Page - 1522 - in Book of Full Papers - Symposium Hydro Engineering

“ Risk systems tend to be numbers-based, and cover potential hazards or current operations. They can cover hard data, technical know-how, systems and strategies. What they don’t do is handle soft issue such as management style, employee motivation, shared values and corporate culture. They are hopeless at behavioural issues. So for that matter are male only boards…. ….The trouble with accounting performance measurement and risk control – and indeed the teaching of business schools – is that they treat companies as if they are mechanical. They assume broadly that they are machines which, for a certain level of inputs, will deliver a predictable level of output. But the greater truth, particularly in the modern era where talent is the big differentiator, is that companies are collections of people, and they are as much biological as mechanical”. Although the above quote was written in the context of financial risk it resonates at the anecdotal level with personal experiences. For “financial accounting performance measurement” could we substitute “engineering reliability studies”? 3. WHAT ARE THE “HUMAN FACTORS”? Before making further progress, it is worth reviewing what are generally considered to be “human factors” and which are the root cause of many so-called soft risks. It should also be recognized that cultural differences throughout the World make it difficult to be too universal in our observations. Most of the research drawn upon herein relates to Western civilisations. 3.1. WHY ARE HUMAN FACTORS IMPORTANT? Estimates suggest that Human Factors are the primary cause of between 60% and 85% of incidents. They emerge because machinery and systems are:  Designed by humans  Built by humans  Programmed by humans  Tested by humans  Commissioned by humans  Operated by humans  Modified by humans  Maintained by humans  Decommissioned by humans  Disposed of by humans 1522