thumbnail of Behavioral science research; Man and machines, part 1
Transcript
Hide -
If this transcript has significant errors that should be corrected, let us know, so we can add it to FIX IT+
The following program is produced by the University of Michigan Broadcasting Service under a grant-in-ade from the National Educational Television and Radio Center in cooperation with the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. Man and Machines, the first of two programs on this subject from the series Human Behavior, Social and Medical Research, produced by the University of Michigan Broadcasting Service with Special Assistance from the Mental Health Research Institute of the University of Michigan. These programs have been developed from interviews with men and women who have the too often unglamorous job of basic research, research in medicine, the physical sciences, the social sciences, and the behavioral sciences. Occasionally you will hear what may seem like strange or unfamiliar sounds. These are the sounds of the participant's office, his laboratory, or clinic, where the interviews were recorded.
The people you will hear today are Harry Helson, professor of psychology at the University of California, and Jack W. Dunlap, president of Dunlap and Associates in Stanford, Connecticut, and Edward R. Jones of the McDonald Aircraft Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri. And my name is Glenn Phillips. The aims of the areas of research that we will hear discussed today are to ensure that the tools and machines that man uses and the tasks that he performs are congruent with man's own characteristics, his capabilities, and his preferences. With the acceleration in technological progress that has occurred in recent years, human factor problems have multiplied. As a result, the application of scientific principles regarding human performance has gained increasing importance in the effort to design machines so as to optimize overall man-machine system effectiveness. Several terms need concise definition, such as man-machine system design, human engineering,
operations research, and human factories. Dr. Jack Dunlap of Stanford, Connecticut, supplies those definitions. The terms Mr. Phillips are not strictly synonymous. For example, human engineering and systems engineering overlap, but the systems engineering is a broader concept. Human engineering is usually thought of as being reserved to a particular piece of equipment to the design of the console or the operating controls of this particular piece of equipment. When you start looking at it from a system's engineering standpoint, you are concerned first with where does this machine fit into the system? What is the function of this particular machine?
What do you expect it to do? You are then looking at the man as a component in the system who receives certain signals or information from this machine. He receives these signals in terms usually of dials and gauges, sometimes in terms of the vibration of a machine if it's racing and out of control, but normally through some visual cue. In some cases, an auditory cue is built into it, like a warning's bell, such as you have in a far alarm situation. Now in the case of the man, you examine what it is that he's to receive from the machine or the information.
He must make some decision as to whether the machine is operating properly or whether there needs to be some change made. If he decides that a change should be made, he makes some adjustment of the controls and then he goes back and looks at the dials again and sees if this is too much of an adjustment or not enough. And correspondingly, readjust the machine until it gets what we might call on target. One of the problems looking at the machine as part of a system and the man is also part of the system is to determine how many tasks you've asked the man to perform in a given amount of time. Sometimes when you examine the system, you find that you have ten tasks for the man to perform in a period of twenty seconds. When this situation arises, it's necessary either to put in another operator or to build a machine to take over part of the duties or to build a particular machine which will
integrate various bits of information thus simplifying the task that the man has to do. For example, if a man wanted to determine whether he had reached the point of no return in an airplane flight, he would need to know something about the time that he had been flying, something about the headings, something with regard to his ground speed and air speed. And on the basis of these and other factors would make a series of computations. Now if this takes him so much time that he's likely to pass beyond the point of no return in this particular instance, if the likely the man could go beyond the point of no return, it might be advisable to build a small computer in which all of this information would be fed into automatically and it would do the calculations practically instantaneously. Thus, we need to examine the amount of load that is placed on the man, determine whether
it's within his capacity, physical, mental, intellectually or just in terms of sheer time. There's some is used quite often as an alternate term for human engineering. However, it is perhaps broader than the original meanings of the word human engineering, which was concerned entirely with the design of the mechanical aspects of machines. But human factors would take in, in addition to this, the problems of training and of selection. It would look at the entire problem of how a man fits into the system from his training from his selection to his training to his uses of the equipment per se. Engineering psychology is another term that has been used. It is fairly synonymous with what we call human engineering.
Human science research, on the other hand, is an entirely different type of thing. It is true that a good human engineer or human factors man will apply the principles of operations research to any system that he is studying. But operations research is a much broader field because it will concern itself not only with studies of systems, of equipments, but it concerns itself with systems of operations and with economic problems, production problems, rather than particularly with the design of equipment systems. To achieve some additional idea as to what problems can and are being researched, I asked Dr. Dunlap for some examples, he said, power problems run quite a wide gamut. Currently we are engaged in the applications of systems work and human engineering to
about eight of the major missile systems. This includes such things as Thor Hawk Plarras to mention a few. In addition to this, we are concerned with a number of studies on human engineering in communication systems. We are also concerned with a number of studies on radars, the applications of human engineering to the radars, to the console consoles, to the work that the individual has to do and the load that is placed on him. We have been and still are quite actively engaged in the Army Navy cockpit simplification program, which is called ANNEP. There we have had the design work and the layout of this cockpit as to what are the requirements
that should be built by the engineer. This is resulted in simplifying the cockpit from several hundred instruments down to less than a hundred. We are currently doing a lot of work for the maritime administration with regard to the accident problem as it relates to equipment aboard ships. Out of this, we are now working on the problems of developing a radar computer system which can be used to prevent ship collisions. We of course will not do the hardware. We write the feasibility studies for this as to what the characteristics of the systems are, its precision, the requirements that will be placed on the system with regard to its
reliability and with regard to the requirements that will require of the individual who operates the system. We have, on the other hand, worked on such problems as far away from these rather glamorous topics as on the tricycles for a child. We have worked on the checkout stations in food stores. We have done the design work on a milk wagon so as to make it easier here for an individual to unload his produce to replace his empty cases and cartons and to make his deliveries more rapidly.
You would be surprised at the problems that are involved inside of a milk wagon where a man has cream, milk, eggs, water in varying amounts and quantities and he has to dispose of the empty cartons and bottles and this becomes a very interesting set of problems really in logistics of movement. We have also worked on various problems and connections with automobiles, safety factors on the safety factors in various large plants. We have been responsible for the design and the supervision of an human engineering of the entire control systems on large walking drag lines which as you may recall are used in the moving of vast quantities of earth, the ones that we worked on would pick up as much as 30 to 35 cubic yards at a bite.
As is often the case it is sometimes difficult for a non-scientist to envision just how research findings may find practical applications. Once again Professor Hilton and Dr. Dunlap made these comments regarding practical application. Professor Hilton made this statement. The practical applications are practically infinite. There are in general three approaches to the man machine problem. There is first the approach through selecting the man best fitted for a particular kind of task with a given kind of equipment. Secondly there is the approach in which the emphasis is on the training of the people so that they will be as efficient as possible in the use of that equipment and thirdly there is the approach of making the equipment as good as possible for practically unselected group of operators.
Now the last approach is the latest. The psychologists have worked for many years on the problem of selection and training of personnel in industry. The emphasis on the improvement of equipment so that it can be used efficiently and at the least cost to the operator is something that came in with the second world war. Now anything that can be done to fit the man better to the job or to improve the equipment is of course going to result in improvements in efficiency and industry and productivity and in less wear and tear on both the equipment and on the human being. When you come to follow this through and everything that is being made and then used by human beings you can see that the opportunities are simply limitless.
Dr. Dunlap said the engineers in the automobile industry for example have done some very good things and some things that in my opinion are not so good. For example they have changed from the old planetary clutch in a Model T Ford now into the automatic clutching that we have thus simplifying the task of the operator so that he can keep his attention concentrated upon stirring and upon the road in front of him. On the other hand they have come up with the idea of titting our windshields because titting our windshields will prevent sun glare and thus help the individual to be able to see if he is driving into the sun. They forgot however that you also drive at night and that you cut down the illumination at night and this is perhaps even more hazardous particularly for older people than to have the sun in your eyes during the day.
You can always pull the visor down in that case and look through it but there is nothing that you can do with the green tinted windshield at night to increase the visibility through it. So there have been questions of this sort. We have gone to simplification the engineer has in the power linkages and the power steering which is again simplified the task putting less strain upon the operator making his job easier the machine more responsive. These are the kinds of things that the human engineer and the engineer can design. For example a member of my staff handed me a paper just yesterday with regard to some of the problems in the steering of aircraft by nose wheels laid out some of the equations in here some of the feedbacks it's necessary for the pilot to get and propose certain new linkages which could be developed which would greatly simplify the task of doing this. Now we probably will not go ahead to the design of the hardware but the basic equations
are there from which a designer can work. Thus it's in this form that there is a constant feedback. Let me come to a simpler type of thing. One ten years ago one of our household equipment manufacturers came out with a stove it was a push button type of stove. Interestingly enough the arrangement of these push buttons were exactly the reverse of what any human engineer would have recommended because it is possible that women might operate differently than men with regard to sequences we set up some experimental situations to test. We found that this was not true that women like men preferred things to go from left to right i.e. that all they would have preferred at the left and that the increasing temperatures on this electric range would go would increase steadily until you got to the extreme right
button. Exactly the reverse of what the manufacturer. I happen to know a number of women who have such stoves and several of them have taken nail polish and carefully remark these things so that they can be sure to get the right burner and the right temperature. A man who each day dramatically sees the future practical applications of this research is Edward Jones of the MacDonald Aircraft Corporation. There they are concerned with putting a man into space by working on the famed Mercury project. I asked Dr. Jones what man's role will be in machine system design. This was what he said. Well we may well to answer that the best approach might be to outline some of the considerations that we give here in the design of systems. These are the types of things that the behavioral scientist is apt to consider. The first of these is that we examine the total system concept and requirements in terms
of man's role if any in operating the system based upon the requirements of the particular vehicle that we are considering as well as the physical and social environment in which the operation must be accomplished. That is we take into consideration the needs of society, adverse physical effects that may occur. For example we are now concerned with space vehicles where man is put in an entirely new physical environment. We have to examine these rather closely as an initial step in first deciding whether a not man will be in the system. If we do decide that man will be in the system a second step is to allocate functions to the man and then to the machine based upon human capabilities and limitations as well as the requirement to keep the machine operating effectively.
That is the man can serve as a backup for components of the system or in cases where things happen to this system or vehicle that were not anticipated. That is if some portion of it fails the man may well step in and operate this so-called automatic component. We do then as another step we begin to estimate the if we have more than one man in the vehicle or any interactions between man and man within this for both the operation of this vehicle. For example if we had two men in a space capsule and they were to fly under long term conditions we would be interested in what facilitating or degrading effects may occur between these two people. We may examine the launch system for this which in reality becomes a very complex and highly skilled operation, very much like a football team which gets this vehicle off and most
important probably we would be concerned with the people who are required to check out and maintain this system. We are interested in all of these people since they are a very crucial part of any consider iteration. After we have looked at this then we make some estimate of the manning requirements of the system in terms of the number and skill levels required of the individuals to operate, maintain and launch the particular system we are considering. As another step and after we have determined this we specify the general training and training equipment requirements for individuals who will operate and maintain this. We have techniques for breaking down the job into components where we can make better estimates of the man's specific role and specific training requirements.
We may have to devise methods of measuring how well the man functions once we build the system and to answer such questions as whether or not his training or the selection process for him has brought him the individual up to and the skill level necessary to keep this system functioning to the manner which it is required in its design. It might be noted here that many of the systems we are dealing with have very very high accuracy requirements and an error as would occur in the failure of a missile to launch can be extremely expensive. As a next step in the design process we go back to the vehicle and begin to think about the general workspace layouts and the instruments and controls that the man needs to operate this
system. We base this on a very fairly complex analysis which consider the information that is given to him the conditions in which he must operate and reliability considerations for the system. We also may examine the system in terms of any possible sociological impact of this or examples of this might be the effects of high noise levels on particular community relations or the propaganda value of the system and certainly we have learned from sputnik that systems and complex systems can have tremendous propaganda value in the cold war. The implications of the system in terms of the case military systems in terms of the organizational requirements necessary to perform the function.
Already we have seen television cameras, radios, tape recorders, etc. put into space. With these mechanisms capable of obtaining scientific data required why then is it necessary that man also be put into space. Dr. Joan answered this question this way. Well for many functions I think arguments can be made that television cameras and other data regarding devices can give us considerable information. However I think one who stops with that argument misses several points. The first one is that as human beings we are interested in putting man in many of these atypical environments. Man has gone to the north pole and the south pole and to the top of Mount Everest and I'm certain that man will go in space and beyond that to planets and other systems.
I think this is just a portion of the function of the way man thinks and performs in great sympathy with this. In addition I think it's very important to consider that there are basic exploration functions here and that we may find that other planets within our near planets may have considerable value for us. These may be both in a military and in any civil sense. In addition I think other considerations might come about and these are pretty technical in terms of the operation of the vehicle. But we find that the addition of a man to a vehicle and here we assume that he is properly
integrated can generally increase the reliability of this machine. Since the man has the capability of performing when systems fail in this vehicle that is he can make very complex decisions based on a variety of information and decide when to operate malfunctioning components of the system. In addition man can add considerable flexibility to the vehicle by taking care of situations that were not anticipated correctly in the basic design of the system. I think you see that there may be many, many arguments for including man in some of the space vehicles that we are considering.
Even if we only had to argue that he was going out in space because it was there. We have seen what kinds of research is being conducted and from this will naturally come other research. I asked Dr. Jones what problems in research remained? Well I would have to answer here almost everything in the field of behavioral sciences. I think we are just beginning to scratch the surface in defining areas where we may have major payoff in the future. We are just beginning to know what questions to ask much less solve these questions. I think that the behavioral sciences have a tremendous future and if the emphasis on them is proper that many of the questions that we have considered here will be answered in
the future, it will not be an easy to ask. The answers will not be clear cut and precise as we expect from some of the other fields and in many cases they might be controversial. Next week you will once again here Dr. Edward Jones, Professor Harry Helson and Dr. Jack Dunlap as they discuss man and machines on the second program on this subject, a program from the series Human Behavior, Social and Medical Research, consultant for this program was Professor Paul Fitz of the University of Michigan and we extend our special thanks to the Mental Health Research Institute of our campus. And Philip speaking asking that you join us next week and thanking you for being with us at this time. This program has been produced by the University of Michigan Broadcasting Service under a grant
in aid from the National Educational Television and Radio Center in cooperation with the National Association of Educational Broadcasters. This is the NAEB Radio Network.
Series
Behavioral science research
Episode
Man and machines, part 1
Producing Organization
University of Michigan
Contributing Organization
University of Maryland (College Park, Maryland)
AAPB ID
cpb-aacip/500-xk84pf62
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip/500-xk84pf62).
Description
Episode Description
This program, the first of two parts, talks about the relationship between man and machines. Guest are: Harry Helson, Ph.D.; Jack Dunlap, Stamford, Conn.; and Edward R. Jones, Ph.D., McDonnell Aircraft Corp., St. Louis.
Series Description
A documentary series on behavioral science and its role in understanding human health.
Broadcast Date
1961-09-06
Topics
Science
Psychology
Media type
Sound
Duration
00:29:51
Embed Code
Copy and paste this HTML to include AAPB content on your blog or webpage.
Credits
Host: Cowlin, Bert
Interviewee: Helson, Harry, 1898-1977
Interviewee: Dunlap, Jack
Interviewee: Jones, Edward R.
Producing Organization: University of Michigan
AAPB Contributor Holdings
University of Maryland
Identifier: 61-36-13 (National Association of Educational Broadcasters)
Format: 1/4 inch audio tape
Duration: 00:29:45
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
Citations
Chicago: “Behavioral science research; Man and machines, part 1,” 1961-09-06, University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed March 19, 2024, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-xk84pf62.
MLA: “Behavioral science research; Man and machines, part 1.” 1961-09-06. University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. March 19, 2024. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-xk84pf62>.
APA: Behavioral science research; Man and machines, part 1. Boston, MA: University of Maryland, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-500-xk84pf62