The Basics of

MOOCs

Dennis A. Vincenzi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
College of Aeronautics
ERAU Worldwide
 What is a MOOC?
• MOOC – Massive Open Online Course
– Free
– Open to anyone who is interested
– Versatile, flexible, adaptable
– Interactive
– Structure is looser and more free flowing
– Participate in as much or as little as wanted
– Current enrollments approximately ~3900
– Students an earn a certificate of completion but
must complete:
• all quizzes and receive at least a score of 80%
• demographic survey

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Asking Questions
During the Live Lecture Directions
• At the end of the lecture there will be a
question and answer period.
• During the lecture, you can ask questions
by
– Posting them in the “Q&A” box area
– Do not post questions to the “Chat” area
• Any question not answered will be
addressed in the “Ask the Expert”
discussion forum.
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Some Quick Questions…
• Poll Questions
– On which continent do you live?
– Are you employed in the Aviation Industry?
– What is the primary reason for taking this
course?
– What is your level of education at this time?

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 The Basics of
Human Factors in Aviation

Dennis A. Vincenzi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
College of Aeronautics
ERAU Worldwide
Outline
• Course Introduction
• Brief History of Human Factors
• Human Factors Definition
• Human Factors Areas of Interest
• Real World Examples
• Reason’s Swiss Cheese Model
• Summary
• Questions?

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 Human Factors
Brief History
• Mid 1800 s
• Systems were built – humans had to fit the
system
• ~ 1863 - CSS Hunley – first combat submarine
• Early 1900s
• Birth of aviation
• Mid 1900s
• Jet power and advanced aviation capabilities
• Begin to push the human in terms of exceeding
human limitations

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 Human Factors
Brief History
• 1970s/80s
• Development of micro computers and
digital displays
• Development of advanced automation
• Begin to change the roll of the human from
system operator to system monitor
• Physical limitations are still important and
but cognitive abilities are becoming more
important also

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 Human
Factors Defined
• The scientific discipline concerned with the
understanding of interactions among
humans and other elements of a system.
• The overarching goal of Human Factors is to
optimize human well-being (safety) and
overall system performance (the
relationship between the human and
machine).

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 HF Areas of
Interest
• Anthropometry and • Cockpit and Display Design
Workstation Design

ATC
Cessna 172

Boeing 787

F22 Raptor

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 HF Areas of
Interest
• Human Limitations: Light, heat, vibration, noise

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HF Areas of Interest
• Physiology, • Fatigue, Workload,
Hypoxia, G-forces Performance

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 Poll on Human Error

• What percentage of aviation accidents

have human error listed as a
contributing factor?

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 HF Areas of Interest
• Human error is listed as a contributing
factor 70% - 80% of the time
• NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart
– http://www.ntsb.gov/news/speeches/chart/pa
ges/default.aspx
– “Human error should be listed as a contributing
factor 100% of the time!”
– Whether it’s maintenance, inspection, procedure,
automation, programming, or something else,
somewhere along the line, a human was involved

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Reason’s
Swiss Cheese Model of Accident Causation

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Accident Investigations
• Human error is listed often as a contributing factor
• Most of the time, accidents are the result of multiple events
• Contributing factors could be personal, environmental,
mechanical, organizational, or any combination of these
• FAA “Dirty Dozen” preconditions for unsafe acts
– Fatigue
– Stress
– Complacency
– Communication
– Awareness
– Distraction
– Lack of knowledge
– Teamwork
– Lack of resources
– Pressure
– Lack of assertiveness
– Norms

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Situational
Awareness - EAL Flight 401
• Situational Awareness
• EAL Flight 401- Dec 29, 1972 – 103 fatalities,
73 survivors

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Bad CRM - Tenerife
• Perfect storm – Reason’s Swiss Cheese Model
• Crew Resource Management / Human Error
• Tenerife Disaster – March 27, 1977 – 583 fatalities
• First CRM Conference – “Resource Management on the
Flightdeck” – 1979

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Good CRM
Sioux City, Iowa – UAL 232
• Good Crew Resource Management
• DC-10, July 19, 1989 – 111 fatalities, 185 survivors
• Tail engine failure resulting in shrapnel and hydraulic
system failure

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 Aviation Maintenance and Inspection
• Aloha Flight 243 - April 28, 1988 – 1 fatality; 65 injured
• Metal fatigue with heavy corrosion – designed for 75000
decompression cycles but already experienced over 89000
• Other causes?
• Poor company policy on aircraft maintenance? Maintainer fatigue? Poor maintenance records?

• Poor quality inspection and maintenance programs

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 Asiana Flight 214 – July 6, 2013
• 3 fatalities, 187 injured, 49 seriously
injured.
• Speculation that the flight came in too slow
and too low
• Tail section hit the seawall at the beginning
of the runway
• Actual cause: “Mismanagement of
approach and failure to monitor airspeed”
– Pilot Error?
– Poor training?
– Unfamiliarity with equipment? Did not understand
automation?
– Combination of factors?

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Summary
• Human Factors… Involved with
• Product design
• Display design
• System design
• Safety
• Human error
• Human performance
• Maintenance
• ATC
• Medical
• And many, many more…

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Questions?
Next Live
Lecture Session
Join Kim Szathmary in week three at 5 PM EST for the
next live lecture session.
Lecture 3.2: Improving Human Performance though
Training, CRM, and Organizational Knowledge
Tune in on Tuesday, April 5th, 2016 at 5:00 pm (ET) to
watch Dr. Kim Szathmary's live lecture.

She retired from the United States Air Force in 2005, after
a 21-year flying career) as a C-17 Instructor Pilot and
senior Supervisor of Flying, which entailed direct control of
up to 40 heavy aircraft in missions.

See her bio in Course Contributors for more information

about Kim.

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 Thanks For Attending the
Lecture
• If you haven’t already done so:
– Join the discussions for the week
– Feel free to look around the course
– Interact and enjoy the experience!

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