Project Background

The Human Factors Research Project (formerly the Aerospace Crew Research Project) at The University of Texas at Austin is funded to investigate individual, team, and organizational factors determining performance and safety in aviation, space, and medicine. It is also charged with developing new measures of performance in these environments and assessing the impact of human factors training on attitudes and behavior. Another role is serving in an advisory capacity for the government and organizations in the application of research findings.

The project has five primary goals:

• To conduct basic research into the determinants of individual and team performance.
• To refine methodologies for the study of individual and group behavior.
• To encourage the application of basic research findings in the aerospace community .
• To measure the effects of cultures (organizational and national) on behavior.
• To train a new generation of researchers in the behavioral sciences.

Current research centers on the study of multiple influences (e.g., organizational, cultural, environmental, group, and individual) on the performance of crews in aviation, space and medical environments. Data have been collected in more than twenty collaborating organizations in the U.S., Europe and Asia. These include major airlines, military units, U.S. air traffic control, the U.S. space program, and various medical institutions. Specific activities include the development of a theory-based operational model of group performance and the development and validation of measures to assess national and organizational cultures, group performance, individual attitudes, and personality factors. Results have clearly demonstrated the operational usefulness of human factors training as a means of improving crew and organizational effectiveness. New training programs and evaluation strategies have been developed that have been adopted in the U.S. and in other countries.

Guiding the research is a theoretical model of group performance and a strategy of collecting data in natural settings. A collaborative arrangement is in place with participating airlines and training organizations to generate confidential databases that can serve as a national resource. Research findings are published in the scientific literature while detailed reports and consultation are provided to participating organizations.

As part of the implementation of the research philosophy, a number of service activities are undertaken. These include participation in industry and government committees, presentations at scientific and industry meetings, and specialized training for industry groups. Project personnel were also active in development of the Federal Aviation Administration's National Plan for Aviation Human Factors and are leading efforts to develop new government guidelines for human factors training.

Click here to read about our most recent book, Culture at Work in Aviation and Medicine: National, Organizational, and Professional Influences by Robert Helmreich and Ashleigh Merritt

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