Occupational & Process Safety

Thought leadership

The Role of Human Factors in Process and Occupational Safety

How do you comprehensively address safety in industrial and occupational settings?

Exponent's multidisciplinary teams evaluate human behavior, workplace environments, and industrial machinery, investigating illness and injury causation and developing methods designed to prevent adverse events. Undetected or uncontrolled hazards can lead to adverse incidents that not only threaten workplace safety, employee morale, and public trust, but also cost businesses time and money.

Our human factors scientists include occupational and process safety experts who team with engineers in various fields — including mechanical, materials, thermal, biomechanical, and civil — to assist clients in solving complex technical problems in occupational and process settings. With extensive expertise in OSHA regulations, human performance, process safety, industrial engineering, risk perception and acceptance, digital imaging, and data analysis, our scientists and engineers are uniquely qualified to investigate workplace incidents and hazards.

Research indicates that human factors shortcomings are often overlooked contributors to lapses in occupational and process safety. Exponent recognizes the importance of these factors when performing incident investigation of adverse events and root cause analysis. Our assessments illuminate how businesses can reduce occupational and process safety risks by applying human error prevention and mitigation techniques. Our human factors team regularly assists clients in the legal and insurance industries in evaluating human factors issues associated with industrial accidents and occupational injuries and illnesses. Exponent addresses both regulatory compliance and safety science to provide more comprehensive solutions for helping workers increase productivity while decreasing risks of adverse safety incidents in occupational and process safety settings.

Capabilities and Services

Paying attention to the right details makes the difference in establishing long-term worker safety, and Exponent's multidisciplinary teams consider all relevant aspects of engineering, human factors, and health sciences that apply to safety issues.

Assessments of risks related to human factors are essential for businesses looking to understand how human users interact with consumer products, industrial equipment, processes, environmental factors, and other systems. Risk assessments help businesses understand how these interactions can impact safety guidelines, brand reputations, and hazards. Exponent analyzes and characterizes risks associated with factors both internal and external to the human user and advises clients about whether and how to control and mitigate associated challenges.
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Businesses benefit from a deep understanding of the evolving regulatory requirements of the markets in which they operate. Different countries often use different methodologies, have varying requirements for assessing risk, and maintain different views on product safety — Exponent's global teams can help you ensure you're compliant with regulatory requirements and safety standards worldwide — for your products and for your industrial operations.
For 50+ years, we've thrived on solving unstructured problems that require bespoke solutions. Some of our services include:
- OSHA and MSHA compliance evaluations
- Certification and audit readiness assessments
- Incident investigations and root cause analyses
- Quantitative, semi-quantitative, and qualitative risk assessments
- Workplace ergonomics evaluations
- Human-machine interface analyses
- Safety culture assessments
- Evaluations of standards, procedures, and other administrative controls
- Process safety management (PSM) consultations
- Human reliability analysis (HRA)
- Process hazard analysis (PHA)
- Layer of protection analysis (LOPA)
- Hierarchy of controls analysis (HCA)
- Analysis of alcohol and drug effects in accidents
- Predictive safety analytics
- Emergency action plan (EAP) evaluations
- Job hazard analysis (JHA)
- Human fatigue risk management systems (FRMS) consulting
- Evaluation of wearables in occupational settings

Our Capabilities Are Unparalleled

With expertise in over 90 disciplines and hundreds of capabilities, tools, and methodologies — we get to the root of even the most complex challenges and give you the objective answers you need.