“People are actually very reliable, but there are many opportunities for error in the course of a day’s work, and when handling hazardous materials, we can tolerate only very low error rates (and equipment failure rates), lower than it may be possible to achieve.
We may be able to keep up a tip-top performance for an hour or two while playing a game or a piece of music, but we cannot keep it up all day, every day. Whenever possible, therefore, we should design user-friendly plants which can tolerate human error (or equipment failure) without serious effects on safety, output, or efficiency.“
Source: An engineer’s view of human error, Third edition, Trevor Kletz, 2001
