The term Emergency operation refers to situations when the operators realize that they do not have sufficient time to operate safely, and the machine assistance is required to avoid making errors.
Emergency operation
If we knew at the time of the requirement specification all about all the exceptional situations, and on the preferred reaction, then we could fully automate the system behavior. Instead of letting the operators make their mistakes, we could let the machine decide how to act.
Because not all the operational details are known in design time, it is a common practice to enable the operators to override a predefined procedure "just in case" that the operator needs a sequence that the designer did not anticipate. This is especially applicable to emergency operation. The problem is that in emergency, when under stress, operators are not creative. They cannot find the proper solution. Instead they take the action that they are used to take, the one they used during normal operation ( Bainbridge, 1983 )
The guide recommends that overriding the predefined procedures is restricted to special safety-critical functions. The guide recommends providing warning to the operators about the risks of activating the emergency functions. The guide recommends about features of these warnings, for ensuring that the operators consider them even when under stress. Special rules should be specified and designed to avoid false alarms. The effect on the system behaviour should be examined carefully.
Updated on 20 Dec 2015.