Starting with the general problem arising from the standaridization of human characteristics and abilities, the terms safety, reliability, and human reliability defined in the standards are considered. The introduction of the term active safety makes it possible to illustrate the connection with reliability: this is the area of safety achieved by using a technical systes as directed. Passive safety, on the other hand, takes over when the system is in the area of danger. Human error probability (HEP) occurs when the quality of work falls below required levels. Human reliability is therefore the ability to execute a task under given conditions for a given time at an acceptable level. It varies with the socalled performance shaping factors (PSF). To predict errors (risk assessment) and to avoid mistakes (protection) human errors are classified. This classification differentiates between occurence orientation and causal orientation.
Abstract