Anne van Dalen

General Introduction I 15 human element of an event. Since 1995, recorders have also become the norm for rail and bus transport, and even private automobiles, as most new cars are now equipped with a downloadable Event Data Recorder linked to the car’s airbag system. 27 When the black boxes were first introduced in the airline industry, the idea was not well-received by the airlines. Pilots rejected the concept, fearing that these black boxes might be used to spy on crew. Pilots insisted that “no plane would take off with Big Brother listening.” The Royal Australian Air Force further commented that “such a device is not required” and that “the recorder would yield more expletives than explanations.” 28 Nevertheless, within a few years these “black boxes” were commercialised and by the late Sixties the device was a requirement in all civilian passenger-planes worldwide. 28 In these industries, black boxes have now been embedded in legal and operational frameworks where they function optimally and generate true value. 29 Human factors in the operating room The term “human factors” is used to describe the environmental, organizational, and job factors, in addition to the human and individual characteristics. Human performance can be affected by many factors such as circadian rhythms, state of mind, physical health, attitude, emotions, propensity for certain common mistakes, errors and cognitive biases. Figure 1. A flight and cockpit data recorder is actually orange (source: KLM)