Nanomaterials in the field of design ergonomics: present status

Application of nanotechnology and nanomaterials is not new in the field of design, but a recent trend of extensive use of nanomaterials in product and/or workplace design is drawing attention of design researchers all over the world. In the present paper, an attempt has been made to describe the diverse use of nanomaterials in product and workplace design with special emphasis on ergonomics (occupational health and safety; thermo-regulation and work efficiency, cognitive interface design; maintenance of workplace, etc.) to popularise the new discipline ‘nanoergonomics’ among designers, design users and design researchers. Nanoergonomics for sustainable product and workplace design by minimising occupational health risks has been felt by the authors to be an emerging research area in coming years.

Practitioner Summary: Use of nanomaterials in the field of design ergonomics is less explored till date. In the present review, an attempt has been made to extend general awareness among ergonomists/designers about applications of nanomaterials/nanotechnology in the field of design ergonomics and about health implications of nanomaterials during their use.     

Designing for sustainability: ergonomics – carpe diem.

Sustainability is a global issue that has worldwide attention but the role of ergonomics in designing for sustainability is poorly understood and seldom considered. An analysis of the literature on ergonomics, design and sustainability was conducted via a search of electronic databases: Scopus, Business Source Complete, Google Scholar, Emerald Publishing, Academic Search Premiere, Web of Science, Discover and Ergonomics Abstracts, for the years 1995–2012. A total of 1934 articles fulfilled the search criteria, but content analysis of the abstracts indicated that only 14 refereed articles addressed the main search criteria. Of those seven were in ergonomics journals and seven were in other journals (and were not written by ergonomists). It is concluded that the contribution of ergonomics to sustainability and sustainable design has been limited, even though the goals of sustainability and ergonomics are congruent. Ergonomists have not been at the forefront of research contributing to sustainability – and it is time for them to ‘seize the day’ – ‘carpe diem’.

Practitioner Summary: This literature review shows that ergonomics contribution to sustainability is limited but since there is congruence between the disciplines it calls for ergonomists to become more involved and to seize the day – carpe diem.     

The nano enterprise: A survey of health and safety concerns,considerations, and proposed improvement strategies to reduce potential adverse effects

Nanotechnology is evolving to become a leading industry. However, there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the potential health effects of nanomaterials and its components. This study focuses on the hazards and risks that nanomaterials pose to physical and environmental health together with the risks posed during their manufacture and research. In particular, the authors seek to promote awareness and the need for the adoption of various strategies to minimize the risk of human exposure to nanotechnologies both within and outside the manufacturing enterprise. Information from scientific journals, project studies, environmental and worker‐protection agency reports are used as the main source for this study. The six sigma's DMAIC framework, viz. “define, measure, analyze, improve, and control,” is used as a guideline for synthesizing information from published literature. Preliminary evidence from experimental research studies indicate the ability of nanomaterials to penetrate and cause damage to human tissues and cells. The susceptibility of the personnel associated during production (those who are more likely to be at risk) has been analyzed to examine considerations and targets, as well as for developing strategies for a continued research framework. Nanotechnology may pose health and environmental hazards unless adequate preventive measures are developed and implemented. Because of the likely unfavorable health effects on individuals conducting experiments and handling nanomaterials, studies that identify the adverse effects of nanotechnology must be conducted at a pace level with the commercialization of nanotechnology. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 16: 343–368, 2006.     

How can ergonomics influence design? Moving from research findings to future systems

Ergonomics design is about the creation of future work. So how can ergonomics research support and inform design if its findings are cast in a language oriented towards current work derived from field observations or laboratory settings? In this paper we assess instances of three different strands (experimental, ethnomethodological, and surveys) of ergonomics research on paper flight strips in air traffic control, for how they analytically confront future work and how they make the findings relevant or credible with respect to future work. How these justifications come about, or how valid (or well argued for) they are, is rarely considered in the ergonomics literature. All three strands appear to rely on rhetoric and argument as well as method and analysis, to justify findings in terms of their future applicability. Closing the gap between research results and future work is an important aim of the ergonomic enterprise. Better understanding of the processes necessary to bridge this gap may be critical for progress in ergonomics research and for the use of its findings in actual design processes.     

How can ergonomics influence design? Moving from research findings to future systems

Ergonomics design is about the creation of future work. So how can ergonomics research support and inform design if its findings are cast in a language oriented towards current work derived from field observations or laboratory settings? In this paper we assess instances of three different strands (experimental, ethnomethodological, and surveys) of ergonomics research on paper flight strips in air traffic control, for how they analytically confront future work and how they make the findings relevant or credible with respect to future work. How these justifications come about, or how valid (or well argued for) they are, is rarely considered in the ergonomics literature. All three strands appear to rely on rhetoric and argument as well as method and analysis, to justify findings in terms of their future applicability. Closing the gap between research results and future work is an important aim of the ergonomic enterprise. Better understanding of the processes necessary to bridge this gap may be critical for progress in ergonomics research and for the use of its findings in actual design processes.     

Retraction of “Using ergonomic digital human modeling in evaluation of workplace design and prevention of workrelated musculoskeletal disorders onboard small fishing vessel”

The following article from Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, “Using ergonomic digital human modeling in evaluation of workplace design and prevention of workrelated musculoskeletal disorders onboard small fishing vessel,” by Enrique Álvarez‐Casado, Bing Zhang, Sonia Tello Sandoval and Mondelo Pedro, published online on October 11, 2011 in Wiley Online Library ( www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com ), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editors‐in‐Chief, Waldemar Karwowski and Gavriel Salvendy, and Publisher Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The retraction has been agreed as these articles were mistakenly published after being rejected.     

Modeling and solving assembly line design problems by considering human factors with a real‐life application

Ergonomics has been playing an important role in assembly system design (ASD) that contains not only the main assembly line balancing problem but also the subassembly line balancing and assembly layout problem. The ergonomics in ASD has an impact both on productivity and on workers’ health, especially when frequent changes in the product mix occur. In this study, we propose a systematic approach in order to handle ASD, which consists of three subproblems, while considering ergonomic risk factors. The first two subproblems are solved simultaneously using the proposed rule‐based constructive search algorithm, where ergonomic risks are evaluated by OCRA method. Later, layout problem is solved under transportation constraints using local search methods with various neighborhood structures. To provide the applicability and evaluate the performance of the proposed systematic approach, a real‐life case study in a harness manufacturing company is solved and prototype productions are performed.     

Perception of products by progressive multisensory integration. A study on hammers

The aim of this work is to determine the influence of multisensory (visual-haptic) integration and the level of interaction (seeing photographs, seeing the actual product, touching it and using it) on the perception of products, including perceived ergonomics. The product selected for the experiment was the hammer, as this will help to establish whether emotional design studies can also apply to ‘commercial’ products. Subjective opinions of users were evaluated through semantic differential tests. A factor analysis identified six semantic factors or axes (Quality/Robustness, Ergonomics/Appearance, Innovation, Lightness, Dynamic Effects, and Efficacy). Results show that Lightness and Dynamic Effects are quite sensitive to the level of interaction, while Ergonomics/Appearance is partially affected. However, the perceptions of Innovation, Quality/Robustness and Efficacy are not so affected and they could be detected through a lower level of interaction (i.e. seeing photographs). This suggests that commercial products seem sensitive to emotional design studies and that multisensory integration enhances the perception of the factors that are clearly linked with physical interaction between users and tools, i.e. Ergonomics/Appearance, Lightness and Dynamic Effects. Additionally, it should be highlighted that some aspects related with the ergonomics and ease of use of products are also perceived at different stages of interaction.     

Fuzzy logic-based decision support system for automating ergonomics risk assessments

Workers in the modular construction industry are frequently exposed to ergonomic risks, which may lead to injuries and lower productivity. In light of this, researchers have proposed a number of ergonomics risk assessment methods to identify design flaws in work systems, thereby reducing ergonomic discomfort and boosting workplace productivity. However, organizations often disregard ergonomics risk assessments due to a lack of convenient tools and knowledge. Therefore, this study proposes a fuzzy logic-based decision support system to help practitioners to automatically and comprehensively assess the ergonomic performance of work systems. For comprehensive assessment of ergonomic risk, the proposed decision support system considers physical, environmental, and sensory factors. Specifically, the decision support system comprises eight fuzzy expert systems that output a composite risk score, called an “ergonomic risk indicator”, that indicates the overall level of ergonomic risk present in a given work system. The performance of the proposed decision support system is then evaluated using a real-world case study in a modular construction facility by comparing the results of the decision support system with the facility's occupational injury reports. The results prove the effectiveness of the decision support system. Overall, the decision support system is capable of generating a composite risk score, the ergonomic risk indicator, and the proposed high-level architecture and design represent significant contributions for the enhancement of health and safety in the modular construction industry.     

A multilayered ergonomic intervention program on reducing musculoskeletal disorders in an industrial complex: A dynamic participatory approach

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) are closely identified with common complaints in different workplaces. This study aimed to implement an intervention program through which ergonomic measures were dynamically localized in industry. An interventional study, including three basic layers, namely, training workshops, participatory ergonomics (PE), and workstation redesign was fulfilled in an Iranian steel manufacturing complex from 2017 to 2020. A steering committee (SC) was formed following several meetings held for clarification of the project to the management team. The SC members then attended four organized workshops managed by an ergonomics specialist. Afterwards, the basics of ergonomics were transferred to action groups. After developing ergonomic assessment tools, the ergonomic problems were prioritized and numerous positive changes were made by the action groups. The findings of the tailored checklists revealed a load of WMSDs risk factors. All the three layers of the program were implemented as initiated. Ergonomics training workshops were then held and significant differences were observed between the participants' pre/posttest mean scores in all workshops (p < 0.001). Moreover, PE measures were exercised at all levels of the organization inducing enthusiastic motivation of the workforce to consider ergonomic requirements in the workplace. Consequently, the workers' innovative ideas and the managerial support yielded diverse workstation redesigns due to a growth in either the workers' ergonomics awareness or participatory culture grounding. A multilayered ergonomic intervention was implemented in this study. In conclusion, a multifaceted long-term follow-up intervention program could be applied to enhance workers’ health status and to raise system productivity.     

A review of: “Stochastic Choice of Mode in Urban Travel”: A Study in Binary Choice. By STANLEY LEON WARNER (Northwestern University Press.)

The following abstracts are of work of ergonomic interest which have appeared in other journals and research reports. They are a selection from the quarterl‘Ergonomics Abstracts’ which is published by the Ergonomics Information Analysis Centre, Department of Engineering Production, University of Birmingham, England. This journal offers a comprehensive annotated bibliography of current ergonomics publications. By special arrangement, its contents, printed on unbound adhesive backed sheets, are available at reduced rates to members of national ergonomics and human factors societies on application to the Centre. Selections of the information in the Centre's continuing collection, currently totalling some 64,000 abstracts, are available through special bibliographies prepared on request, and may cover any of the recognized subject headings in the field of ergonomics.     

Establishing ergonomics in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

In this paper a summary of the Chinese Ergonomics Society (CES) is introduced. The main ergonomics institutions in China re presented. Some important research projects that are being or have been investigated are mentioned. The teaching of ergonomics in Chinese universities is described. Several titles of publications written by Chinese ergonomists are listed. The characteristics of the ergonomic situation in China are discussed.     

The Ergonomics Research Society THE SOCIETY'S LECTURE, 1974* The Borderland of Anatomy and Ergonomics

A survey of The status of ergonomics in Poland was conducted over a three week period during July 1978 under the sponsorship of the National Academy of Sciences scientific exchange programme. Ergonomic activities were reviewed in Warsaw and Cracow by means of a series of visits to academic and research institutions. Among the organizations contacted were: the Institute of Industrial Design, the Polish Psychological Association, the Institute of Psychology at the University of Warsaw, the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow and The Institute of Psychology associated with the Jagiellonian University. Based on interviews with prominent scientists in the forefront of ergonomic activities, the report provides a review of the historical development of ergonomics, the composition of the ergonomics community, current research interests and applications, and anticipated future trends. The Poles claim credit for having coined the term Ergonomics in 1857. They are proud to have formed the first Ergonomics Society in the Eastern European bloc of nations. Its current membership totals over 400 and they look forward to hosting the 1979 International Ergonomics Association meeting in Warsaw. There are only about 100 engineering psychologists in Poland. Engineers and physiologists or physicians tend to dominate the ergonomics field. There appears to be strong support for this emerging discipline from the State and industrial enterprises and ergonomics can be expected to become increasingly more important in Poland.     

Corporate ergonomics programme at Volvo Car Corporation

One of Volvo Car Corporation's core values is "Environmental Care". Volvo Cars has a tradition of attention to the work environment and has over the years developed a working environment management system, an organisational strategy for the participation of everyone, a working environment policy, standards/specifications and methods for efficient practical performance. The Production Ergonomics Project is an example of this. In order to achieve results in ergonomics one has to work comprehensively, which means working with the product, the process, the workplace, the individuals and the work organisation. The key to success is to train all categories concerned in load ergonomics and to perform methodical ergonomic work through the whole chain from design to production.     

A trend analysis of ergonomic research themes in Taiwan

This paper examines the development of ergonomics in Taiwan by analysing 1404 scientific articles published by 113 permanent members of the Ergonomics Society of Taiwan (EST). Each article was classified by key words and abstract content. Each article was also coded by period of publication (1971–1992 (first period), 1993–1997 (second period), 1998–2002 (third period), 2003–2007 (fourth period), and 2008–2012 (fifth period), and against 13 topic categories. The results show that rate of publication has increased by approximately 100 articles every five years since 1993.The most popular topic was ergonomics assessment and analysis techniques in the first period, force exertion-related research in the second period, product design and evaluation in the third period, occupational safety and health in the fourth period and human–computer interface in the fifth period. Each of these is highly relevant to current contemporary issues around the world. Finally, potential areas for future ergonomics research in Taiwan are discussed.     

Forty years of IEA: some reflections on the evolution of ergonomics

This paper is the IEA Presidential Address to the 1997 IEA Triennial Congress in Tampere, Finland. The evolution of ergonomics prior to and after the foundation of the International Ergonomics Association in 1957 is reviewed. Ergonomics has broadened from considering work activities to include all types of human activities. The recent introduction of computers has changed many of the premises for work and leisure activities, and cognitive ergonomics is now as important as the ‘biological’ emphasis that was mentioned in the founding documents of IEA. Ergonomics is a science of design. There are three important targets for ergonomics design activity: to improve safety, productivity and operator satisfaction. A systems approach is presented to define how these parameters interact and how they can be measured.     

Ergonomics in China: a historical perspective and some recent development

Ergonomics is at an early stage of development in China; however it is expanding and has grown steadily during the last few years. This paper gives a brief account of some current ergonomics activities in China. A historical perspective of its development is also described, and the progress and problems in ergonomic research and education are discussed. There can be no doubt that in the near future the importance of ergonomics will increase substantially in China, with its population of over one billion and its position as the world's largest developing nation striving to accomplish an unprecedented modernization programme.     

Doing ‘organizational work’: Expanding the conception of professional practice in ergonomics

Literature on ergonomic practice contains many discussions of how ergonomists should work but far less attention has been paid to how they do work and the factors that influence their practice. In an effort to improve our understanding of ergonomic practice as it occurs and how it is conditioned by broader contexts, we conducted an interview study with 21 ergonomists in Canada. We were particularly interested to understand the different kinds of activities study participants engaged in during the course of their work, the challenges they faced and the strategies they employed for facing these challenges. Findings indicate that in the course of their professional practice ergonomists engage in a variety of types of activities. This includes consulting on risk factors as well as a proactive role of fostering the application of ergonomics in organizations. The process of advocating for ergonomics brought study participants into a variety of interactions and collaborations with workplace parties in a type of activity we have called “organizational work”. In the course of doing organizational work, ergonomists utilize different strategies, including “political manoeuvring”, tailoring data collection and report presentations to clients’ concerns and ‘goal hooking’ in order to make the case for implementing ergonomics in workplaces. The article concludes with a list of “tips” for practicing ergonomists that are suggested by the analysis.     

Integrating ergonomics into engineering: Empirical evidence and implications for the ergonomists

Engineering design is a strong determinant of workplace ergonomics. A survey among 680 engineers in 20 Danish enterprises indicated that engineers are not aware that they influence the work environment of other people. Ergonomics had a low rating among engineers, perhaps because neither management nor safety organizations expressed any expectations in this area. The study further indicated that effects of ergonomics training in engineering schools were very limited. The engineering cultures in enterprises, together with other organizational factors, are suggested to be of greater importance than the professional training. The implications for industrial ergonomists might be an acknowledgement of the role as change agent when trying to integrate ergonomics into engineering. In doing so, they need also to acknowledge that engineers are widely different. They have different backgrounds and a “sensitivity” to ergonomics depending on their current engineering domain, tasks, organizational position, and the industrial branch of their organization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Hum Factors Man 17: 353–366, 2007.