Human Factors | Blast Resitant Design | Smith LaRock Architecture

The Importance of Human Factors

Human Factors is the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.

SLA promotes strong human factors implementation into the early design process through our association with industry leading Human Factor professionals.

Optimize the Human Machine Interface
Enhanced Situational Awareness
Enhance Safety by Designing for the Health and Alertness of Staff
Encourage Collaboration
Decision-Making Reliability
Leadership
Creating Positive Visitor Experiences
Improve Productivity
Ease Maintenance Tasks
Enhanced Employee Satisfaction
Increase Recruitment and Retention

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HVAC affects us all more than we think, with problems ranging from noise to dry eyes to temperature control to distractions from building odors. Proper heating ventilation and cooling design is a critical requirement of 24/7 facilities. In mission-critical spaces, many operator discomfort issues are directly attributable to poor HVAC design, and SLA has refined the application and design of the HVAC system so it does not become one of the traditional issues we see in existing facilities.

Acoustics

Acoustics is a wide ranging issue in mission-critical spaces. Whether passive or actively controlling sound, room acoustics has the potential to make or break an operations center. Sound transmission into a space from flanking rooms or the exterior, dealing with the additive nature of sound within a space, and even how we deal with the many auditory signals, telephone, alarms, base radio sources and entertainment when many replicated workstations all operate in close proximity is key to designing an effective workspace. SLA has design solutions that can help with each of these examples, resulting in quieter, more serene control rooms, open office areas, and even private office / conference / war room areas.

Lighting

Proper lighting in a VDT environment is critical to reducing eye-strain, creating vigilance, and creating a serene and stress-reducing atmosphere conducive to effective operations.

Ergonomics

Designing a building to meet a specific functionality begins with the human-machine interface- we call this our "reverse-engineering an onion" approach. Proper geometries, sight lines, lighting, acoustics, finishes and environmental control techniques must all be coordinated with the equipment, furnishings, room design and anthropometrics of the User groups to help ensure vigilance and safety result from the overall design. When blended effectively, these benefits are transmitted to the entire plant in the form of better site/unit situational awareness and increased safety.