In safety-critical industries such as defence, nuclear engineering, and advanced manufacturing, design decisions can influence outcomes measured in seconds, precision, or human safety. Whether it is a digital dashboard in a control room, an augmented-reality maintenance system, or a training simulator, clarity and usability are not optional. They are integral to how people and machines work together.
Organisations such as BAE Systems and Sellafield Ltd have already recognised this. Through their digital transformation programmes, they are applying the principles of User Experience (UX) and Design Thinking to make complex systems safer, more intuitive, and more efficient. The next challenge is scale: embedding these practices across the wider workforce, supply chains, and future talent pipelines.
UX and Human Factors: A Shared Language
UX and human factors engineering share a common goal: designing systems that work for people. Both disciplines focus on how users interpret information, make decisions, and respond under pressure.
As W. Edwards Deming wrote in Out of the Crisis (MIT Press, 1986), “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” UX gives technical teams a process for understanding how their systems perform from a user’s perspective, which complements engineering rigour.
At Sellafield Ltd, this thinking already underpins aspects of its digital twin and immersive training programmes. The company’s investments in augmented and mixed reality are designed not only to increase accuracy but also to improve how staff visualise risk and manage information. Engineers are not just working with data; they are working through experiences.
BAE Systems has taken similar steps. Its Factory of the Future programme at Warton, developed in partnership with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield, reimagines production through human-machine collaboration. Digital workstations, cobots, and visual interfaces are all designed around user feedback to reduce fatigue and enhance precision.
These examples show progress, but they also highlight a growing need: skilled people who can translate between technical systems and human needs.
Designing for Clarity and Control
Research by the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that up to 80 percent of industrial incidents involve human factors. Poorly designed interfaces, ambiguous instructions, or unclear feedback loops can all contribute to avoidable risk.
A UX approach tackles these problems early, during design and testing. It maps user journeys, identifies potential friction points, and ensures that systems align with real working conditions.
For instance, Rolls-Royce has refined the user interfaces of its engine health monitoring tools under the IntelligentEngine programme. Visualising performance data through intuitive dashboards enables engineers to make faster, safer decisions. The value lies not in technology alone but in how people interpret it.
In nuclear or defence contexts, that understanding can be critical.
From Specialist Innovation to Everyday Practice
The challenge now facing organisations such as BAE and Sellafield is how to extend UX and design thinking beyond specialist innovation teams. When only digital or R&D units adopt user-centred approaches, progress is limited. True transformation happens when these methods become part of daily workflows, from engineers designing procedures to trainers developing learning materials.
Design thinking offers a bridge. It encourages staff at all levels to test, refine, and collaborate. It reframes digital transformation as a human process, not just a technological one.
BAE’s Typhoon Virtual Reality Maintenance Trainer, developed with Varjo and the Royal Air Force, is a good example. It uses immersive simulation to replicate real-world tasks, reducing training time and error rates. Applying UX principles ensures that those simulations reflect the cognitive and emotional realities of maintenance work, not just its technical procedures.
When such approaches filter through every layer of an organisation, innovation becomes culture.
Building the Skills Pipeline
Across Cumbria and the wider North West, Further Education (FE) colleges such as Lakes College and Furness College play an essential role in preparing the region’s technical workforce through foundation and Level 3 programmes in advanced manufacturing and digital skills.
The University of Cumbria builds directly on that foundation, providing the next stage of professional development through higher-level apprenticeships and specialist pathways. By integrating UX and design thinking within these programmes, the University helps employers strengthen capability at all levels, ensuring continuity between early technical education and applied industry practice.
This creates a joined-up skills ecosystem where learners can progress from college to university while remaining embedded in the workforce. For employers like BAE and Sellafield, it means access to a steady pipeline of adaptable, work-ready professionals who understand both technology and people.
Apprenticeships as a Scalable Solution
The Digital UX Apprenticeship at the University of Cumbria provides a structured way to develop these capabilities within the workforce. Delivered entirely online, it allows employers anywhere in the UK to upskill staff or recruit new talent without disrupting operations.
Apprentices learn to analyse user interactions, improve digital tools, and apply design thinking to real-world challenges. In engineering contexts, that might involve refining safety interfaces, improving documentation clarity, or supporting digital twin and simulation projects.
By embedding UX expertise through apprenticeships, employers can extend innovation beyond specialist teams and make human-centred design part of everyday operations.
The Human Edge of Engineering
As automation and AI reshape technical work, the industries that succeed will be those that remain deeply human. UX and design thinking ensure that even the most advanced systems stay understandable, usable, and safe.
BAE Systems and Sellafield have already demonstrated what this looks like in practice. The next step is expanding that mindset across the wider engineering ecosystem, into suppliers, educators, and future talent.
To learn how the Digital UX Apprenticeship can help build those skills across your organisation, visit the University of Cumbria website or contact the Digital Apprenticeships team.
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