Human error can make a significant impact on the overall workplace environment. In addition to adversely affecting workplace safety, human error can also affect the attitude, motivation, and overall productivity of employees and their co-workers. According to a recent report, approximately 90% of workplace accidents are caused by human error. In the manufacturing industry, for example, human error is responsible for roughly 23% of unplanned downtime.

While there are a variety of actions and inactions that constitute errors, the Health and Safety Executive has identified three basic types of active human error:

• Slips and lapses
• Mistakes
• Violations

Workplace issues can obviously have a significant impact on whether or not an employee makes an error. According to a recent survey, 80% of the participants reported their employers expected “too much work from too few people.” This has the potential to cause stress as well as a lack of productivity. Almost 51% of the survey participants indicated that they were less productive due to stress.

Communication also makes an impact on the overall work environment. When management doesn’t communicate effectively or otherwise provide strong leadership, employees can become confused as to what is expected of them. Approximately 46% of the survey participants stated that workplace meetings didn’t provide them with sufficient information on what tasks they were supposed to perform next. However, when employers do share important information and data with their employees, roughly 50% reported that they became more productive and motivated.

It’s important to note that many employers do realize that improvement is needed. The aforementioned survey indicated that almost 45% of manufacturers have acknowledged that this is true for their establishment. This is where human error prevention tools could make a difference. When employers and employees learn more about how to prevent human errors in the workplace, they will be able to co-create a safer and more productive environment. Human error prevention tools also have the capacity to reduce stress and increase motivation.

It’s likely your company would like to learn more about human error investigation. human error reduction training, and Corrective and Preventive Action (CAPA) training. CAPA training online is available, which is a convenient option. This training covers cognitive load errors and other important subject matter that can assist employers and employees in learning how to more effectively perform their jobs and reduce human error.