What happens when end user requirements are ignored in system design - a case study

Identifying and understanding end-user requirements is a critical activity throughout system design. To be effective, system design engineers must ask ´Who are we designing for?´ but equally important are the questions ´What will they be doing with it?´ and ´What level of performance or safety do they need to achieve?´. Only by answering these questions is it possible to design a system that takes account of human capabilities and limitations, ultimately promoting performance and safety. To achieve this, human factors (HF) integration within design can help ensure the suitability of the physical workplace and environment as well as the tasks which staff are required to carry out. Case studies from the oil and gas industry are used to illustrate good practice in HF integration, where involvement of HF from an early lifecycle stage avoided the need for costly rework later. These are contrasted with a case where failure to consider end-user requirements in an offshore control room re-engineering project resulted in remedial work being carried out to address a range of HF problems being experienced by control room personnel. From this it is argued that HF integration is neither costly, time consuming nor a matter of common sense.