Workshop-based methodology to understand the risks in grain export inspection and certification.

Area of Science:

• Human factors engineering
• Risk management
• Public policy

Background:

• Human factors research traditionally focuses on system and product safety.
• Limited research exists on human factors in regulatory, certification, and public policy risk assessment.
• This study addresses the gap by examining human factors in agricultural export certification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply human factors principles to understand and manage risks in Australia's grain and plant product inspection and export certification.
• To develop a risk assessment framework and tool tailored for regulatory and certification processes.
• To identify potential threats and errors within the existing system.

Main Methods:

• Conducted training and awareness workshops for government staff and managers.
• Incorporated focus group elements within workshops to gather insights.
• Developed a human factors-oriented risk register based on identified threats and errors.

Main Results:

• Identified key sources of risk in the inspection and export certification process.
• Established a foundation for a comprehensive risk assessment framework and tool.
• Enhanced understanding of work processes among inspectors and managers.

Conclusions:

• Human factors approaches can be effectively applied to non-traditional risk domains like public policy and certification.
• The developed methodology provides a basis for creating practical risk assessment tools for regulatory bodies.
• Further application of human factors is encouraged in business, public policy, and engineering risk contexts.