In the road transportation industry development is moving towards more advanced technology and the use of automation in the driving environment is increasing. Regarding the safety risks associated with an unconsidered use of a high degree of automation, it is expensive to develop automatic systems dealing with complex situations. As there is still much improvement to do in this area, this thesis aims to contribute to developing safe autonomic systems to assist truck drivers. The aim of the study was twofold, namely 1) to use Cognitive Work Analysis to identify opportunities for enhancing human-heavy vehicle system performance and 2) to contribute to improving the possibilities for identifying opportunities for enhancing system performance through the development of a method of prioritizing Activities using a Contextual Activity Template. To identify the opportunities for improvement, the first two phases of a Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) – Work Domain Analysis (WDA) and Control Task Analysis (ConTA), were conducted. To complete the WDA, five hours of interviews were conducted with a senior technical adviser from Scania CV AB as well as a two hour interview with an experienced commercial driver. Additionally, an observation study was conducted during which three video cameras were used to capture sixteen hours of footage (per camera) from 35 hours (2500kms) of observation (one driver/day over a four day period). During the observation study, drivers were asked to talk out loud about the information needed, decisions made and to provide some rational for their behavior at that time with respect to their driving activities. A total of 40 minutes of talk out loud video data was collected per driver. Finally, around five hours of follow-up interviews were conduct-ed during which these drivers reviewed the videos collected during the observation study. The results from the WDA were presented in an Abstraction Hierarchy. The overall functional purpose of the system was defined as Goods Distribution via Road Transportation with the values and priorities being Effectivity and Efficiency, Safety, Comfort, Laws/regulations, Reputation, and Organizational Regulations. For the WDA in the current thesis, the AH was completed for the first three values listed above. In total the AH included 343 nodes (39 at the Purpose Related Functions level, 77 at the Object Related Processes level, and 211 at the Physical Objects level). The means by which the physical objects were used in different situations was described using a Contractual Activity Template. The object related processes defined in the AH were crosschecked with 42 situations identified during the observation study. Eight hours of further interviews were conducted with the previously-observed drivers to better understand the relationship between the object related processes and the situations. The object related process-situations matrix was then prioritized according to importance and frequency. On the basis of this prioritization, a set of potential improvement areas were identified, as for example communication and visibility during highway driving. / Transportindustrins utveckling går mot mer avancerad teknik och högre automationsgrad i förarmiljön. Det är kostsamt att utveckla automatiska system som klarar att hantera komplexa situationer på grund av de säkerhetsrisker som är förknippade med ogenomtänkt införande av automation. Eftersom det fortfarande finns mycket förbättring att göra inom området syftar denna studie till att bidra i utvecklingen av säkra autonoma system som stödjer lastbilschauffören. Studien hade ett tvåfaldigt syfte, nämligen 1) att använda Cognitive Work Analysis för att identifiera möjligheter att förbättra människa-fordonssystemsprestandan för tunga lastbilar och 2) att bidra till att förbättra möjligheterna att identifiera möjliga systemförbättringar genom utveckling av en metod för prioritering av aktiviteterna i en Contextual Activity Template. För att identifiera förbättringsmöjligheterna genomfördes de två första faserna av Cognitive Work Analysis – Work Domain Analysis (WDA) och Control Task Analysis (ConTA). För WDA utfördes fem timmar av intervjuer med en senior technical adviser från Scania VC AB och en två timmars intervju med en erfaren kommersiell lastbilschaufför. Utöver detta genomfördes en observationsstudie där tre videokameror användes för att samla 16 timmars inspelning (per kamera) från 35 timmars (2500 km) observation (en förare/dag under en fyradagarsperiod). Under observationsstudien berättade förarna högt om informationsbehov, beslut som tas och förklarade beteendet under de olika köraktiviteterna. Totalt 40 minuter av videodata när förarna berättade högt insamlades per förare. Slutligen genomfördes ungefär fem timmar av efterföljande intervjuer där samma förare fick återge körningen utifrån videomaterialet från observationsstudien. Resultatet från WDA presenterades i en abstraktionshierarki. Det övergripande funktionella syftet med systemet var definierat som godsdistribution via vägtransport med värdena och prioriteringarna Effektivitet, Säkerhet, Komfort, Lagar/Regler, Rykte och Organisatoriska regler. För WDA:n i detta examensarbete gjordes en AH för de tre första värdena nämnda ovan. Totalt bestod AH av 343 noder, (39 på nivån med syftesrelaterade funktioner, 77 på nivån med objektrelaterade processer och 211 på nivån med fysiska objekt). I vilka situationer de fysiska objektens funktioner användes beskrevs med en Contractual Activity Template (CAT; Naikar et al., 2006). De objektrelaterade processer definierade i AH:n undersöktes utifrån 42 situationer identifierade under observationsstudien. Åtta timmar av vidare intervju genomfördes med förarna från observationsstudien för att erhålla en bättre förståelse för förhållandet mellan de objektrelaterade processerna och situationerna. Matrisen med objektrelaterade processer och situationer prioriterades sedan enligt betydelse och frekvens. Baserat på prioriteringen identifierades ett antal potentiella förbättringsområden, exempelvis kommunikation och synlighet under landsvägskörning.

Work Domain Analysis (WDA) and task analysis are methods that can be used to develop complex systems that support human operators. Task analysis can be used to describe the nominal tasks of many complex safety critical systems which are also highly proceduralized. However, complex systems may require human operators to have a greater understanding of the system's dynamics than can be obtained from procedures derived from a task analysis. This is particularly true when off-nominal events occur, for which there is no procedure. By concentrating on the constraints in the work domain instead of tasks, work domain analysis can complement task analysis by supporting operators during off-nominal events that do not have any predescribed procedures. The goal of this study was to use WDA and two forms of task analysis to derive interface and procedure modifications for a new aviation concept called interval management. Interval management is a new concept whose goal is to increase runway throughput by enabling aircraft to achieve a precise interval behind a lead aircraft. This study used data from a human-in-the-loop study conducted at NASA Langley Research Center to develop a Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA), Control Task Analysis (CTA), and WDA. The HTA was used to describe a nominal set or procedures, the CTA was used to describe strategies pilots could use to make decisions regarding the IM operation, and the WDA was used to determine representations and procedures that could convey complete and accurate knowledge of interval management to the flightcrew.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], iv, 41 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references (p. 41).

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