ABSTRACT Collisions between mobile machines and pedestrians persist across worksites despite widespread use of camera monitor systems (CMS) that satisfy current design requirements. This signalizes a potential specification‐to‐reality gap and a lack of human‐centered, field‐relevant design criteria for visibility aids in mobile machinery. This study addresses this gap using cognitive work analysis to model generic mobile machine operations in construction sites. Focusing on work domain analysis (WDA), an abstraction hierarchy was developed from document reviews, field observations, and subject‐matter expert interviews ( n = 5), and validated in two workshops ( n = 12). The abstraction hierarchy reveals dense means‐ends coupling: CMS effectiveness is highly sensitive to real‐world degradations, operator workload, and task dynamics. Based on this model, we clarify the constraints shaping near‐field pedestrian detection within the machine's hazard envelope and translate those constraints into a taxonomy of risk factors aligned with ISO 6385 work‐system design principles. By making these constraints explicit and measurable, our approach identifies leverage points that yield actionable recommendations for improving CMS design and use. This work enables future hypothesis‐driven experiments under representative conditions, supports targeted design interventions and training, and motivates updates to standards and test practices so that CMS performance better reflects field realities to promote safety.

ABSTRACT Standard operating procedures (SOPs) are widely recognized as essential in maintaining safe operations in high‐risk industries, such as oil and gas and petrochemicals. However, limited research has been conducted on the discrepancies between the intended work process (Work as Imagined or WAI) and the actual work process (Work as Done or WAD) under normal working conditions, particularly in these industries. While employees may not always strictly adhere to procedure steps when executing tasks, designing SOPs that allow for adaptation to changing conditions while maintaining adherence remains a challenge. To address this gap, a new approach is proposed in this study that combines two concepts: Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) and Abstraction Hierarchy (AH) from work domain analysis. HTA breaks down tasks into a hierarchy of subtasks, while AH decomposes the procedural system into four levels with means‐ends relationships. The combination forms the Performance Analysis Technique (PAT). The PAT approach is demonstrated using an SOP for a column flushing task that is part of a three‐phase separation system. The results showed that the PAT could visually demonstrate where and how workers make deviations and adaptations to complete a task. This new approach has the potential to improve the design and implementation of SOPs in high‐risk industries, enhancing safety and operational efficiency in these environments. The study also highlights the importance of collaboration between procedure writers and frontline workers to design more flexible procedures that recognize adaptation risks.

Hospital emergency departments (EDs) play a critical role in providing acute psychiatric care, however mental health patients and staff report poor care experiences. This study used an ED work domain analysis (WDA), as a framework for understanding care delivery experiences for mental health patients and epistemic experts. Interviews with 29 patients and 16 mental health epistemic experts from two Australian metropolitan hospitals revealed key concerns about care delivery. Patients reported issues including poor communication, unnecessarily repetitive assessments, and patient sensory overload in the ED environment. Epistemic experts described inadequacies of the broader mental health care system, including inadequate community follow-up care and a lack of mental health-specific training for staff. Findings suggest targeted interventions to improve system functions, processes, and environmental factors, ultimately enhancing patient care. Future research can apply this WDA model to other hospitals to improve ED experiences for mental health patients.

Surgical planning is essential before the surgery, especially for spinal tumors resection. During the surgical planning, medical images are analyzed by surgeon on a standardized display mode using a computer. But this display mode has its limit in term of spatial perception of the anatomical structures. Our purpose in this study is to assess the impact of using another display mode like virtual reality (VR) on the surgical planning of spinal tumors resection by comparing VR with conventional computer-based visualization. A user study was conducted with eight neurosurgeons, who planned six spinal tumor surgeries using both VR and computer visualization modalities. The evaluation focused on the perception of anatomical-functional information from medical images, the identification of anatomical structures, and the selection of surgical approaches represented by the number of anatomical structures traversed to attend the tumor. These parameters were assessed using objective questionnaires developed from a work domain analysis (WDA) already proved in brain surgery. We then adapted the WDA to spinal surgery. VR made it easier to perceive a greater number of anatomical-functional information compared to computer visualization. Surgeons identified a greater anatomical structure with VR compared to computer visualization. Furthermore, surgeons selected additional anatomical structures to be traversed to reach the tumor when using VR, leading to a more precise selection of surgical approaches. These findings can predict the added value of VR in helping surgical decision-making when planning surgery. VR can be a promising tool for surgical planning by providing an immersive and interactive perspective that enhances understanding of anatomy. However, our finding is from an exploratory study, more clinical cases should be conducted to demonstrate its feasibility and reliability.

Staff in hospital departments often focus on local goals for capacity management and patient coordination. Recently, centralised healthcare control centres (HCCs) have been developed that provide co-location of interdisciplinary teams who coordinate patient flow across a healthcare system with the goal of improving patient capacity and outcomes, patient and staff experience, and reducing costs. However, coordination problems may emerge with the implementation of HCCs and new models are needed to gain insight into the HCC’s working environment. In this study, we investigated constraints with the work of an HCC of a large healthcare service using work domain analysis and object worlds. We conducted field work in the HCC and used the data to construct work domain analysis models across key object worlds. Analysis focused on three challenges: (1) lack of integration of information systems within the HCC, (2) non-compatible information systems for transfer of patient records from the HCC to private hospitals, and (3) a reduction in service quality from commercial taxi services contracted by the HCC to transport non-urgent patients. Findings allow the sources of coordination problems to be examined, potentially helping workers coordinate their work more effectively. As demands on healthcare systems escalate, effective patient flow coordination becomes increasingly important for the quality and timeliness of patient care.

Automated driving systems are deployed on public roads with little empirical support for the dominant justifications of enhanced safety and enhanced productivity. Furthermore, development of automated driving systems has been piecemeal rather than systematic while research on driver-automation interaction has relied on individual analysis of accidents and on observational studies of driving behavior in a simulator or on the road. In this paper, we apply Work Domain Analysis to develop a more systematic and comprehensive model of automated driving. We use a strategy of layering the driving automation onto the resulting ion-Decomposition Space for manual driving to mimic the existing design strategy of introducing automation to take over driving functions previously the responsibility of the human driver. Our analysis shows that automation does not unequivocally supports dominant driving values. Furthermore, our analysis revealed subtle interdependencies between human and technological functions. We conclude that an ion Decomposition Space offers a systematic view of driver-automation interaction that can suggest new insights for automation design.

Identifying design requirements for new technologies is vitally important for successful uptake, yet few structured approaches exist to guide the process. Given increasing concerns regarding gig economy worker road safety, this study involved the use of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA), alongside a participatory design process, to identify requirements for a novel, app-based incident reporting tool for gig economy workers. Study 1 involved a stakeholder workshop to refine a Work Domain Analysis model and define stakeholder requirements for the tool. Study 2 involved focus groups to identify barriers and facilitators to using the tool and a survey to inform the development of a Contextual Activity Template, in addition to identifying further barriers and facilitators. Design requirements for the tool were identified through synthesising the CWA outputs and themes identified from stakeholder and end user input.

Manufacturing worksites have developed to have a socio-technical aspect with complex interactions between human operators, automated machines, and the environment. The operators must adapt to and cope with daily performance variabilities in these socio-technical systems to maintain resilient productions. However, more than conventional methods are needed to clarify the operators’ adaptive aspects that interactive factors play a critical role. This study investigates attention management in multitasking as one crucial aspect of the adaptive behavior of manual operations in actual manufacturing worksites. The framework considering the functional structure of tacit knowledge was employed for this purpose. Data from a case study focusing on multitasking in steel plate processing was utilized. First, we extracted the attention characteristics with eye movement and interview analysis regarding the proximal and distal terms of tacit knowledge. Then, we took a model constructive approach using work domain analysis (WDA) and functional resonance analysis method (FRAM). The results showed that the expert operator could maintain the systematic attention strategy even when multitasking. Furthermore, the simulation results showed that extracted experts’ attention strategy contributed to the resilient work performance. The current study confirmed that the framework based on FRAM could investigate the adaptive nature of expert skills in socio-technical systems.

Abstract Introduction Regulation administration is OSH authorities’ prerogative, while work environment management lies on employers shoulders, seemingly different work areas, with regulation administration as a way to control work environment management. How differently from traditional inspection outcome assessment can regulations enforcement benefit and change work environment management, and improve management strategies and practices? Method Cognitive work analysis (CWA), a formative framework focusing on changing behaviour by addressing the work domain constraints, was used to constitute critical interplay between enforcement and management practices. Three of the five dimensions of CWA, i.e. the work domain analysis; activity analysis and strategy analysis were employed. Data from workplace inspections was used together with input from interviews and other interactions with different subject matter experts (workplace inspectors, OSH professionals, workers and workplace management). Results Three aspects of critical interplay were identified. The first was effectiveness of workplace inspections viewed from inspectors performance, deviating from the traditional inspections’ outcome analysis which is subject to different external influences without any relevance to the inspections. Secondly, boundaries of work environment management were determined, and finally work environment development decision-making content was established. Discussion Building work environment management paradigms from regulations enforcement ensures both compliance and effective work environment management practices, since inspections provide wide empirical foundation on workplace challenges. Addressing constraints allows for effective implementation across work areas in different sectors, yet permitting specificity and dealing with situations unforeseen a priori. Conclusion Using CWA effectively provided for comprehension of workplace inspection and work environment management that allowed for constructive work environment management and development.

Abstract Background Work environment regulations identify specific objectives that employers must fulfil. Work environment is a multidimensional concept encompassing nature of tasks, physical and social conditions, workplace characteristics and organisation, work schedule, prospects to the workers, and the intrinsic rewards associated with the work. Through work domain analysis, the first of the five dimensions of cognitive work analysis, the study explored the boundaries of work environment management. Method Mixed method including looking at regulatory requirements, a limited literature review and comprehensive discourse with occupational safety and health enforcement officials as subject matter experts provided the information to populate the abstraction decomposition space in the analysis. Affordances of the regulation purposes formed the functional purposes of the work environment management. Work environment indicators identified formed the value and priorities measures. Purpose-related functions were constructed from a work environment model, with subject matter experts providing the relevant physical resources and the functions the resources afford. Results Abstraction decomposition space for work environment management was designed showing means-ends links from resources to the purposes they fulfil in the system. From the abstraction decomposition space, it was possible to design results-chain models supporting decision-making. The analysis showed that the functional purposes can be fulfilled with different means-ends pathways. In addition, the purpose-related functions constructions allowed for superimposing of enforcement orders from earlier inspections reports, supporting the validity of the constructs. Conclusion The study provided structure and content of work environment management, and decision-making models supporting the management practices and strengthening attainment of justifiable work environment.

Weaning patients from ventilation in intensive care units (ICU) is a complex task. There is a growing desire to build decision-support tools to help clinicians during this process, especially those employing Artificial Intelligence (AI). However, tools built for this purpose should fit within and ideally improve the current work environment, to ensure they can successfully integrate into clinical practice. To do so, it is important to identify areas where decision-support tools may aid clinicians, and associated design requirements for such tools. This study analysed the work context surrounding the weaning process from mechanical ventilation in ICU environments, via cognitive task and work domain analyses. In doing so, both what cognitive processes clinicians perform during weaning, and the constraints and affordances of the work environment itself, were described. This study found a number of weaning process tasks where decision-support tools may prove beneficial, and from these a set of contextual design requirements were created. This work benefits researchers interested in creating human-centred decision-support tools for mechanical ventilation that are sensitive to the wider work system.

Electric networks are globally significant systems being transformed to support increased wind and solar generation. Operating such networks requires managing not just components but weather, fuel, power flow, stability, operability, reliability, and more. To structure development of real-time operator support, we developed a conceptual model of electric transmission network operation that represents physical, functional, and purposeful distinctions and summaries used by experts at a North American transmission operator and reliability coordinator. The model scope includes 193 concepts at multiple levels of abstraction and scale, related in psychologically relevant terms according to the work domain analysis (WDA) theoretic framework. To manage this scale, we used both conceptual and topological decomposition, and linked prototypical examples to specifics of particular power grids. Figures in this article are accompanied by a web-browsable interactive digital supplement to navigate, interrogate, and review this model. We applied this model to human performance improvement projects including aligning conventions for technical visual communications and designing novel grid operational overview displays. This WDA provides a complementary perspective to grid ontologies proposed as knowledge models for future intelligent grid control systems.

When tomorrow comes: A prospective risk assessment of a future artificial general intelligence-based uncrewed combat aerial vehicle system

This paper presents a validation workflow to support system requirements analysis. Systems engineering supports the development of socio-technical systems. However, the traditional systems engineering approach of reducing the system to component level to perform detailed designs and integrate them into a solution system may miss unexpected emergent behaviour when introducing a new technology into a socio-technical system. It may require changes in the socio-technical system's information flows, processes and procedures. Ignoring these emerging requirements may result in undesirable results or failures in the system. Cognitive work analysis, with work domain analysis in particular, provides a framework for analysing, modelling and designing socio-technical systems. The output abstraction hierarchy models were evaluated using a focus group approach for perceived utility in uncovering potential design emergence. The focus groups supported both the models and the proposed method. This structured approach will support requirements capturing and analysis for developing and engineering socio-technical systems.

With advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cognitive modelling, unmanned aircraft are expected to act as human-like wingmen in the near future. For fluent and effective manned–unmanned teaming, synthetic wingmen must be able to account for and adapt to their partners’ intent with little or no communication. To enable such abilities, it becomes crucial to identify the requirements that makes intent explainable to synthetic wingmen, necessitating approaches to describe and analyse intent from a human-centric perspective. To address this issue, this paper reports on findings from using Work Domain Analysis to design and analyse models of situated intent with six levels of cognitive control (frames, effects, values, generic, implementations, and physical). Through a literature review and seven subject matter expert interviews, a synthesized model was designed to represent fighter pilots’ intent in a manned–unmanned teaming scenario. Using the synthesized model as the context, a transfer of control and a link loss situation were further described and analysed. Experiences show that Work Domain Analysis can provide a practical and applicable means to model situated intent, particularly since designed models can be re-utilised to model intent in similar situations. Furthermore, the model analyses show the importance of accounting for fighter pilots’ adopted frames since small variations of the framing of the situations can propagate throughout the model resulting in conflicting or inconsistent intent. The paper concludes that synthetic wingmen must be able to reason about all six levels of cognitive control, requiring a more holistic approach to make intent explainable.

Medication is a common cause of preventable medical harm in pediatric inpatients. This study aimed to examine the sociotechnical system surrounding pediatric medicines management, to identify potential gaps in this system and how these might contribute to adverse drug events (ADEs). An exploratory prospective qualitative study in pediatric wards in three hospitals in the north of England was conducted between October 2020 and May 2022. Analysis included a documentary analysis of 72 policies and procedures and analysis of field notes from 60 hours of participant observation. The cognitive work analysis prompt framework was used to generate a work domain analysis (WDA) and identify potential contributory factors to ADEs. The WDA identified 2 functional purposes, 7 value/priority measures, 6 purpose-related functions, 11 object-related processes and 14 objects. Structured means-ends connections supported identification of 3 potential contributory factors-resource limitations, cognitive demands, and adaptation of processes. The lack of resources (equipment, materials, knowledge, and experience) created an environment where distractions and interruptions were unavoidable. Families helped provide practical support in medicines administration but were largely unacknowledged at an organizational level. There was a lack of teamwork with regards to medication with different professionals responsible for different parts of the system. Mandated safety checks on medicines were frequently omitted because of limited resources and perceived redundancy. Interventions to support adherence to safety policies were also often bypassed because they created more work. The WDA has provided insights into the complex system of medication safety for children in hospital and has facilitated the identification of potential contributory factors to ADEs. We therefore advocate (in priority order) for processes to involve parents in the care of their children in hospital, development of skill-mix interventions to ensure appropriate expertise is available where it is needed, and modified checking procedures to permit staff to use their skills and judgment effectively and efficiently.

The study aimed to create decision-making content for workplace work environment development, followed by a limited evaluation to determine the perception of the importance of the identified content in different sectors. Enforcement/administrative orders in workplace inspection reports were used as empirical infor-mation on workplaces. This information was used to design decision ladders, which form the second phase of cognitive work analysis, the activity analysis. The decision ladders, which support decision-making, cov-ered work functions identified in an earlier work domain analysis study, i.e., exposure prevention, organisa-tional management, competence realisation, workers’ empowerment, psychosocial work environment man-agement, and administration. Specified content of decision ladders for each function was used to prepare a questionnaire for evaluating the content validity for work environment development.
 Altogether, 29 items were identified as the content for work environment development. Statistical analysis of the limited evaluation showed no significant difference between the different sectors in their perceptions of the importance of the content in developing work environments. Similar sectoral perceptions' trends support the content utility and validity in work environment development.
 The procedure formulation step of the decision ladders, with the phrase “What steps are needed to...” applied preceding the identified content constructs, provides practical activities regarded as essential for work environment development.
 Using enforcement inspection reports as the basis for work environment development is a novel approach to addressing workplace safety and health management challenges. Further, the universal utility of the content allows for its implementation across sectors, allowing for workplace-specific decision-making on management measures.

Predictive mental workload model is an important tool for evaluating early single-pilot operations (SPO) system design and can be used to explore the impact of different function allocation decisions before prototype or simulator implementation. To build this model, this paper proposes a methodology based on task analysis. Firstly, it selects the approach and landing scenario of the current two-pilot operations (TCO) and completes the task description of the TCO using the hierarchical task analysis. Secondly, it identifies the function allocation requirements for the transition from TCO to SPO using the work domain analysis and proposes the original function allocation decisions based on the SPO’s system framework. Finally, it creates the predictive mental workload model for evaluating different SPO system design options based on temporal network and multiple resource theory. The researchers use the created model to evaluate the original function allocation decisions and find that the designed SPO system has instantaneous workload values that exceed the upper limit at multiple time points. By analyzing the causes of these problems, the researchers introduce audible warnings and visual indicators to the SPO system to improve design decisions and evaluate these decisions. The results show that the continuous workload profile and overall average workload of the redesigned SPO system are better than the current TCO system, and also prove that the predictive mental workload model can be well applied to evaluate the system design of early SPO.

Abstract A good human-computer interface can improve the efficiency of operators in the main control room of a nuclear power plant (NPP) and reduce operational errors. It has been shown that ecological interface design (EID) can effectively reduce the cognitive load of users, improve the level of situation awareness, and help users to make decisions quickly and effectively. In this paper, we analyzed the feedwater deaeration system (ADG) of nuclear power plants, constructed the work domain analysis according to the abstraction hierarchy theory. The factors that affect the balance of the system are clarified, and the ecological interface is designed based on it, so that it can present the system status and present the future development trend more intuitively, and support the operator to predict the system situation. In this study, 10 volunteers with relevant knowledge background were selected for operational experiments, with subjective evaluation based on SART scale and grey theory, which verified that EID interface has significant advantages over the original interface in supporting both operator response time and accuracy.

An integrated discrete-event simulation with functional resonance analysis and work domain analysis methods for industry 4.0 implementation