Chapter 35: Human Error Identification and Analysis for Shield Tunnel Construction
Human error is the main root cause of shield tunnel construction (STC) accidents. Human error mitigation and reduction is an important aspect for STC safety management. Human error identification (HEI) is an effective technique in addressing this issue. Since the informatization and automation of construction have transformed workers’ manual-based behaviours into cognitive-based behaviours, this suggests a need for managing human error from a cognitive perspective. This chapter adopts and develops an HEI and analysis approach for safety improvements on the STC site. A cognitive-based HEI framework was developed and implemented for shield machine operation task by integrating the various data resources from the shield machine operation handbook, interviews with the subject matter experts and STC accident reports. Firstly, the shield machine operation task was decomposed into over 100 task steps through the use of hierarchical task analysis (HTA) method. Secondly, the operator activities were identified to describe the task step, and five behaviour modes that summarize the main types of the operator’s task behaviours were obtained. Finally, when combined with the information, decision and action (IDA) cognitive model and current HEI researches, each operator activity was associated with the specific cognitive phases, and the corresponding operator failure modes were proposed. In this research, 45 shield operation accident cases are reviewed under the proposed HEI framework. The major human error issues in the shield machine operation task were explored through a retrospective analysis of these accident cases. This research provides insights into effective cognitive strategies to support the mitigation and reduction of human errors. This can further provide decision support on the improvement of construction safety performance in other construction projects.