As we approach the end of each year, I like to reflect on the materials that have been added to the website during the past 12 months. In 2025, I added ten new articles to the site.
I summarised two incidents from a human factors perspective (making a total of 17 on the website):
Barings Bank
On 26 February 1995, Barings plc collapsed due to unauthorized trading by Nicholas Leeson, who hid massive losses over two years. His actions were enabled by weak management controls and unclear responsibilities within the organization. The incident highlights the need for robust oversight and internal controls to prevent similar failures.
Hillsborough
On 15 April 1989, the Hillsborough disaster occurred during an FA Cup semi-final, resulting in 97 deaths due to severe overcrowding. Failures in crowd management and incident response exacerbated the tragedy. Subsequent investigations revealed attempts by authorities to misrepresent events, compounding the suffering of bereaved families and survivors.
New topic: Principles of human performance
My recent article on the “five principles” has been very popular.
Human factors applies an understanding of humans in order to create the best possible fit between people, the things they use and the systems in which they find themselves. In order to achieve this, we need a good understanding of what it means to be “human”. These five principles help to explain human behaviours.
Human Factors Integration
The article on Human Factors Engineering (HFE) is frequently viewed, and so this year I added four articles that support this key topic. All of these can be found on the new Human Factors Integration topic page. On this page I outline two possible approaches: (1) integrating human factors into the tools, systems and processes of a company, and (2) integrating human factors into the design of a particular project.
The four new supporting pages are as follows. These will be helpful if you are involved in the design of workplaces, equipment and products:
- Human Factors Integration Plan
- HFE Specifications
- Human Factors Issues Register
- 3D model reviews
Technical change
I produced an article on Technical change, which gives some guidance on how to implement technical and engineering changes without having a negative impact on human reliability. This article complements the existing materials on managing organisational change.
Distractions and interruptions
Finally, this short article explores how distractions and interruptions affect task performance and provides some strategies to manage them for better human performance.
If you haven’t yet seen these new articles, please take a look.
I would be grateful if you could share my articles with colleagues, or share them on social media.
Thank you for supporting the website.
Best wishes for 2026,
Martin
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