Ageing and human-system errors in manufacturing: a scoping review

Abstract

Population ageing is acknowledged as a global trend affecting the manufacturing workforce. The progressive age-related decline of human capabilities may lead to an increase in human-system errors (HSEs) in production environments; hence, the study conducted a scoping literature review to determine the relationship between ageing and HSEs in manufacturing contexts. The review identified only 26 relevant studies, which showed that age is associated with HSEs in complex ways. With increasing age, the number, frequency, and probability of HSEs tend to increase, but this trend may be countered by experience effects. The review results suggested that it is necessary to consider the impact of ageing on operators’ performance. A theoretical framework for addressing the relationship between ageing and HSEs in manufacturing contexts was proposed. The framework highlighted the absence of studies reporting on perceptual, cognitive, and/or physical task demands, and the limited application of existing error typologies in the current literature. The results highlighted that important safety, productivity, and quality benefits accrue from paying attention to HSEs in system design and management, which should motivate further research in this area of growing importance.

KEYWORDS:

• Human error
• human reliability
• age
• older worker
• ergonomics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada: [Grant Number NSERC; RGPIN-2018-05956].