Human Error Reduction FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

What is human error?

Human error is an action or failure to act that results in an unwanted outcome. In other words, human error occurs when something unintentional happens and leads to a negative outcome.

Why do people make errors?

People make errors for many reasons, most often because of the natural vulnerabilities of our senses, memory, and other mental processes over which we have limited control.

Can human error be eliminated?

Human error cannot be eliminated, but the risk that it will happen can be greatly reduced.

Can errors be predicted?

Errors can be predicted, in the sense that we can identify certain conditions that make errors more likely to occur.

Are people who make errors incompetent?

If people are properly trained and appropriately assessed to ensure their competence, their risk of making errors is significantly decreased. However, even individuals who have been deemed highly competent can and do make plenty of errors.

Are some sorts of people more likely to make errors?

Not really. Some people are more likely to make certain types of errors, but when their full range of activities is considered, these people are no more error-prone than anyone else.

Could errors be avoided if people tried harder?

Some kinds of errors are less likely to occur when people are conscientious and concentrate on what they are doing. However, the majority of errors happen in spite of our deliberate efforts to avoid them and for reasons that are beyond our immediate control.

Does stress cause errors?

In most cases stress doesn’t directly cause errors, but it does tend to expose weaknesses in processes that otherwise might avoid error and it can amplify the effects of adverse influences.

Can automation be used to avoid human error?

Yes. Some kinds of routine or repetitive tasks can be performed more reliably by machines. Keep in mind, though, that automated processes are designed, instructed, prepared, and maintained by people, and thus these activities are vulnerable to human error.

Do intelligent people make fewer errors?

When they are acquiring new skills, intelligent people tend to repeat fewer mistakes. However, once those skills have been established, they change from deliberate actions to a more automatic form of control in which intelligence seems to provide little if any protection against unintended actions or lapses of attention.

Can careful checks be used to avoid errors?

Although some errors may be detected by checking work, those checks are themselves vulnerable to the same kinds of adverse influences that caused the original errors. Interestingly, in situations where capable processes result in few errors, the probability of detection tends to be especially low.

How can risk of error be reduced?

Risk of error can be reduced by systematically identifying and removing or lessening factors that can lead to human error. This reduction can be achieved proactively, by reviewing processes and identifying potential risk factors without waiting to observe them.

Can Six Sigma remove causes of human error?

Application of the DMAIC principle can and does remove some but not all contributory causes of error. There are two reasons for this. First, Six Sigma prioritizes and analyzes processes that have been problematic in the past, but it does not address causal factors in processes that have no or limited historical incidences of failure. Many of these causal factors are shared by multiple processes; as a result, their combined adverse effects could have a high probability of resulting in error at some point, perhaps without precedent. Second, many cognitive processes that have been implicated in human error are not addressed in the usual application of Six Sigma. Because of this, even if an organization is employing Six Sigma approaches it is still advisable for the organization to practice ERR as well.