It really depends on the role of the operator in the system.
If the operator is just a brainless and powerless widget, then by all means they can never be the root cause of a problem.
If the operator is empowered and used as an integral part of the brains of the operation, then you must accept that they will sometimes be the root cause of a problem.
Smart phones are increasingly putting their operator in the former role, so if something happens it really isn't the operator's fault because it's supposed to be a padded room where consumers of content are never able to do anything that can hurt anything.
On the other hand, something like a piece of heavy duty construction equipment is on the other side of the spectrum. If the bulldozer operator, empowered with the operation of the equipment, is supposed to level out a piece of dirt but some neurons misfire and instead decides to drive through the mayor's house, the operator is the root cause of the problem.
I see it personally, where companies spend ten or hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to engineer operator error out of a system where operators are empowered and relied upon as an integral part of the operation, and the company is always fighting the last war because incompetent operators are always finding new ways to screw up.
If the operator is just a brainless and powerless widget, then by all means they can never be the root cause of a problem.
If the operator is empowered and used as an integral part of the brains of the operation, then you must accept that they will sometimes be the root cause of a problem.
Smart phones are increasingly putting their operator in the former role, so if something happens it really isn't the operator's fault because it's supposed to be a padded room where consumers of content are never able to do anything that can hurt anything.
On the other hand, something like a piece of heavy duty construction equipment is on the other side of the spectrum. If the bulldozer operator, empowered with the operation of the equipment, is supposed to level out a piece of dirt but some neurons misfire and instead decides to drive through the mayor's house, the operator is the root cause of the problem.
I see it personally, where companies spend ten or hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to engineer operator error out of a system where operators are empowered and relied upon as an integral part of the operation, and the company is always fighting the last war because incompetent operators are always finding new ways to screw up.
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