Who we are

HSE is responsible for enforcing a wide range of health and safety legislation coming under the ‘umbrella’ Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. There are no specific regulations on human factors as such, but a human factors/ergonomics approach is incorporated into some regulations and guidance and is necessary in complying with all or parts of certain legislation, for example:

Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations 1999 (COMAH);
Railways (Safety Critical Work) Regulations 1994;
The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 (as amended);
The Health & Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (as amended); and
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER).

HSE employs a number of human factors specialists including ergonomists and psychologists (occupational, health and cognitive psychologists ). They work closely with other relevant specialists in process safety and occupational health.

HSE’s human factors specialists contribute by:

giving advice to employers, employees and safety representatives;
producing guidance to help employers comply with these and other relevant regulations;
identifying research needed to improve our understanding of relevant human factors issues; and
carrying out regulatory functions including taking enforcement action when necessary.

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Who we are

Human factors

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