Interlock Effect
Updated 2026-08-22
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
A safety mechanism, implemented in hardware or software, that enforces mutual exclusion between operations: the next step in a sequence cannot begin until the previous one has finished and its preconditions are satisfied. The classic example is a washing machine whose door cannot open while the drum is still turning. The key qualification is that an interlock constrains behavior structurally rather than by warning or instruction, so it does not depend on the operator remembering the correct order, and a mechanism that merely displays a reminder is not an interlock.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Dangerous ordering: identify sequences in a high-risk process where the wrong order causes harm. - Hard gating: replace instructions with a state machine that forbids step B until step A completes. - Failure proofing: design critical steps so the wrong action is physically impossible rather than merely discouraged.
Anchor fast decisions
Human working memory is unreliable under load, so any safety rule that lives only in memory carries a nonzero failure rate. An interlock removes the rule from the operator and encodes it in the structure of the system, where violating it requires defeating the mechanism itself rather than merely forgetting it.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlock_(engineeringverified
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