A Knowledge Management Approach for Ergonomics Implementation within Organizations

Abstract

The current economic and social environment suffered major changes in the last years, mainly driven by technological and cultural innovations and trends. One of the most interesting changes is the development of knowledge management (KM) and its increasing diffusions in all economic sectors. There is no activity that can be performed without some type of knowledge transfer, irrespective of whether it is tacit or explicit. At the same time, every organization must implement health and safety objectives in order to achieve business effectiveness and efficiency. Through ergonomics working conditions and occupational health and safety (OHS) objectives can be achieved more efficient. Considering that ergonomics is an interdisciplinary science, KM appears as extremely necessary for superior knowledge transfer among expert groups in the organization. The paper aims to demonstrate the usefulness of KM science in the ergonomics approach by highlighting key focus areas to support efficient implementation within organizations. By analyzing the consulting services offer by six Unites States consulting companies in the filed of ergonomics, we shall underlined the trends and challenges of the KM implications in ergonomics approaches.