The CQI Human Factors Special Interest Group

• Events
• Branches
• Join now
• Special interest groups:
  • Deming
  • Digital
  • Engineering
  • Financial services
  • Health & social care
  • Human factors
  • Integrated management
  • Medical technologies
  • Nuclear
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Standards development
• Forums

All of the CQI special interest groups are run by volunteers who give their time and energy freely. From time to time we find that a special interest group will no longer have the necessary volunteer support for it to function effectively and this is currently the situation regarding the Human Factors special interest group.

However the Deming SIG are offering any help that they can as they feel there may be a natural synergy between these two groups. Human factors were regarded by Dr Deming as essential elements in the transformation (radical change) in organisations whether that transformation had a quality focus or for any other reason. His well-known 14 Points for Managers are very much focused on human factors. More fundamentally in his final book The New Economics: for Industry, Government, Education he proposed that managers required four areas of knowledge:

• Appreciation for a system
• Knowledge about variation
• Theory of knowledge
• Psychology

He said that one did not need to be an expert in any one or all four in order to be able to apply them as what he called his system of profound knowledge (meaning deep insight). Psychology can be read as human factors and it could be said to be one area that colleagues in the quality community are tempted to over look.

The Deming Group is currently engaged on a project to provide tools and resources for leaders, organisations and people in general who are engaged in transformation. The ultimate aims are to produce both a free web-based resource and materials for a two-day training programme in sustainable transformation. If you are interested in collaborating on or contributing to this project participate in the Deming SIG meeting at CQI on 6 December 2007.

Members interested in human factors are very welcome at any of the quarterly Deming Group meetings at the CQI 12 Grosvenor Crescent in London.