Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Human and organizational factors in security screening and inspection systems: conceptual framework and key research needs

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Cognition, Technology & Work Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper presents a macroergonomic conceptual framework for human and organizational factors in security screening and inspection (SSI) systems of cargo and passengers across three transportation modes: air, rail, and sea. The framework categorizes human and organizational factors into five categories of the SSI work system: organization, operational environment, individual or operator, tasks and workload, and SSI tools and technologies. The framework is an expanded description of human and organizational factors in each transportation mode with key areas for human factors research in SSI systems. Research recommendations and implications for the intelligent design and intelligent support of SSI systems include organizational and job design of SSI systems, roles of human error and violations in SSI systems, and design of effective alarm systems.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has archived, publicly-available studies and reports accessible from their website (www.gao.gov).

References

  • Besnard D, Greathead D (2003) A cognitive approach to safe violations. Cogn Technol Work 5(4):272–282

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bliss JP, Dunn MC (2000) Behavioural implications of alarm mistrust as a function of task workload. Ergonomics 43:1283–1300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carayon-Sainfort P (1992) The use of computers in offices: impact on task characteristics and worker stress. Int J Hum Comput Interact 4(3):245–261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carayon P, Smith MJ (2000) Work organization and ergonomics. Appl Ergon 31:649–662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper CL, Marshall J (1976) Occupational sources of stress: a review of the literature relating to coronary heart disease and mental ill health. J Occup Psychol 49:11–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox T (1985) Repetitive work: occupational stress and health. In: Cooper CL, Smith MJ (eds) Job stress and blue collar work. Wiley, New York, pp 85–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Customs Border Protection (2005) Protecting America: US Customs and Border Protection 2005–2010 Strategic Plan. Washington, DC

  • Drury CG (1992) Inspection performance. In: Salvendy G (ed) Handbook of industrial engineering, 2nd edn edn. Wiley, New York, pp 2282–2314

    Google Scholar 

  • Frittelli JF (2005) Port and maritime security: background and issues for Congress. Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress, Washington, DC, May 27, 2005, Report No. RL31733

  • Gale AG, Mugglestone M, Purdy KJ, McClumpha A (2000) Is airport baggage inspection just another medical image? In: Krupinkski EA (ed) Medical imaging 2000: image perception and performance. Proceedings of SPIE, vol 3981, pp 184–192

  • GAO (1987) Aviation security: FAA needs pre-board passenger screening performance standards. United States Government Accounting Office, Washington, DC, July 1987, Report No. GAO/RCED–87–182

  • GAO (2000a) Aviation security: long-standing problems impair airport screeners’ performance. United States General Accounting Office, Washington, DC, June 2000, Report No. GAO/RCED–00–75

  • GAO (2000b) Aviation security: slow progress in addressing long-standing screener performance problems. United States Government Accounting Office, Washington, DC, March 16, 2000, Report No. GAO/RCED–00–125

  • GAO (2001a) Terrorist acts illustrate severe weaknesses in aviation security. US Government Accounting Office, Washington, DC, September 20, 2001, Report No. GAO–01–1166T

  • GAO (2001b) Terrorist acts demonstrate urgent need to improve security at Nation’s airports. United States Government Accounting Office, Washington, DC, September 20, 2001, Report No. GAO–01-1162T

  • GAO (2002) Container security: Current efforts to detect nuclear materials, new initiatives, and challenges. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, November 18, 2002, Report No. GAO-03-297T

  • GAO (2003a) Transportation Security Administration: actions and plans to build a results-oriented culture. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, January 2003, Report No. GAO-03-190

  • GAO (2003b) Airport passenger screening: preliminary observations on progress made and challenges remaining. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, September 24, 2003, Report No. GAO-03-1173

  • GAO (2003c) Rail safety and security: some actions already taken to enhance rail security, but risk-based plan needed. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, April 30, 2003, Report No. GAO-03-435

  • GAO (2005a) Aviation security: federal action needed to strengthen domestic air cargo security. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, October 17, 2005, Report No. GAO-66-76

  • GAO (2005b) Aviation security: screener training and performance measurement strengthened, but more work remains. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, May 2005, Report No. GAO-05-457

  • GAO (2005c) Passenger rail security: enhanced federal leadership needed to prioritize and guide security efforts. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, September 2005, Report No. GAO-05-851

  • GAO (2006a) Border security: investigators transported radioactive sources across our nation’s borders at two locations. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, March 28, 2006, Report No. GAO-06-583T

  • GAO (2006b) Aviation security: TSA oversight of check baggage screening procedures could be strengthened. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, July 2006, Report No. GAO-06-869

  • GAO (2006c) Passenger rail security: evaluating foreign security practices and risk can help guide security efforts. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, March 29, 2006, Report No. GAO-06-557T

  • GAO (2007) Passenger rail security: federal strategy and enhanced coordination needed to prioritize and guide security efforts. United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC, February 6, 2007, Report No. GAO-07-442T

  • Getty DJ, John JA, Pickett RM, Gonthier D (1995) System operator response to warnings of danger: a laboratory investigation of the effects of the predictive value of a warning on human response time. J Exp Psychol 1(1):19–33

    Google Scholar 

  • Goh J, Wiegmann DA, Madhavan P (2005) Effects of automation failure in a luggage screening task: a comparison between direct and indirect cueing. In: Proceedings of the human factors and ergonomics society 49th annual meeting. Orlando, pp 492–496

  • Hancock PA, Hart SG (2002) Defeating terrorism: what can human factors/ergonomics offer? Ergon Des Winter :2–12

  • Hannum DW, Parmeter JE (1998) Survey of commercially available explosives detection technologies and equipment. Sandia National Laboratories

  • Harris DH (2002) How to really improve airport security. Ergon Des Winter :1–6

  • Herrero SG, Saldana MAM, Manzanedo MA, Ritzel DO (2002) From the traditional concept of safety management to safety integrated with quality. J Safety Res 33:1–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang X, Gramopadhye AK, Melloy BJ (2004) Theoretical issues in the design of visual inspection systems. Theor Issues Ergon Sci 5(3):232–247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalimo R, Lindstrom K, Smith MJ (1997) Psychosocial approach in occupational health. In: Salvendy G (ed) Handbook of human factors and ergonomics. Wiley, New York, pp 1059–1084

    Google Scholar 

  • Karasek RA (1979) Job demands, job decision latitude and mental strain: implications for job design. Adm Sci Q 4:285–308

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kouzes RT (2005) Detecting illicit nuclear materials. Am Sci September-October:422–427

  • Kouzes RT, Ely JH, Geelhood BD, Hansen RR, Lepel EA, Schweppe JE, Siciliano L, Strom DJ, Warner RA (2004) Naturally occurring radioactive materials and medical isotopes at border crossings. In: Nuclear science symposium conference record, 2003 IEEE, vol 2, pp 1448–1452

  • Kraemer S, Carayon P (2005) Computer and information security culture: findings from two studies. In: Proceedings of the human factors and ergonomics society 49th annual meeting. Orlando, pp 1483–1487

  • Kraemer S, Carayon P (2007) Human errors and violations in computer and information security: the viewpoint of network administrators and security specialists. Appl Ergon 38(2):143–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer S, Carayon P, Clem JF (2006a) An adversarial viewpoint of human and organizational factors in computer and information security: final report. Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison

    Google Scholar 

  • Kraemer S, Carayon P, Clem JF (2006b) Characterizing violations in computer and information security systems. In: Proceedings of the 16th triennial congress of the international ergonomics association. Maastricht, pp 10–14

  • Ladika S (2001) New effort puts radiation sentinels at the borders. Science 292(5522):1633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lake JE, Robinson WH, Seghetti LM (2005) Border and transportation security: the complexity of the challenge. United States Congressional Research Service, Domestic Social Policy Division, Washington, DC, March 29, 2005, Report No. RL32839

  • Lawton R (1998) Not working to rule: understanding procedural violations at work. Saf Sci 28:77–95

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee JD, See KA (2004) Trust in automation: designing for appropriate reliance. Hum Factors 46(1):50–80

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leone K (2002) Security system throughput modeling. In Proceedings of the 36th Annual 2002 International Carnahan Conference on Security Technology, IEEE, pp 144–150

  • McCallum MC, Bittner A, Rubenstein J, Brown J, Richman J, Taylor R (2005) Factors contributing to airport screener expertise. In: Proceedings of the human factors and ergonomics society 49th annual meeting, Orlando, pp 922–926

  • McCarley JS, Gosney J (2005) Metacognitive judgments in a simulated luggage screening task. In: Proceedings of the human factors and ergonomics society 49th annual meeting, Orlando, pp 1620–1624

  • McCarley JS, Wiegmann DA, Wickens CD, Kramer AF (2003) Effects of age on utilization and perceived reliability of an automated decision-making aid for luggage screening. In: Proceedings of the 47th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Denver, CO

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarley JS, Kramer AF, Wickens CD, Vidoni ED, Boot WR (2004) Visual skills in airport-security screening. Psychol Sci 15(5):302–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council (2002) Making the nation safer: the role of science and technology in countering terrorism. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC

  • Parasuraman R (1979) Memory load and event rate control sensitivity decrements in sustained attention. Science 205:924–927

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parasuraman R, Riley V (1997) Humans and automation: use, misuse, disuse, abuse. Hum Factors 39:230–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parasuraman R, Hancock PA, Olofinboba O (1997) Alarm effectiveness in driver-centered collision-warning systems. Ergonomics 39:390–399

    Google Scholar 

  • Potomac (2006) Airport security report. Potomac 13(1):March 15, 2006

  • Rahimi M (1995) Merging strategic safety, health and environment into total quality management. Int J Ind Ergon 16:83–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen J (1982) Human errors: a taxonomy for describing human malfunction in industrial installations. J Occup Accid 4:311–333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen J, Pejtersen AM, Goodstein LP (1994) Cognitive systems engineering. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Reason J (1990) Human error. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Reason J (1997) Managing the risks of organizational accidents. Ashgate, Brookfield

    Google Scholar 

  • Reason J, Manstead A, Stradling S, Baxter J, Campbell K (1990) Errors and violations on the roads: a real distinction? Ergonomics 33(10/11):1315–1332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanquist TF, Thurman DA, Mahy HA (2005) The human element in homeland security systems: application issues and research needs. In: Proceedings of the human factors and ergonomics society 49th annual meeting. Orlando, pp 913–917

  • Schwaninger A, Hardmeier D, Hofer F (2004) Measuring visual abilities and visual knowledge of aviation security screeners. In: Proceedings of the 38th annual 2004 international Carnahan conference on security technology. IEEE, pp 258–264

  • Senders JW, Moray NP (1991) Human error: cause, prediction and reduction. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh S, Singh M (2003) Explosives detection systems (EDS) for aviation security. Signal Processing 83:31–55

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Smith MJ, Carayon-Sainfort P (1989) A balance theory of job design for stress reduction. Int J Ind Ergon 4:67–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorkin RD (1987) Design of auditory and tactile displays. In: Salvendy G (ed) Handbook of human factors. Wiley, New York, pp 549–576

    Google Scholar 

  • Transportation Security Administration (2003) Air cargo: strategic plan, Washington, DC

  • Tzelgov J, Srebro R, Henik A, Kushelevsky A (1987) Radiation search and detection by ear and by eye. Hum Factors 29:87–95

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasem RE, Lake J, Seghetti L, Monke J, Vina S (2004) Border security: inspections practices, policies, and issues. Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress, Washington, DC

  • Wiegmann D, McCarley JS, Kramer AF, Wickens CD (2006) Age and automation interact to influence performance of a simulated luggage screening task. Aviat Space Environ Med 77:825–831

    Google Scholar 

  • Willis HH, Oritz DS (2004) Evaluating the security of the global containerized supply chain. RAND Corporation

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was performed while the lead author held a National Research Council Research Associateship Award at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The authors thank Stephen Gajewski and Brian Minsk of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for their reviews on earlier drafts of this paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wisconsin Center for Education Research, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1025 West Johnson Street, Rm. 770, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Sara Kraemer

  2. Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 3126 Engineering Centers Building, 1550 University Ave, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Pascale Carayon

  3. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 1100 Dexter Avenue North, Suite 400, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA

    Thomas F. Sanquist

Authors
  1. Sara Kraemer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Pascale Carayon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Thomas F. Sanquist
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara Kraemer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kraemer, S., Carayon, P. & Sanquist, T.F. Human and organizational factors in security screening and inspection systems: conceptual framework and key research needs. Cogn Tech Work 11, 29–41 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-008-0121-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10111-008-0121-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation