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Tasks
Physical work, repetitive tasks, visual inspection, complex systems and procedures.
Tasks — summary notes
FreeMain ideas
- Physical work (lifting, awkward postures, reaching into confined spaces) causes fatigue that compounds with mental workload over a shift.
- Highly repetitive tasks are prone to complacency — the mind can "autopilot" through a familiar sequence and skip a step without noticing, which is why repetitive critical tasks benefit from independent inspection.
- Visual inspection accuracy depends on training, lighting, time available and the inspector's expectation of what they will find — an inspector not briefed that a defect is likely is less likely to find it.
- Complex systems and multi-step procedures increase the number of places an error can occur; clear, current, step-sequenced documentation is the primary defence.
- Deviating from an approved procedure — even a "better" unofficial shortcut — removes the safeguards the procedure was designed to enforce and is a leading cause of maintenance error.
- ⚠ Exam trap: "I always do it this way and it's fine" is complacency, not competence — the skipped step may be the one that catches a rare, serious failure.
Solved examples
An experienced technician skips a step on a familiar 40-step task card because "I always do it this way and it's fine." What human factors risk does this create?
Complacency on a repetitive, familiar task — the step being skipped may exist precisely to catch a rare but serious failure mode; following the current approved procedure every time (not just when it feels necessary) is the control.
Tasks concept map
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