The importance of human performance in incidents and accidents is widely acknowledged, however the investigation of how human factors influence the causal sequence is less well understood.

This course has been designed to help those who may be involved in the investigation of incidents and accidents to better understand how physiology and psychology influence the likelihood of an individual to make errors or commit violations.

Areas covered include cognition and information processing, medical factors, assessing fatigue, ergonomics, human factors investigation methodologies/tools and organisational/cultural factors.

The course is delivered by experienced practitioners from the accident investigation and human performance fields with experience from the rail, marine and air transport sectors.

At a glance

  • Dates
    • 28 Apr - 02 May 2025
  • Duration1 week
  • LocationHybrid
  • Cost£2,130. The course fee includes refreshments and lunch during the day. Accommodation is not included and must be booked separately. Concessions available

Course structure

The course will be delivered over five days using a mixture of lectures from industry experts and academics, case study exercises and group discussions.

What you will learn

On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

  • Outline the key areas of consideration for an accident investigator in terms of human performance in transport operations;
  • Identify suitable techniques for the collection of accurate evidence relating to human performance;
  • Critically assess the effectiveness of contemporary human factors evidence collection and analysis tools;
  • Identify at what point an expert should be approached about the collection or analysis of human performance evidence.
  • Reflect on the quality of the human performance aspects of contemporary accident investigations.

Core content

  • The role of human performance in accidents
  • Human errors and violations
  • Human cognition
  • Perception, memory, attention and vigilance
  • Information processing, decision making and situational awareness
  • Medical factors
  • Tiredness and fatigue
  • Job / workplace factors
  • Team factors
  • Cultural factors
  • Organisational factors
  • Human performance evidence collection
  • Tools for assessing human performance
  • Analysis of human performance data
  • Accident case studies.

Upgrade to a professional qualification

All of the short courses within the Safety and Accident Investigation Centre are available as standalone courses. Our postgraduate programme in Safety and Accident Investigation allows you to combine many of our courses towards a part-time postgraduate qualification.

Structure of accident investication course

Who should attend

Those involved in the investigation of incident or accidents within the transport industry or whom may be the recipients of safety recommendations.

Speakers

We bring together a world-class group of experts to share their experiences. This includes specialists with experience in accident investigation, psychology, ergonomics and medicine.

Concessions

Group discount: Where three delegates or more are booking from within one site or one organisation, a discount of 10% will apply to the invoice for the course tuition fee. Accommodation fees are not included in the discount scheme. Please ask about our discount scheme at time of booking.

Accommodation options and prices

This is a non-residential course. If you would like to book accommodation on campus, please contact Mitchell Hall or Cranfield Management Development Centre directly. Further information regarding our accommodation on campus can be .

Alternatively you may wish to make your own arrangements at a nearby hotel.

Location and travel

ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ is situated in Bedfordshire close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The University is located almost midway between the towns of Bedford and Milton Keynes and is conveniently situated between junctions 13 and 14 of the M1.

London Luton, Stansted and Heathrow airports are 30, 90 and 90 minutes respectively by car, offering superb connections to and from just about anywhere in the world. 

For further location and travel details

Location address

ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥
College Road
Cranfield
Bedford 
MK43 0AL

How to apply

To apply for this course please use the online application form.

Read our Professional development (CPD) booking conditions.