BACKGROUND Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) approaches to patient safety have addressed five different domains: usability of technology; human error and its role in patient safety; the role of healthcare worker performance in patient safety; system resilience; and HFE systems approaches to patient safety. METHODS A review of various HFE approaches to patient safety and studies on HFE interv...

Medical errors continue to be a major public health issue. This paper attempts to bridge a possible disconnect between behavioral science and the management of medical care. Epidemiologic data on patient safety and a sampling of current efforts aimed at patient safety improvement are provided to inform relevant applications of organizational behavior management (OBM). The basic principles of OB...

Technological advancements have led to the use of computer based systems in safety critical applications. As computer based systems are being introduced in nuclear power plants, effective and efficient methods are needed to ensure dependability and compliance to high reliability requirements of systems important to safety. Even after several years of research, quantification of software reliabi...

Establishing vehicular communication by adding information and communication technologies to vehicles and road infrastructures is a promising approach to improve safety and non-safety related communication for future traffic telematics applications. The objective of the Junior Research Group on Traffic Telematics is to analyze vehicular communication conditions and develop collaborative communi...

The progress of artificial intelligence techniques, particularly decisional mechanisms, has allowed reactive systems to become more autonomous. This allows new applications in domains such as service robotics in which failures can lead to human injury or death, or financial loss. To ensure safety of such systems, we propose in this paper a process, based on a HAZOP/UML risk analysis, to elicit ...