Blog Post: Human-Centered Technology Supports Infrastructure Maintenance Work
Our project partner FIOH has released a blog post on the SARAH project; if you are fluent in Finnish please feel free to check it out here: https://www.ttl.fi/ajankohtaista/blogi/ihmislahtoinen-teknologia-palvelee-infran-kunnossapitotyota
And for those of us who are not, please find below the English translation. Happy Reading!
Human-Centered Technology Supports Infrastructure Maintenance Work
Europe’s civil infrastructure is at a turning point. The condition of bridges, tunnels, and other critical structures is deteriorating. At the same time, digitalization, artificial intelligence, sensors, and drones promise solutions for making maintenance more efficient. But does new technology help people succeed in their work, or does it create new risks?
New technological solutions can reduce hazardous tasks in infrastructure maintenance, such as working at heights.
At the same time, however, they change the nature of the work: physical strain may decrease, but cognitive workload can increase. New uncertainties emerge, and potential failure situations may become more difficult to anticipate.
From a safety perspective, new technology is never neutral—it removes certain risks but always introduces new ones. Therefore, it is essential to understand how technology affects people’s actions, decision-making, and collaboration in everyday work.
The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health has brought this human-centered design perspective to the international SARAH project, funded by the EU’s Horizon programme. The project is based on the Industry 5.0 approach, which emphasizes that technology should be human-centric, sustainable, and resilient.
What Does Human-Centeredness Really Mean?
Human-centeredness is widely discussed, but its meaning often remains vague and superficial. In the SARAH project, the principle is made concrete: technology should support smooth and safe work, not create new safety traps.
In practice, this means understanding and gaining insight into how:
- systems support situational awareness and decision-making,
- user interfaces do not create excessive workload,
- an appropriate level of trust in automation is established, and
- work processes remain manageable even in exceptional situations.
Successful work depends simultaneously on factors related to the individual, the task, the team, and the organization. Understanding this whole system is at the core of human-centered design.
HF Toolkit Helps Design Human-Centered Technology
The SARAH project has developed a Human Factors Toolkit (HF Toolkit), which provides practical tools for human-centered design.
The toolkit helps identify factors that influence workflow and safety, and it enables the assessment of technological impacts before implementation. The goal is to make human-centeredness tangible and applicable.
The HF Toolkit is based on the HF Tool™ methodology, which has been researched and applied for more than 20 years in safety-critical sectors such as aviation, nuclear power, and construction.
The methodology helps structure and understand the impact of human factors on occupational safety. This approach is now being extended to technology design as well.
Employees Must Be Involved in Design from the Start
Successful technology can only be developed through collaboration. Employees understand the realities of daily work, and their involvement from the earliest design stages is crucial. Without it, there is a risk that technology will solve the wrong problems—or make work more difficult.
The message of our project is clear: technology should make work smoother and safer, not more complicated.
As infrastructure maintenance becomes increasingly digitalized, hazardous work can be reduced and safety improved. This can only be achieved if people remain at the center of the design process from the very beginning.
Author: Anna-Maria Teperi
