Human Factors Research and the U.S. Army
This morning I read the piece “Study aims to identify IED detection experts.” It discussed human factors research that’s being directed by Jennifer Murphy, Ph.D. at the U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences to determine why some individuals are better at noticing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) than others.
In essence, they want to identify what skills, abilities, and characteristics are good predictors for satisfactory IED detection so that appropriate individuals are either selected or trained to perform these functions and strategically deployed with convoys to assist detection. Some of the human factors investigated include:
- Vision
- Attention and vigilance
- Pattern recognition
- Working memory
- Personal experiences
This is another example of how human factors and ergonomics is being utilized to enhance the people’s safety and performance.
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Interesting study- kinda surprised they hadn’t looked at this before. Some people have a knack but we cna usually figure out at least part of their implicit calculus.
I’ve got to believe that pattern recognition will be key. These experts are learning how to think like the makers/planters of these… what’s interesting is that this is not a static task, how they make & hide IEDs is constantly evolving. Learning to think *ahead* (or at least keep up in the game) would have implications far beyond this (albeit important) situation.
Thanks for sharing, Eric!