The purpose of integrating human factors (HF) analysis during the early stages in a project is to assist in ensuring the assets associated with the project support efficient and effective operations and maintenance, meet required safety and performance levels, and deliver expected benefits to users during operation and maintenance activities. 

The Early Human Factors Analyses (EHFA) Report was conducted during the feasibility stage and followed a risk-based and task-focused approach for the identification and management of HF issues. The EHFA identifies and defines the specific operations and maintenance tasks that the design will need to support, and the end-user requirements that will need to be met in order to support safe and effective performance. This is a pragmatic and iterative approach which takes consideration of the wide range of HF design standards that support the implementation of HF into the design of systems, plant and equipment. These terms are defined further as:

• Risk-based: HF involvement shall assist the project in demonstrating that the human contribution to risk has been managed As Low as Reasonably Practicable (ALARP). HF resources will also be targeted to aspects of the project that require most input from a HF perspective, and the HF Specialists shall work closely with other project stakeholders and disciplines to develop practicable responses to HF issues as they are identified.
• Task-focused: The activities carried out by operators, maintainers and visitors under normal, abnormal, degraded and emergency modes, and in a range of working conditions and environments, shall be fully understood and considered in the design.

The scope of the EHFA is to define the HFI activities required for the project. It aims to evaluate requirements relating to the interaction, coordination and cooperation between humans and technical components to perform the system functions and optimise performance. The scope includes cognitive ergonomics, which is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system. Additionally, the scope of the HF activities also considers organisational and physical ergonomics of the work environment such as culture, workplace layout, air conditioning, lighting, repetitive movements, etc.