Human Performance

Starting with People

Human performance encompasses a wide range of risk factors within the ReliabilityFirst footprint, as people play a role in every aspect of industry. As a result, human performance can have a significant impact on the reliability and security of the electric grid. Diverse factors, including extreme weather, security threats, resource availability, and transmission outages, constantly put stress on the grid, challenging grid operators, engineers and workers to make tough decisions under pressure. When these situations occur, human errors can trigger or exacerbate system events that may compromise the grid’s functionality and stability.

ReliabilityFirst analyzes human performance through reviews of system events, disturbances, and violations of NERC Reliability Standards. We look at contributing causes to determine if the error was a skill-based error, rule-based error, or knowledge-based error. Often the risks are tied back to systemic, design, or organizational issues that can be addressed along with implementing training and additional barriers to help prevent these human errors. The guiding principle is that people do not intend to make mistakes; therefore, the focus is shifting from assigning blame to identifying and addressing the true root causes of failures. These efforts start by examining the processes, policies, and organizational culture that shape human performance.

We learn from these incidents and share best practices, internal controls, and techniques at our annual Human Performance Workshop every August. If you are interested in learning more about human performance, please visit our Contact Us page and select the Engineering and System Performance team to begin a discussion. Explore additional human performance resources below.