Macro-ergonomic design: the need for empirical research evidence

Abstract

An increasing number of designers and managers is becoming aware of the fact that technology per se will not be able to give relevant answers when it comes to questions of rationalization and automization. It is fundamental to take the human factor into consideration. Technical systems and the organizations in which they operate can be (and are) only accepted by the workforce when people are well selected and trained for their jobs and when their capabilities and limitations in performing tasks are taken into account. Although nowadays a quite extensive body of knowledge exists in the human factors/ergonomics area, organizations often lack the expertise and/or management structure to include the results of basic and applied human-factors research. Starting from a description of the development in the ergonomics discipline, the ergonomics design process is discussed, followed by two examples in which (parts of) this design process is illustrated. The main conclusion is that, ultimately, the value of an ergonomic approach should be based on substantial research evidence.