriate to a similar
task with which he is more familiar). Additionally, if unsure of the
Attention and perception shortcomings can clearly impinge on accuracy of memorized information, an aircraft maintenance
decision making. Perceiving something incorrectly may mean engineer should seek to check it, even if this means going
that an incorrect decision is made, resulting in an inappropriate elsewhere to do so. Noting something down temporarily can
action. Figure 2.5 also shows the dependence on memory to avoid the risk of forgetting or confusing information. However,
make decisions. It was explained earlier that sensory and short- the use of a personal note book to capture such information on
term memory has limited capacity, both in terms of capacity and a permanent basis can be dangerous, as the information in it
duration. It is also important to bear in mind that human memory may be come out-of-date.
is fallible, so that information:

 May not be stored

 May be stored incorrectly

 May be difficult to retrieve

All these may be referred to as forgetting, which occurs when

information is unavailable (not stored in the first place) or
inaccessible (cannot be retrieved). Information in short-term
memory is particularly susceptible to interference, an example
of which would be trying to remember a part number whilst
trying to recall a telephone number.

It is generally better to use manuals and temporary aides-

memoirs rather than to rely upon memory, even in
circumstances where the information to be remembered or
recalled is relatively simple. For instance, an aircraft
maintenance engineer may think that he will remember a torque
setting without writing it down, but between consulting the
manual and walking to the aircraft (possibly stopping to talk to

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SECTION 8: CLAUSTROPHOBIA AND PHYSICAL ACCESS access a space, than another. However, this should not be used
as an excuse for an engineer who has put on weight, to excuse
Although not peculiar to aircraft maintenance engineering, himself from jobs which he would previously have been able to
working in restricted space and at heights is a feature of this do with greater ease!
trade. Problems associated with physical access are not
uncommon. Maintenance engineers and technicians often have Claustrophobia can be defined as abnormal fear of being in an
to access, and work in, very small spaces (e.g. in fuel tanks), enclosed space.
cramped conditions (such as beneath flight instrument panels,
around rudder pedals), elevated locations (on cherry-pickers or
staging), sometimes in uncomfortable climatic or environmental
conditions (heat, cold, wind, rain, noise). This can be
aggravated by aspects such as poor lighting or having to wear
breathing apparatus.

There are many circumstances where people may experience

various levels of physical or psychological discomfort when in
an enclosed or small space, which is generally considered to be
quite normal. When this discomfort becomes extreme, it is
known as claustrophobia. It is quite possible that susceptibility
to claustrophobia is not apparent at the start of employment. It
may come about for the first time because of an incident when
working within a confined space, e.g. panic if unable to extricate
oneself from a fuel tank. If an engineer suffers an attack of
claustrophobia, they should make their colleagues and
supervisors aware so that if tasks likely to generate
claustrophobia cannot be avoided, at least colleagues may be
able to assist in extricating the engineer from the confined
space quickly, and sympathetically.

Engineers should work in a team and assist one another if

necessary, making allowances for the fact that people come in
all shapes and sizes and that it may be easier for one person to

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