TESTIMONY CONCERNING HUMAN FAULT CONCEPTS
Two types of human error of which the design engineer must be aware are those which he may commit during the design process, and those the potential user may commit when attempting to use the product. Causes of failure in products and product liability trends are discussed. A definition of human fault is followed by a consideration of designer and user errors, and other behavior variables. When called as a witness to defend his design decisions in a product liability suit, the design engineer must be able to show that both concepts of human fault were considered as part of the design process. He must also be familiar with methods of preventing these human errors, including the provision of adequate warnings and instructions.
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Supplemental Notes:
- Presented at SAE Congress and Exposition, Detroit, 27 February-3 March 1978.
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Corporate Authors:
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)
400 Commonwealth Drive
Warrendale, PA United States 15096 -
Authors:
- Fowler, F D
- Publication Date: 1978
Media Info
- Features: References;
- Pagination: 10 p.
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Design engineering; Errors; Human factors; Liability; Needs assessment; Warning systems
- Uncontrolled Terms: Instructions; User needs
- Old TRIS Terms: Design engineers
- Subject Areas: Design; Law; Safety and Human Factors;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00395657
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Report/Paper Numbers: SAE 780380, HS-025 449U
- Files: HSL, USDOT
- Created Date: Jun 30 1985 12:00AM