Ahead of Human Factors in Transport, the Institution spoke to Andrew McNaughton, Technical Director at HS2 Ltd about the main challenges facing the transport industry, industry gripes and what attendees will take away from the event.
Andrew McNaughton: Technical Director, HS2 Ltd
Andrew’s career in the rail sector spans 40 years, and he has been has been Chief Engineer and Technical Director of High Speed Two Ltd since 2009, developing the principles, network and specific route design for high speed rail in Great Britain. You can hear from Andrew and other key thought leaders within the Rail, Road and Aviation industries at the Human Factors in Transport Forum.
Q: What are the main challenges facing the transport industry in terms of Human Factors Integration at the moment?
Andrew McNaughton (AM): The main challenge facing the transport industry from a human factors perspective is that transport systems tend not to be developed sufficiently human orientated – travel should be convenient, easy and inclusive.
Most transport systems, including rail, have been designed from a technical or commercial perspective, and don't adequately meet the needs of 21st century passengers. This includes barriers to those with luggage or children as much as those with physical or cognitive impairments – our transport systems don’t really cater to these passengers in terms of information, ticketing, access, the choices offered and the journey. It's the same for he operators and maintainers; fitting round the technical system rather than it being designed specifically for their use.
Q: Why do you think it is important to attend the Human Factors in Transport Forum?
AM: It is important to attend in order to discover emerging best practice surrounding Human Factors Integration, and also to benefit from lessons learnt across the industries. Human Factors should be at the centre of every design and it allows us to explore the challenges in doing that.
Q: What key topics are you excited about addressing?
AM: I’m most excited about designing HS2 around humans. We are building a new railway system from scratch, and so need to consider the human elements of the operators, constructors and the passengers as the end beneficiary. As such we are using key Human Factors professionals in the design, but we also find it helpful and important to get ‘lay people’ involved at this stage too. Those who are involved in designing and constructing transport systems should not be afraid of involving ordinary people early on, as it ensures that your design fits the user.
Q: What are the most common gripes you hear from Human Factors Engineers?
AM: Human Factors is considered too late, which means the experts are expected to work around a developed design when in fact they should have been brought in from the very beginning. Considering Human Factors at design stage makes systems more intuitive, but coming in later on means that things are very difficult to change.
Q: Who are you most interested in hearing from on the programme?
AM: I am always interested in the opportunity to hear from other transport industries, as it is important to learn from beyond our own sector. Learning across industries allows us to understand similar challenges in a different domain, explore what we have in common and how to address them.
Want to know more?
Andrew McNaughton is presenting at our interactive and cross industry Human Factors in Transport Forum. Join us to hear thought-provoking presentations from those in transport responsible for integrating Human Factors, including:
- Lee Skrypchuk: Human Machine Interface Technical Specialist, Research & Technology, Jaguar Land Rover
- Stuart Smith: Senior Ergonomist, Network Rail
- Simon Roberts: SMS Programme Lead, Safety and Aerospace Regulation Group, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
For further information, please visit the
Human Factors in Transport event page.