warnings

What values are pilots allowed to enter for the weight of the plane?

January 22, 2012
Thumbnail image for What values are pilots allowed to enter for the weight of the plane?

I’d assume when pilots enter a weight estimate for the plane prior to takeoff that there would be a decision aid to prevents gross miscalculation. It certainly seems like an undue load (no pun intended) on the pilot to require entering multiple components for weight correctly. From the article linked below I am no longer sure how much automation is [...]

Read the full article →

Verdict Reached for Air France Rio Crash

July 29, 2011
Thumbnail image for Verdict Reached for Air France Rio Crash

The BBC has reported the incident analysis of the Air France crash that killed 228 people was due to lack of pilot skill in dealing with a high altitude stall. Here is a link to the BEA Report from the Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses. It’s a frightening read, as they give a moment by moment analysis of the last minutes in the cockpit. No emergency [...]

Read the full article →

Are we too trusting of GPS automation?

July 26, 2011
Thumbnail image for Are we too trusting of GPS automation?

A GPS certainly makes life easier — and although I think many of us might consider what would happen if we were without it or it was unable to identify where we were, it is less often we consider how it may lead us astray. One of our early postings on the Human Factors Blog was about a bus driver [...]

Read the full article →

Failure to Design Out, Guard, or even Warn Results in Worker Pulled Through 5-inch Opening

June 3, 2011

The story of a UK man who was pulled through a small opening meant for steel poles is in the news again as the companies involved pleaded guilty to not having safety measures in place. Read the article here (with a picture of the machine). I’ve excerpted the reported accident factors below: “His clothing snagged on the machine and he was [...]

Read the full article →

Furniture-flavored Pancakes

October 20, 2010

Things are quiet because we’re both hammered by the Fall semester. But enjoy this humorous image of a lack of discriminability in product packaging (via Consumerist):

Read the full article →

11 feet 8 inches

September 2, 2010

A train trestle in Durham, NC has a clearance of 11’8″. The typical height of a large rental truck ranges from 11’6″ (don’t bounce!) to 13’6″. How often do you think about clearance when driving? Do you think you could adjust to thinking about it 100% of the time in your rental truck? I’ve seen parking garages that have a [...]

Read the full article →

Ergonomic Advice from Star Trek

August 5, 2010

From xadamx via Gizmodo.

Read the full article →

Contact lens solution safety can be a complex if-then task

June 9, 2010
Thumbnail image for Contact lens solution safety can be a complex if-then task

We’ve posted before on confusing bottles, even those with labels. This latest problem comes from a type of contact lens solution that burns your eyes if you use it immediately, but does not if you’ve let your contacts sit in it for a long period of time. Excerpts from the write up at Consumer Reports: It is a hydrogen peroxide solution [...]

Read the full article →

Exit Signs Across Cultures

March 11, 2010
Thumbnail image for Exit Signs Across Cultures

Slate.com has a nice article on the difference between U.S. exit signs and the rest of the world, as well as a nice history of the evolution of the symbols.  Here is an excerpt to get you interested: The text-based American exit sign has its origins in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, a blaze in a downtown Manhattan garment factory [...]

Read the full article →

Ahem…your heart has stopped

January 12, 2010
Thumbnail image for Ahem…your heart has stopped

Darin Ellis sends along this radio story about a woman’s robotic heart that has a malfunction warning system that literally breaks the textbook HF rules of alarm design.  I’ll let Darin explain the unfortunate issue: This woman, who is living thanks to a robotic heart, related a story of the “heart” malfunctioning.  Apparently, although not prone to malfunction, there is [...]

Read the full article →

Redesigning the Homeland Security Warnings

September 13, 2009

The NYTimes has an interesting OpEd where they asked various designers to re-imagine the homeland advisory system.  It’s a multimedia presentation with narration from the graphic designers.  Not much warnings research but interesting.  Here is what it looks like now: and here is one proposed redesign that, according to the designer, takes advantage of our ability read emotions from eyes:

Read the full article →

HF/Usability Hodgepodge

August 28, 2009

Things too small for their own post but interesting nonetheless…it’s a hodgepodge, a mélange, a potpourri! Stay in touch with those who don’t have or want a computer (via Gadgeteer) “upgrading customer usability without breaking the bank” (via UXforward) If Craigslist got a makeover, what might it look like? (Wired) Men and women use car navigation systems differently (GPSworld)

Read the full article →

911: Trying to fight slips via warnings

August 4, 2009

I got a newsletter in the mail today from the City of Raleigh. Here are some excerpts centering on the problems with our area code: RALEIGH/WAKE 911 CENTER WANTS YOU TO KNOW THAT HANG UPS HURT What do a child playing with a telephone, an unprotected non flip cell phone and someone dialing a ten-digit phone number in the 919 [...]

Read the full article →

Electric Scooters and their Warnings: A Guest Post by Kim Wolfinbarger

June 16, 2009
Thumbnail image for Electric Scooters and their Warnings: A Guest Post by Kim Wolfinbarger

Electric shopping carts are common in large grocery stores. Essential for users with mobility impairments, they are also helpful for pregnant women, elderly shoppers, and other who have trouble walking long distances. A few months ago, my grandfather overturned such a cart in a parking lot and broke his hip. Interested in what might have caused the accident, I examined [...]

Read the full article →

Watch out for Un-Equalsteppings!

June 10, 2009

Reader Joe C. sent in this unusual warning on a door. It was on the entry door to one of the screens at a local cinema. The un-equalsteppings just turned out to be a slope! Not sure why they couldn’t of just told me it was a slope.

Read the full article →

Rethinking the Hotel Closet

January 16, 2009

Great picture from reader Kim Wolfinbarger, University of Oklahoma: “Thought you might enjoy this example of an affordance gone wrong. I had never considered this use for a sprinkler head, but obviously some other hotel guests had.”

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries