Industrial Risk, Safety and Human Factors in Work Environments

Would your company benefit from new perspectives on risk and safety in an industrial environment? In this course, students address safety challenges in collaboration with companies and organisations. They identify hazards, assess and prioritise risks, analyse incidents and underlying causes, and develop proposals for safer work and operations. The work applies practical methods such as Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA), Job Safety Analysis (JSA), barrier analysis, root-cause analysis, and human factors analysis, guided by the principles of ISO 45001.

By contributing an authentic case, the company gains access to a structured analysis of a current safety challenge and a set of prioritised improvement proposals. The collaboration can also generate new ideas for applying digital tools or artificial intelligence to support safety management, competence development and organisational learning.

The course is designed for companies and organisations in manufacturing, rail, mining, construction and other safety-critical sectors that seek new perspectives on risk, safety and human factors in everyday operations.

Expected results

By participating, the company will receive:

• A structured identification and assessment of hazards and safety risks related to the selected case.
• A prioritised risk evaluation that highlights areas requiring attention and improvement.
• Practical recommendations for strengthening safety in work and operations.
• New perspectives on how organisational, technical and human factors may influence safety.
• An opportunity to promote dialogue and awareness of safety risks among employees, managers and supervisors.
• Early contact with motivated students and a potential opportunity to identify future talent.
• Access to new ideas, relevant methods and competence through collaboration with Luleå University of Technology.

The project concludes with a written report and an oral presentation in which each student group presents and justifies its recommendations using relevant models and theories.

Implementation

Students work in groups on a case provided by the company. The collaboration begins with a brief introduction to the organisation, its operations and the issue to be addressed.

Using relevant material, such as process descriptions, risk assessments, incident reports, procedures, photographs or layout drawings, students identify hazards, assess risks, analyse contributing causes and develop practical improvement proposals.

The project is conducted primarily online, with progress meetings that include the company’s contact person. It concludes with a written report and a final presentation, during which the company can provide feedback.

Commitment

The company is expected to:

• Present a real safety case at the start of the course in a short online session of approximately 20–30 minutes.
• Describe the operational context, current situation, background, objectives and the intended outcome of the project.
• Appoint a contact person who can respond to students’ questions and provide clarification when needed.Where possible, attend the final presentation and provide feedback on the students’ analysis and recommendations.
  
• Participate in approximately two to three online meetings with the student group during the project.
  
• Where possible, attend the final presentation and provide feedback on the students’ analysis and recommendations.

The case does not need to involve sensitive or confidential information. Any confidentiality arrangements and the scope of information shared will be agreed by the parties in advance. Site visits are not included in the course but may be discussed separately where circumstances allow.

Examples

Students investigate an incident, quality deviation, operational disruption, or unsafe event.

Students identify a work activity, workplace condition, or recurring situation that could create safety risks before an incident occurs.

Students select one human-factors challenge in their organisation and develop a short improvement proposal such as:

• Improving safety communication during daily work.
• Identifying risks created by time pressure and productivity demands.
• Improving hazard or near-miss reporting.
• Reviewing whether work instructions support real work.
• Improving shift or task handovers.
• Improving the safety culture within a team, department, or organisation.

• Syllabus for D7013B

Expression of interest

• Register your interest here
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