CQUniversity Unit Profile
AINV13002 Human Factors Investigation
Human Factors Investigation
All details in this unit profile for AINV13002 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
Corrections

Unit Profile Correction added on 04-07-22

Assessment Criteria for assessment one Group Discussion - this has changed from a minimum of eight posts to a minimum of seven posts.

General Information

Overview

This unit will provide students with the opportunity to build upon their learning in Human Factors (HF) through the application of contemporary HF investigation tools and techniques to an accident case study. Students will also have the opportunity to develop their ability to interpret organisational factors and examine the nature of safety culture factors evident in the causation of major disasters.

Details

Career Level: Undergraduate
Unit Level: Level 3
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 8
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

There are no requisites for this unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 2 - 2022

Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes – in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Group Discussion
Weighting: Pass/Fail
2. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%
3. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University’s Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Have your say

Feedback

Reduce the number of online activities for assessment one due to confusion in the number of posts required.

Recommendation

The number of requirements for assessment will be reduced, taking into account the learning outcomes.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Analyse accident case study through the application of contemporary human factors investigation tools and techniques.
  2. Derive and interpret organisational factors evident in the causation of major disasters by employing organisational factor analysis.
  3. Examine the nature and contribution of safety culture to accident causation.
  4. Employ effective communication strategies appropriate to human factors investigations.
  5. Demonstrate reflective skills appropriate to the development of the graduating practitioner.
Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Group Discussion - 0%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%
3 - Written Assessment - 50%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication
2 - Problem Solving
3 - Critical Thinking
4 - Information Literacy
5 - Team Work
6 - Information Technology Competence
7 - Cross Cultural Competence
8 - Ethical practice
9 - Social Innovation
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes

Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Group Discussion - 0%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%
3 - Written Assessment - 50%
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

There are no required textbooks.

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Sarah Munn Unit Coordinator
s.munn@cqu.edu.au
Kevin Perry Unit Coordinator
k.perry@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 11 Jul 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Introduction to the unit

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 18 Jul 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 1 Human factors and accident causation

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 25 Jul 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 1 Human factors and accident causation

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Advise the unit coordinator of your case study for assessment two and three by Monday 5.00pm AEST.


Remember: you will use the same case study for assessments two and three.

Week 4 Begin Date: 01 Aug 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 1 Human factors and accident causation

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Begin Date: 08 Aug 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 1 Human factors and accident causation

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Post your assessment two draft mind map and preamble to Moodle by Monday 5.00pm AEST.

Note: only your draft mind map and preamble is to be posted not your annotated bibliography.

Vacation Week Begin Date: 15 Aug 2022

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 6 Begin Date: 22 Aug 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 2 Human factors investigation methods

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Post your assessment two feedback to Moodle by Friday 5.00pm AEST.

Week 7 Begin Date: 29 Aug 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 2 Human factors investigation methods

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 05 Sep 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 2 Human factors investigation methods

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Annotated Mind Map and Bibliography Due: Week 8 Monday (5 Sept 2022) 10:00 am AEST
Week 9 Begin Date: 12 Sep 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Module 2 Human factors investigation methods

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 10 Begin Date: 19 Sep 2022

Module/Topic

Lecture: Real world examples

Chapter

Relevant readings will be uploaded onto the Moodle site.

Events and Submissions/Topic

Post your assessment three draft HFACS lines of enquiry to Moodle by Monday 5.00pm AEST

Week 11 Begin Date: 26 Sep 2022

Module/Topic

Independent study

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Post your assessment three feedback by Monday 5.00pm AEST.


Post your human factors reflection.

Week 12 Begin Date: 03 Oct 2022

Module/Topic

Independent study

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Review/Exam Week Begin Date: 10 Oct 2022

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Human Factors Investigation Problem Solving Due: Review/Exam Week Friday (14 Oct 2022) 10:00 am AEST
Exam Week Begin Date: 17 Oct 2022

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Tasks

1 Group Discussion

Assessment Title
Group Discussion

Task Description

Engagement as a responsible member of a community of learning and practice is important to your future careers as safety science and investigation professionals. This skill will assist in teamwork and collaboration with colleagues and regulatory and investigation agencies.


You will need to submit a minimum of seven posts, related to assessment two and three, to the Moodle Sharing Drafts forum as follows:


Assessment two posts

  • Post your draft Assessment two to the Moodle Sharing Drafts forum so that you can receive peer feedback
  • Post your constructive responses to two other students' Assessment two drafts suggesting changes or additions to the scenario preamble and the scenario lines of inquiry.


Assessment three posts

  • Post your draft Assessment three to the Moodle Sharing Drafts forum so that you can receive peer feedback
  • Post your constructive responses to two other students' Assessment three drafts suggesting changes or additions to the lines of enquiry and the life cycle analysis.


Additional posts

  • Submit one reflective and relevant post to the Moodle Sharing Drafts forum evidencing your meaningful contribution to the HFI community of practice.


All sources must be referenced in the CQUni Harvard style.


Assessment Due Date

Due progressively throughout the term as per the unit schedule. Given the nature of this task, which requires you to give feedback before your peers can submit their work, you must adhere to the submission schedule. Failure to do so, without an approved reason, will result in a fail grade.


Return Date to Students

Feedback will be provided progressively through general class discussion and guidance. Passing or fail grades will be provided to students at the close of Assessment three.


Weighting
Pass/Fail

Minimum mark or grade
Pass grade

Assessment Criteria

Engagement is a pass/fail criteria. To pass this assessment you will need to complete and pass a minimum of eight posts to Moodle. The grading criteria for passing each of these posts is as follows:


  1. Well developed Assessment two and three drafts posted to the Moodle Sharing Drafts forum
  2. Meaningful and respectful feedback to other students' drafts that will prompt further improvement and generation of new ideas
  3. Meaningful contributions to the HFI community of practice by way of research or application
  4. Referencing in accordance with the CQUni Harvard style.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Employ effective communication strategies appropriate to human factors investigations.
  • Demonstrate reflective skills appropriate to the development of the graduating practitioner.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Ethical practice

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Annotated Mind Map and Bibliography

Task Description

For this task you will be required to review the literature and complete a preamble (context), annotated mind map and annotated bibliography based on a case study of your choice. Your choice of case study will be subject to approval by your unit coordinator. The case studies used in the teaching of this unit will not be suitable for this assessment. The case studies used in previous units such as Accident Phenomenology and Accident Analysis are also not suitable for this assessment.


To complete this assessment you must do the following:


  • choose a case study and advise the unit coordinator of your choice by the end of week three
  • read widely about the case study and the various human factor tools
  • develop a draft mind map
  • write a preamble description
  • finalise your preamble and mind map based on ideas generated from the group discussion as outlined in assessment one
  • determine the appropriate human factors  investigation tools that will progress the lines of enquiry you have identified in your case study reading
  • complete a critical annotated bibliography that describes each of your chosen investigation tools, and
  • collate all of this into one submission.


Your collated final submission should include the following:


1. A preamble that includes a detailed:

  • description of what happened and the roles of the key actors
  • timeline of events (that includes latent issues that underpin the accident event)
  • explanation of why it happened, both in the physical domain and the human factors domain.


2. An Annotated Mind Map based on the Worksafe BC Model that outlines:

  • design failures and system lifecycle as related to human factor issues
  • issues and findings related to physical, cognitive and organisational factors
  • human factors investigation tools recommended (not HFACS) to investigate human factor issues/lines of enquiry.


3. An Annotated Bibliography which contains:

  • critical annotations of the strengths and weaknesses of each recommended human factors investigative tool. You must include a minimum of five human factors investigation tools.


4. A Reflection as to how this assessment may inform your future professional investigative practice.


The 'whys' above should draw on the evidence provided in official investigation reports of your case study as well as academic literature (your annotated bibliographies). It should include formal in-text referencing in the mind map as well as a final reference list. You are encouraged to use mind mapping software such as Free Mind or a similar tool. You are required to upload your submission in PDF format.


As an investigation professional you will become part of a wider community of practice, therefore your draft will be peer-reviewed and discussed in Assessment one.


Assessment Due Date

Week 8 Monday (5 Sept 2022) 10:00 am AEST

Draft uploaded to Moodle by Friday week five. Feedback submitted by Friday week six. Final submission Monday week eight.


Return Date to Students

Within two weeks of final submission.


Weighting
50%

Minimum mark or grade
Students must achieve a minimum grade of 50%

Assessment Criteria

To be successful in this assessment you will need to demonstrate your competence in the following aspects of human factor investigation:


  • depth of analysis in each of the physical, cognitive and organisational domains
  • critical application of the systems design perspective
  • thorough mind maps exploring the underpinning role that human factors have in accident causation
  • comprehensive research of the evidence base for human factors accident investigation practice
  • application of appropriate human factors tools and methods for the human factors line of enquiry
  • critical reflection.


The grading criteria are below:


Worksafe BC Mind Map (10%)

  • identified People, Workplace and Management factors
  • understands the role of human factors: exploring the human factors lines of enquiry

Mind Map findings evidence base (10%)

  • physical domain
  • cognitive domain
  • organisational domain
  • systems design perspective


Identify specific human factors tools for each of the lines of enquiry identified in your final mind map (10%)

  • a minimum of five different human factors tools (not HFACS).


Annotated Bibliography (10%)

  • summarise why you have chosen each human factors investigation tool in approximately 200 words with a critical annotation of the strengths and weaknesses for each.


Reflection (5%)

Writing and CQUni Harvard style referencing (5%)



Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
PDF format

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Analyse accident case study through the application of contemporary human factors investigation tools and techniques.
  • Employ effective communication strategies appropriate to human factors investigations.
  • Demonstrate reflective skills appropriate to the development of the graduating practitioner.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

3 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Human Factors Investigation Problem Solving

Task Description

This problem-solving activity will extend the work done in Assessment two. You will use the same case study as for Assessment two.

The submission will be a formal written report of 3000 words (+ or - 10%).

Complete both Part A and Part B.


Part A (30%)

You are required to:


  1. Fully describe the event (this can be taken from Assessment two)
  2. Identify significant components of the system/s relevant to the event (this can be taken from assessment two)
  3. Analyse and research the potential human factor issues related to the event (this can be taken from assessment two)
  4. Using HFACS and the HFACS nanocodes, create a human factors investigaion analysis for your event (your analysis must include a minimum of 30 nanocodes). This analysis will:


a. Critique HFACS in terms of its:

  • usability
  • value in investigating human factor issues
  • usefulness with regard to learning from the event to prevent future events.


b. Discuss any recommendations you would make to the the authors of HFACS to address any limitations with the current tool.


Part B (20%)


  1. Compare and discuss the results achieved using HFACS with those of the Worksafe BC model used in Assessment two
  2. Reflect on and describe the contribution that organisational factors and safety culture had on the causation of your case study accident
  3. Reflect on and describe these human factor issues and any shifts in understanding that you may have had through the study of systems and human factor design in this unit
  4. Reflect on and describe your current professional human factors investigation practice into any future planned changes to your professional practice resulting from the study of human factors investigation.



Assessment Due Date

Review/Exam Week Friday (14 Oct 2022) 10:00 am AEST

Draft loaded to Moodle Monday week 10. Feedback submitted Monday week 11. Final submission Friday review/exam week.


Return Date to Students

Within two weeks of submission date.


Weighting
50%

Minimum mark or grade
Students must achieve a minimum grade of 50%

Assessment Criteria

You will be assessed on the following criteria: 


Part A (30%)

1. A minimum of 30 nanocodes specific to the casual factors or causation sequence identified in the case study accident

2. applied an appropriate understanding of HFACS in terms of:

  • actors, their lens and how they might have influenced the outcome
  • the relationships between people, machines and systems in society as a socio-technical system
  • systems life cycle and the effect on failure
  • failures of latent issues and preconditions and the effect on failure
  • human factor design issues and the influence this has on end-user actions and errors
  • human factor cognitive issues and the influence this has on end-user actions and errors
  • human factor organisational issues and the influence this has on end-user actions and errors 

3. critiqued the benefits and limitations of the HFACS tool


Part B (20%)

  • analysed the results of the Worksafe BC Model and HFACS for the accident case study
  • recognised and described organisational factors and safety culture as contributory factors in the case study accident
  • applied a critical reflection and description of human factors issues (shifts of understanding from studying systems and human factors design)
  • applied a critical reflection upon your future human factors investigation practice and planned changes to your professional practice as a result of the study of human factors investigation
  • formal report: format, organisation, written expression, evidence based practice, CQUni Harvard style referencing.




Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Derive and interpret organisational factors evident in the causation of major disasters by employing organisational factor analysis.
  • Examine the nature and contribution of safety culture to accident causation.
  • Employ effective communication strategies appropriate to human factors investigations.
  • Demonstrate reflective skills appropriate to the development of the graduating practitioner.


Graduate Attributes
  • Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking
  • Information Literacy
  • Information Technology Competence
  • Cross Cultural Competence
  • Ethical practice

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?