How human factors & human error can be taken into account in the bowtie method
Human factors & human error can negatively influence safety in complex industries, activities and processes. This means that human factors & human error need to be considered in bowtie risk assessment; otherwise you are lacking and ignoring crucial information. In this section, a common pitfall with the inclusion of human factors & human error into the bowtie method is discussed and useful guidelines are proposed in how human factors & human error can be effectively included in bowties.
In bowtie risk assessments, human factors & human error can be found in two places:
- Threats: human factors or human error appear as a threat in a bowtie when the human act or condition is able to directly cause a top event (see Figure 1).
- Escalation factors: human factors or human error can appear as an escalation factor in a bowtie when the human act or condition can defeat or reduce the effectiveness of a barrier (see Figure 2).