HEART+ is the culmination of work that Jerry Williams (originator of HEART) and I (Julie Bell) have been doing over the last 15 years to check and update the methodology. The printed manual (Part 1) contains all the information needed to use HEART+. In the back of the manual is a QR code to Part 2. Part 2 contains technical information about the data in Part 1, advice on how to combine EPCs, and guidance on how to calculate the Assessed Proportion of Affect (APoA). An additional document provides the complete reference list. In total, these documents are approximately 150 pages of information about HEART+, its application and how it was developed.
The GTTs are now underpinned by more data sources. The EPCs have been modified to account for new evidence and 5 new EPCs have been added. Each EPC has been articulated to inform the APoA decisions. The calculation equation has been modified to ensure it cannot go above 1 (an artefact of the original method).
Importantly, Jerry and I have addressed many of the issues that have been raised since its inception in the 80s. This is the first time that there has been a publicly available manual. I believe it’s worth the wait!
Copies of HEART+ have been provided for the British Library; The Bodleian Library, Oxford; The University Library, Cambridge; The National Library of Scotland; The Library of Trinity College, Dublin; The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth.
Williams, JC and Bell, JB. HEART+ A manual for the Human Error Assessment and Reduction Technique (plus) (2023) ISBN 978-1-3999-6213-1
If you would like a personal copy of the manual, they are available at HEART+ for £95 (plus p&p).
(This page has been amended since the publication of the IOSH Magazine article by Bridge Leathley in September 2024)