SAFE20017 - Human Factors in Complex Systems

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This advanced level unit introduces you to the practices and principles of Human Factors and examines the ways that humans function in complex socio-technical environments and organisational safety systems. This unit discusses the core principles of physical, cognitive, organisational and environmental ergonomics and provides the foundational knowledge required for the discipline of Human Factors. You will learn and apply knowledge in the area of anthropometric variation of the human body to end-user design enhancements as well as discussing concepts of job design in relation to psychological considerations including mental workloads, fatigue management, teamwork and job-fit concepts.

Details

Level Postgraduate
Unit Level 8
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the 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).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2025

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
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).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate 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.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Group Discussion 20%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Written Assessment 40%

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

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2024 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 60.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 25.64% response rate.

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.

Source: Unit Coordinator Reflection
Feedback
Several students failed to grasp the need to analyse "real" tasks for their assessment work.
Recommendation
At the commencement of term (Week 1 Tutorial), emphasise the practical nature of assessment items to avoid theoretical submissions.
Action Taken
Students were reminded to pick 'real' tasks for their assessment work. They were also shown examples of the types of equipment examples they should use for their assessments.
Source: Student Unit and Teaching Evaluation data
Feedback
The content of this unit was appreciated by students who had no background in human factors and ergonomics
Recommendation
Continue to provides the established content.
Action Taken
The content was kept the same as previous offerings and presented as an introduction to Human Factors with the four main domains of Physical, Cognitive, Environmental and Organisational ergonomics covered.
Source: SUTE Feedback
Feedback
Students reported struggling with the content of this unit this term due to the short time frame to learn complex theories and practical tools.
Recommendation
It is recommended to review the content of this unit before the next offering. This will also need to take into consideration the new cohort of international students undertaking the unit as an elective.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Unsolicited Student Feedback
Feedback
International students reported struggling with the very practical assessment tools in this unit.
Recommendation
It is recommended to review the need for the practical human factors tools used for two of the three assessment tasks in this unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: SUTE Feeback
Feedback
Students felt that the unit was well put together.
Recommendation
It is recommended to keep the format of the way the unit is delivered. However, this may change if the practical assessment tasks are changed as there may be less focus on teaching these tools.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an advanced level knowledge of Human Factors principles and practices across the domains of physical, cognitive, environmental and organisational ergonomics in complex systems
  2. Apply knowledge of Human Factors to analyse the appropriateness of fit between end user design in relation to equipment and tasks
  3. Evaluate the contribution of cognitive ergonomics in the assessment of equipment design and the introduction of new technology in complex systems
  4. Discuss how the concepts of organisational job design relate to psychological considerations including mental workloads, fatigue management, team work and job-fit concepts in systems theory and its relationship to safety
  5. Critique contemporary theories of human performance in complex systems.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Group Discussion • •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Written Assessment • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge • • • • •
2 - Communication • • • • •
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills • • • • •
4 - Research • • • • •
5 - Self-management • • • • •
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility • •
7 - Leadership • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Professional Level
• Advanced Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 - Group Discussion • • • • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • •
3 - Written Assessment • • • • • • •