IEH Ergonomics and Human Factors Tool

Cognitive Workload Screening Tool

Use this practical screening tool to identify tasks, roles or work systems that may create excessive mental workload, attention demand, time pressure, fatigue or human factors risk. It is suitable for early-stage review of office work, control room tasks, production work, safety-critical work, emergency response, supervision and decision-heavy roles.

Start Screening View References

What this tool screens

  • Mental demand, attention and information processing
  • Time pressure, multitasking and interruptions
  • Procedure complexity, interface clarity and abnormal situation detection
  • Error consequence, sustained effort, mental fatigue and frustration
  • Human factors red flags for safety-critical tasks
Screening Approach

A simple first-level review for mental workload and human factors risk

The tool uses 12 practical screening questions rated from 0 to 5. The total score provides an indicative cognitive workload level, while specific combinations trigger human factors flags that may require a more detailed professional review.

1. Describe the task

Capture the work area, task type, worker group, task duration, frequency and whether the work is safety-critical.

2. Rate workload factors

Rate mental demand, time pressure, interruptions, information load, error consequence and fatigue-related factors.

3. Review the output

Generate a workload score, risk level, red flags, practical recommendations and a printable summary.

Assessment Form

Complete the cognitive workload screening

Use observation, worker feedback, supervisor input and task knowledge where possible. For safety-critical tasks, avoid relying only on one person’s opinion.

Task information

Provide basic information about the task or role being screened.

Select any that apply. These help trigger human factors priority flags.

Workload rating

Rate each factor from 0 to 5. Higher scores indicate higher cognitive workload or human factors concern.

References

Reference basis used for this screening tool

This tool is informed by recognised ergonomics and human factors concepts. It is not a replacement for a formal NASA-TLX study, ISO 10075 assessment, fatigue risk assessment or safety-critical task analysis.

NASA Task Load Index

NASA TLX is a widely recognised subjective workload assessment approach involving dimensions such as mental demand, physical demand, temporal demand, performance, effort and frustration.

View NASA TLX reference

NASA-TLX Manual / Forms

NASA’s TLX material describes the multidimensional rating procedure and its workload subscales.

View NASA-TLX document

ISO 10075-1:2017

Ergonomic principles related to mental workload — Part 1: General issues and concepts, terms and definitions.

View ISO 10075-1 reference

ISO 10075-2:2024

Ergonomic principles related to mental workload — Part 2: Design principles, including work system and task design.

View ISO 10075-2 reference

HSE Human Factors

HSE describes human factors as environmental, organisational, job and individual factors that influence behaviour at work.

View HSE human factors guidance

HSE Fatigue and Shift Work

HSE guidance highlights fatigue and shift work as important human factors issues that can affect health and safety.

View HSE fatigue guidance
Disclaimer: This tool is intended as a preliminary screening guide only. It does not replace a detailed ergonomics, human factors, psychological, medical, fatigue risk, safety-critical task or work system assessment. For complex, high-risk or safety-critical work activities, organisations should seek professional support from a competent ergonomics or human factors practitioner.

Need a detailed cognitive ergonomics or human factors assessment?

IEH can support organisations with task observation, worker interviews, workload assessment, human-machine interface review, fatigue risk screening, procedure review and practical recommendations to reduce human error and improve work system performance.

Contact IEH