The PSM standard requires the employer’s PHA team to evaluate human factors during its process hazard analysis. CCPS defines human factors as “a common term given to the widely-recognized discipline of addressing interactions in the work environment between people, a facility, and its management systems.” The basic principle of assessing human factors is to determine whether the employer “fits the task and environment to the person rather than forcing the person to significantly adapt in order to perform their work.”
Very few PHA citations resulted from the PHA team completely omitting the human factors review. Instead, the majority of citations resulted from the PHA overlooking specific human factors issues. During inspections, OSHA found that some PHAs had failed to address: