Revisiting the technologies of the old: a case study of cognitive work analysis and nanomaterials

Abstract

Nanotechnology is bringing about changes in everyday technologies in fundamental ways, both obvious and non-obvious. In order to address nanotechnology, Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) as a research discipline requires multiple methods in engaging this novel technology strategically. One mode of engagement is through nanomaterials. Nanomaterials can be addressed by HFE in four significant ways: health and safety; new products and embedding in existing technologies for improved qualities; industrial production; along with, through university laboratory research. The aim of this article is to present one manner of engaging nanomaterials and HFE through addressing nanomaterials as embedded in existing technologies and their involvement in university research laboratories. This aspect of engagement is depicted by addressing the use of nanomaterials in an existing well-entrenched technology of concrete to produce an enhanced product--nanoconcrete. Using the framework of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA), this article addresses the work domain of nanoconcrete in terms of work practices in university laboratory settings. The models derived from CWA are used to identify the various constraints ranging from the environment to the people involved in the concrete domain. The results emphasize that to address nanomaterials (in this case, nanosilica), one has to comprehend its overarching matrix of the material (concrete) in which it is embedded. While the current article presents just one facet studying the intersection between nanomaterials and HFE, further research can identify new ways in which nanotechnology could be integrated robustly in the disciplinary viewpoint of HFE.