International Ergonomics Association Research Articles

The barriers and opportunities to support the early career academics and professionals in human factors/ergonomics - revisiting reflections from IEA2015, IEA2018 & IEA2021.

The Early-Career Community (ECC) comprises researchers, practitioners, and professionals in their "early-career" stages in the Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) profession. Early-career HFE professionals are essential to both current industry decision making and future growth of our profession. This paper provides detailed insights into the barriers and suggestions to support engagement with ECC within the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) and its Federated Societies. This report integrates key findings from the formal and informal discussions that occurred with diverse groups of stakeholders (n > 100) at IEA2015, IEA2018 and IEA2021 guided by the participatory inquiry paradigm, cooperative action-inquiry and participatory ergonomics approaches. Barriers to support ECC include: a lack of employment opportunities, poor general awareness and integration of HFE in existing university-courses, financial constraints, inclusivity challenges and a lack of Influence in decision-making. While some of the more systemic challenges are context-specific and cannot be overcome, ECCs suggested that: the IEA and its Federated Societies include ECC members as part of their boards; a Standing Committee for the ECCs be established as part of the IEA; make use of social-media more effectively to engage the ECC. More mentorship, networking, knowledge sharing, training and education, combined with financial-support will ensure that the ECC can participate. ECC members experience complex and dynamic challenges that affect their development and involvement in the broader HFE profession. It is therefore critical that appropriate, global, national and local strategies are developed to continue to support and develop the ECC to ensure the continued growth of and demand for HFE.

Overview of the “Gender & Work” track at the IEA 2021 congress

The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) is an international federation of associations created in 1959, whose mission is to extend the scope of ergonomics research and intervention to all spheres of society in order to improve human well-being. This article presents an overview of the main research papers that were presented at the 21st Triennial IEA 2021 Conference. A total of 23 talks, from nine countries, were presented over four sessions. These papers were summarized based on reading the abstracts and taking notes at the time of the oral presentation. The themes of these sessions were: 1) Knowledge Transfer, Gender and Ergonomics 2) Approaching Ergonomic Interventions with a Sex/Gender Lens: Designing Training for Ergonomists 3) Ergonomic Studies of Atypical Work and Vulnerable Population through a Sex/Gender Lens: Toward Better Understanding of Context and Risks, for Better Prevention and 4) Gender and Occupational Risks (Part 1: Exposure and Risk Perception; Part 2: Strategies to Manage Risk). Ergonomists are beginning to understand that they have the qualifications and legitimacy to play a role in reducing workplace health inequities and helping to make workplaces inclusive and rich of all the workers' diversity. The four sessions of the Gender and Ergonomics TC have moved ergonomics practice a step closer to that goal.

Past, present, and future of E/HF for sustainability: A perspective from the HFSD Technical Committee.

Sustainability is a highly important theme worldwide and currently is being tackled by almost all disciplines. Indeed, the future of humanity is dependent on the actions taken now and in the immediate future. The Ergonomics and Human Factors (E/HF) community has not been indifferent to this issue, and one of the concrete actions adopted by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) was the establishment of the "Human Factors for Sustainable Development" (HFSD) Technical Committee. To identify future paths of action, this paper recognizes the trajectory of the HFSD Technical Committee, summarizes the contributions presented at IEA2021, the International Congress on Ergonomics held virtually in Vancouver in 2021, and reflects on key aspects that should be boosted by the Technical Committee. This is a qualitative interpretative study that reflects on the contributions of members of the HFSD community working on E/HF for sustainability. Central topics and opportunities in E/HF and sustainability include complexity of systems, behaviors, and work; energy use and consumption; co-design, interconnectivity, territories, and the relationships with stakeholders. Although the contributions have been growing, there is still a lot of work needed, both theoretically and practically. Themes to be discussed include the concepts of sustainability and work. Considering the centrality of human beings (i.e., decision making for achieving the different dimensions of sustainability), the authors identify a set of values as core principles for leading the discussion.

Design for All - Design for Disabled: How important is anthropometry?

Design for All or Universal Design is a relatively new domain in Ergonomics. With globally ageing populations, it has however recently gained significant interest. This position paper summarizes the outcomes of a workshop held at the virtual 21st Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association. The paper expands the horizon of traditional Ergonomics into a domain where people are differently abled and establishes a platform for the essential needs of future ergonomic standards which are required to inform inclusive design guidelines, or Design for All, extending the range of users. The paper includes contributions from Asian, Australian, European and US workshop participants who are accessibility design experts in their respective geographic regions. The paper summarizes issues related to anthropometry in the Design for All, based on recent work in the US (Access board) and actual developments in various national and international accessibility standardization bodies, such as the Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand, the European Standardization Organization (EN 17210:2021; EN 17161:2019) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 21542:2021 and BS ISO 7176-5:2008). The paper concludes that despite the identification of a significant gap in knowledge of the anthropometry of people with disabilities as far back as 1990, work towards bridging the gap and enabling ergonomic standardization has not progressed since then globally. The lack of standardization in anthropometric data on people with a physical disability continues to complicate provision of data for mobility and accessibility design and hampers accessibility standardization efforts.

Applying ergonomics and human factors to congress organization in uncertain times

Organizational Design and Management (ODAM) elements of Ergonomics and Human Factors (E/HF) apply to congress organization. Exemplary delegate and organizer E/HF experience is constrained by shifting requirements, time pressures and financial constraints. E/HF application while organizing the International Ergonomics Association's Triennial Congress in 2021 (IEA2021) is described focusing on delivery platforms considering typical and exceptional (pandemic) constraints, emphasizing ODAM E/HF principles and generalizable lessons.Post-Congress feedback from delegates, session chairs and Congress organizers reveal the Congress as experienced. Presenting virtually allowed on-demand recording access following live sessions and increased question-and-answer flexibility. Frustrations included navigating multiple platforms and insufficient communications. Stakeholders’ differing expectations increased organizer workloads and delegate frustration.Maximum virtual presentation benefits require efforts to ensure integrated, human-centered platform development. Simply digitizing traditional Congress sessions ignores potential enhancements. Embracing innovations would help meet delegate communication needs via careful selection and deployment of evolving virtual meeting technologies. Organizational learning strategies can support these efforts.

Improving Healthcare Practice Through the Implementation of Human Factors and Ergonomics Principles.

Present a collection of papers focusing on improving healthcare practice through the implementation of human factors and ergonomics principles that were presented at the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) 2021 international conference. The mission of the IEA is to elaborate and advance ergonomics science and practice and to expand its scope of application. We reviewed papers that were submitted for presentation at the IEA 2021 international conference and focused on improving healthcare practice through the implementation of human factors and ergonomics principles. The eight papers that are included in this special issue cover varied aspects of human factors application and implementation. This special issue provides clear evidence that the science of human factors is relevant and is continuing to grow and so is its implementation in healthcare. This special issue offers a selection of applied works, providing a wide scope of human factors guidelines, methods, and theories in healthcare work environments.

Overview of the revised HFE core competencies by the International Ergonomics Association

Overview of the revised HFE core competencies by the International Ergonomics Association

Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) applications in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons learned and considerations for methods

Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE), with the goal to support humans through system design, can contribute to responses to emergencies and crises, like the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we describe three cases presented at the 21st Triennial Congress of the International Ergonomics Association to demonstrate how HFE has been applied during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely to (1) develop a mobile diagnostic testing system, (2) understand the changes within physiotherapy services, and (3) guide the transition of a perioperative pain program to telemedicine. We reflect on methodological choices and lessons learned from each case and discuss opportunities to expand the impact of HFE in responses to future emergencies. The HFE discipline should develop faster, less resource intensive but still rigorous, methods, increase available HFE expertise by growing the field, and proactively enhance individual and public perception of the importance of HFE in crisis response.

Using cognitive work analysis to identify competencies for human factors and ergonomics practitioners

While several competency frameworks have been proposed for Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) practitioners, these are not commonly based on structured analyses. The aim of this research was to develop a sociotechnical systems model of the HFE practitioner role in Australia and identify the competencies required to fulfil the role. Study One applied the Work Domain Analysis phase of cognitive work analysis (CWA) to model the HFE practitioner role. Model refinement was undertaken with seven subject matter experts. In Study Two, the model was used to elicit the competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, other characteristics) required for successful performance, via a survey of 28 HFE practitioners. Most competencies related to skills (i.e. communication skills) and knowledge (i.e. domain knowledge). Gaps in competencies were also identified, linked to a lack of HFE education pathways in Australia. The findings have practical utility for designing HFE practitioner roles and educational programs. Practitioner summary: Cognitive work analysis provided a structured analysis of the role of the Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) practitioner and to support the identification of competencies. The results suggest that HFE practitioners are generalists rather than specialists and have implications for the job design and education of HFE practitioners. Abbreviations: BCPE: board of certification in professional ergonomics; CIEHF: chartered institute of ergonomics and human factors; CWA: cognitive work analysis; HFE: human factors and ergonomics; HFESA: human factors and ergonomics society of Australia; IEA: International Ergonomics Association; KSAO: knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics; O*NET: occupation information network; SME: subject matter expert; SRK: skills, rules, knowledge; UK: United Kingdom; USA: United States of America; WDA: work domain analysis

Challenges to Engaging Human Factors/Ergonomics Practitioners to Publish and Present Case Studies

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONS The aims of human factors Practitioner Case sessions at the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) triennial world congress are to learn from cases, give feedback to researchers, and market ergonomics. Human Science research and Human Factor/Ergonomics are different activities. Both disciplines are equally important for the IEA community. However, in practice, there is a gap to bridge between both disciplines. A practitioner case concerns actual interventions in work situations or work systems. A Practitioner Case study is a report on the systematic design, or redesign, and implementation of a work system. This article summarizes the Practitioner Track of the IEA2021 congress, as well as earlier comparable events. Along two lines, conclusions are drawn: (1) There are good reasons to publish case material; and (2) Research challenges arise as a consequence of real case studies.

Updates on NORA Musculoskeletal Health Cross-Sector Council Activities

The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) is a research framework for the nation and for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The NORA Musculoskeletal Health Cross-Sector (MUS) Council focuses on the mitigation of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). Two projects have been chosen by the MUS Council for disseminating existing information on ergonomic assessment methods and interventions. The first project involves collaboration with the AIHA Ergonomics Committee on the latest update of the AIHA Ergonomic Assessment Toolkit. The second project aims to post all-industry information on ergonomic solutions/interventions/guidelines in collaboration with the International Ergonomics Association (IEA). The MUS Council plans on leveraging the collaborative efforts for promoting widespread adoption of evidence-based workplace practices for the prevention of WMSDs.

Constructing and measuring domain-specific emotions for affective design: a descriptive approach to deal with individual differences

Assessing design solutions via domain-specific emotions has been widely concerned and explored in the field of affective design. However, the examination and accommodation of individual differences have not been settled sufficiently in the literature. To address this research gap, this paper proposes a descriptive approach to draw calibrated collective emotion patterns in survey-based affective design assessment. A ‘Repertory Grid Interview linked with Rate-All-That-Apply’ (RGI/RATA) procedure is firstly conducted to elicit and code the individual’s personal emotional descriptions into mid-level Emotion Words (EWs) and to gather emotion data grids with each grid quantified by an individual’s own EWs. The obtained individualised emotion data grids are then subjected to Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) to extract collective emotional space, thus to enable conceptualising collective emotional dimensions and measuring calibrated collective responses. A case study demonstrating the implementation process for a simple project of appearance design assessment is also presented. Practitioner Summary: The proposed methodology may help a design team to investigate the shared patterns of domain-specific emotions through a single assessment survey. With the provided post hoc analysis tools, designers may also evaluate multi-level individual differences (e.g. regarding user groups or even intra-individual) quantitatively and at a low cost. Abbreviations: EWs: emotion words; HF/E: human factors and ergonomics; IEA: International Ergonomics Association; MFA: multiple factor analysis; PCT: personal construct theory; PCA: principal component analysis; RGI/RATA: repertory grid interview linked with rate-all-that-apply; RGI: repertory grid interview; RATA: rate-all-that-apply; SD: standard deviation; USB: universal serial bus

Paradigm Shift in Smartphone Designing Using Hand Anthropometry

Smartphones have become a necessity for each one of us in today’s world. We spend a large part of our time interacting with smartphones. Users need to perform different tasks on smartphones and each task requires different sizes of them. An individual should opt for the correct size for a great user experience and adeptness. Also, there is an increasing incongruity between screen size of smartphones and hand size of users as the screen become larger day-by-day. As per International Ergonomics Association, “Advanced technology could contribute in making the lives of the consumers a lot more exciting and deft. In this process of adopting technology and callous business expectations, risks related to human factors get ignored. Obtuseness towards these risks can lead to inimical sub sequential effects on manufacturers, suppliers and service enterprises” (IEA). That is why, it is important to consider human factors while designing mobile phones. This paper focuses on the relationship between different device characteristics like screen size, position and size of buttons and hand anthropometry and their effect on user adeptness in general. This study provides a basis for manufacturers and designers to apply ergonomics and human related factors to designing of smartphones and improving user experience for their brands.

Ergonomics in the Future World: Perspectives from Australia and New Zealand.

The International Ergonomics Association is a professional association for human factors and ergonomics (HFE) professionals. Australia and New Zealand are two of 52 Federated Societies within the IEA. This paper describes an Ergonomics and the Future World (EFW) workshop held at the IEA Triennial Congress in 2018 (IEA2018), and reports the findings of the Australia / New Zealand (Southern Cross) Cluster (SCC). Four questions were developed by the IEA EFW committee to evaluate the ergonomics state-of-play in various world regions. Southern Cross delegates (N = 17) participated in a 90-minute workshop discussion at IEA2018 (45% participation rate for SCC delegates). A summary was presented during the IEA2018 closing ceremony and as a written report for the IEA. Three themes emerged from the SCC discussions: (i) the impact of technology advances on HFE professional practice;(ii) communication with internal and external stakeholders; and (iii) HFE education. The workshop findings are similar to issues raised at local discussions in Australia and New Zealand over past decades and mirror comments and opinions published by authors in the HFE profession. They provide a benchmark for current SCC opinion and may provide direction for future discussion of these recurring issues.

Tertiary education in ergonomics and human factors: quo vadis?

In 2019, the Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) discipline turned 70; to celebrate, an international group of academics and educators have reflected on the status of HFE tertiary education across the globe. This paper draws on presentations and discussions from the 20th Triennial International Ergonomics Association (IEA) conference and considers the implications for HFE education programmes. Past, current, and future challenges are outlined and discussed with examples from different countries and programmes. This paper builds on 2012 strategy proposed by Dul and colleagues, to strengthen the demand, and application, of the HFE discipline and profession. It provides a considered set of reflections, noting the range of structural issues and financial pressures within the tertiary education system that create challenges for the viability of specialist programmes such as HFE. A need exists for the broader profession to collaborate and share innovations in HFE programme development, to ensure sustainable HFE education programmes. Practitioner summary: A range of structural issues and financial pressures exist within the tertiary education system that creates challenges for the viability of specialist programmes such as HFE. A need exists for the broader profession to collaborate and share innovations in HFE programme development, to ensure sustainable HFE education programmes. Abbreviation: HFE: Human Factors and Ergonomics; IEA: International Ergonomics Association; CIEHF: Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors; UX: User Experience; CREE: Centre for Registration of European Ergonomist; BRICSplus: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa; MOOCS: Massive Open Online Courses; STST: socio technical systems theory; LMIC: low and middle-income countries

Important Research Issues on Human Factors and Ergonomics as seen from the International Ergonomics Association

人間工学を世界的に推進する観点から，重要なリサーチ・イシューを要約した．リサーチの姿勢に関わる5つの主要なイシューを議論しており，これらは（1）科学的研究と実践の相補的実行，（2）ステークホルダーの関与，（3）システミックなアプローチ，（4）人間工学の新たな役割，および（5）先見的姿勢である．また，将来に向けて，教育者が重要な役割を果たさなければならないと論じている．本稿は，国際人間工学連合で得られた10年近くにおよぶ筆者の経験にもとづいている．

REVISIÓN DOCUMENTAL DE LA ERGONOMÍA EN COLOMBIA 1990-2010

Al día de hoy se desconocen estudios que den cuenta del desarrollo de la ergonomía en Colombia, así como del estado actual de las tendencias y las temáticas más relevantes abordadas en esta área del conocimiento, motivo por el cual no es posible establecer el grado de desarrollo de la disciplina a nivel local. Atendiendo a esta necesidad, el presente artículo muestra los resultados de la revisión documental de la producción investigativa generada en Colombia en el área de ergonomía entre los años de 1990 y 2010. Para efectos de este estudio se identificaron los grupos de investigación colombianos que declaran líneas de trabajo en ergonomía a través de la revisión de la base de datos de COLCIENCIAS. Además, se consultó la producción investigativa local registrada en artículos científicos en las bases de datos: EBSCO, PROQUEST, PUBMED, SCIELO, REDALYC y E-REVISTA. Producto de esta búsqueda se recopilaron 33 artículos producidos en Colombia que abordan temáticas relacionadas con la ergonomía. Los estudios fueron clasificados teniendo en cuenta los tres dominios de especialización propuestos por la International Ergonomics Association (IEA) en el año 2000: Ergonomía Física, Ergonomía Cognitiva y Ergonomía Organizacional. Posteriormente se determinó el tipo de estudio de cada una de las investigaciones analizadas, para lo cual se propusieron dos categorías: investigación básica e investigación aplicada. Como resultado de esta revisión documental se evidencia que la mayoría de los artículos analizados se encuentra clasificada bajo el dominio de especialización de ergonomía física (17 de 33) y que el tipo de estudio más común es la investigación aplicada (22 de 33).

Socio-technical issues in professional translation practice

AbstractAccording to the International Ergonomics Association, a focus on organizational ergonomics recognizes that people work within socio-technical systems that encompass tools, equipment, and computer interfaces as well as other actors in their professional environment and networks. In recent research, we have started investigating such socio-technical factors from an ergonomic perspective. Observations at professional workplaces, responses to questionnaires, and in-depth interviews with translators suggest that their perceived self-determination is more important to the success of socio-technical change than the technological developments themselves. A lack of involvement in decision-making at the workflow level may explain why so many translators have been resistant to taking new technology on board. We discuss how a feedback culture could mitigate many socio-technical issues by giving translators a voice in change and empowering them to contribute to organizational learning and growth.

Efficient Education of Ergonomics in Industrial Engineering Study Program

The paper is focused on development of innovated course focused on ergonomics education in the conditions of the Czech Republic. Although the proposed course can be seen as a country oriented it is built on universal foundations, which can be applied everywhere. The ambition is to create innovated course content that will be fun and educated at the same time. During course preparations a Constructivism theories were applied to ensure better understanding of the ergonomics issue. The course is also constructed according to recommendations of International Ergonomics Association and Federation of European Ergonomics Societies.

What is Visual Ergonomics?

Ergonomics is a broad discipline. Whilst often associated with the physical aspects of workplaces, such as the size of chairs and desks, ergonomics has three domains which can contribute to the comfort, satisfaction and safety of a person in their environment: physical ergonomics (e.g. workstation design), cognitive ergonomics (e.g. how we perceive and process information) and organisational ergonomics (e.g. job design) [1]. There are many highly focussed sub-specialties within ergonomics. Visual ergonomics is one subspecialty, and was formally recognised by the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) as a technical committee in 2009. Although the technical committee has an obvious sounding title, visual ergonomics is more than a meld between the words “vision” and “ergonomics”. A definition clarifying the scope of visual ergonomics is necessary for communicating with ergonomists and other stakeholders around the world. When the technical committee searched for a definition, they could not find a formal definition to adopt. Defining visual ergonomics proved to be a bigger challenge than first envisaged, mostly because visual ergonomics has applications in a wide variety of industries (e.g. transport, healthcare), population subgroups (e.g. children, ageing) and visually demanding tasks (e.g. digital technology, manufacturing) [2]. After several years of consultation and discussion, ini-