Ergonomics最新文献

The proactive use of ergonomic assessment methods enhances worker performance and health while improving task quality and reducing operational costs through human-centred work design. This study was conducted in a logistics warehouse, where 197 tasks across nine locations were evaluated using REBA, RULA, BAuA, and LMM-ZS. Data were collected through on-site observations and task-specific video recordings. Risk scores were normalised to a 0-100 scale to enable cross-method comparison. Multi-method evaluations create two main challenges: selecting the most suitable method for each task and integrating outcomes derived from incompatible scales. To address these issues, a harmonised framework is proposed that standardises score ranges and categorical zones across the four methods.

Upper limb exoskeletons may be valuable tools to decrease the risk to develop musculoskeletal disorders, and their design may differ from one manufacturer to another. The aim of the present study is to evaluate a passive upper limb exoskeleton based on a new spring design comprised of composite spring rods. Twelve right-handed participants have performed three manual tasks: static overhead holding, manual handling, and load carrying, with and without the upper limb exoskeleton. EMG activity of the anterior deltoid and biceps brachii was significantly reduced across the three tasks when wearing the exoskeleton. These findings suggested that the upper limb exoskeleton based on this new spring device permitted to reduce shoulder-flexor muscular demand through the tested experimental tasks. Longer-duration, in-field studies are now required to assess the efficacy of this exoskeleton for workers and potential implications for MSD prevention.

The emergency department (ED) is characterised by varied demands. Yet, processes like ED disposition decision-making have been previously conceptualised as occurring similarly regardless of demand. The goal of this study was to develop a reproducible methodological approach to operationalising configuration by identifying the factors that most strongly shape the ED disposition decision-making process under conditions of low and high demand. Using a modified Delphi approach consisting of surveys sent to ED clinicians, we identified the influence of 32 work system elements on the disposition decision-making process under varied demands. Fifty-nine percent of elements were given similar ratings under low and high demand. Variations in ratings represent meaningful differences in the ED work system structure. Understanding how the influence of ED work system elements varies across the demand continuum can support the translation of descriptive findings into prescriptive insights that can inform and prioritise future research or system design.

This study investigates cognitive strategies of experienced pilots and challenges that less-experienced pilots face during inadvertent transitions from visual flight rules (VFR) to instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) in general aviation (GA). Effective weather-related decision-making is critical to preventing GA accidents, yet experienced pilots' proactive IMC-avoidance strategies remain underexplored. Applied cognitive task analysis was conducted with 18 flight instructors. Participants reported employing cognitive strategies such as continuously updating weather trends, contingency planning, and disciplined self-monitoring, drawing on critical environmental and meteorological cues to anticipate IMC. They reported that less-experienced pilots often struggle to detect subtle cue degradation, assess evolving weather patterns, and resist continuation bias. Inadvertent IMC entry increases cognitive demands, including immediately stabilising aircraft, discerning sensory illusions, and regaining situational awareness without visual cues. Findings support training that clarifies diversion triggers (both internal and external) and reinforces trend monitoring to promote timely decisions.

Performing a controlled glide of an Airbus A320 following an all-engine failure at cruising altitude is a highly demanding task for pilots. This study investigates whether judgement heuristics can enhance pilot performance in managing this scenario. While the existing ALL ENG FAIL Airbus procedure provides valid guidance, it offers disconnected navigational inputs to the pilots. This simulator-based experimental study evaluates whether integrating simple heuristics as feedforward artefacts improves pilots' anticipatory navigational control. Twenty-four airline crews were divided into two control groups (using the Airbus procedure only) and an experimental group (with the option to supplement the manufacturer's procedure with heuristics). Results showed that the use of heuristics improved pilots' ability to plan and monitor the glide, resulting in a higher rate of successful landings. These findings support the potential value of incorporating judgement heuristics into pilot training and procedural design to enhance decision-making under uncertainty and high cognitive demand.

This study experimentally evaluated a novel phase change cooling garment (PCCG) designed to alleviate heat stress for live-line workers. Tests were conducted in a climate chamber (38°C, 75% RH) with 15 participants performing treadmill walking at 5km/h. The PCCG demonstrated a maximum observed cooling duration of 116 minutes. It significantly reduced mean skin temperature by 2.6 ± 0.8°C and core temperature by 0.7 ± 0.2°C. Furthermore, the garment notably decreased sweat volume from 0.83 ± 0.13 kg to 0.55 ± 0.10 kg, reducing the comprehensive heat stress index from severe to mild. Subjective thermal comfort and thermal sensation votes improved significantly without inducing cold discomfort. A machine learning model (BP-RFE-SVM-PSO) developed to predict thermal comfort achieved an accuracy of 95.6% under these controlled laboratory conditions. The results demonstrate the PCCG's effectiveness in enhancing physiological and perceptual responses for workers in hot-humid environments.

This position paper discusses the roles of Prospective Ergonomics to face the challenges of Anthropocene. In particular, we question the nature of human needs to distinguish between fundamental needs essential to human development and artificial needs partly responsible for overconsumption and detrimental effects on Earth system. An overview of theories of human needs across Psychology, Economics and Sociology contributes to clarifying which kind of needs should be supported in the future, and which kind of satisfiers (ways of actualising needs) should be designed in a sustainable perspective. Ethical implications and dilemmas for Prospective Ergonomics are also discussed.

The increasing integration of smart products into society is noteworthy in the field of Prospective Ergonomics (PE), as they herald the emergence of novel products featuring yet-to-be-discovered interaction modalities. Literature highlights a lack of front-end prototyping approaches that transcend disciplinary skills and aid communication across diverse design fields, highly relevant in early-stage smart product development. This paper introduces an integrated, low-fidelity prototyping tool to enhance interdisciplinary communication and understanding of future products' interactive and environmental qualities. A survey provides preliminary validation of the integrated tool's format and content. Findings endorse the tool's structure and flexibility in supporting understanding and communication of interactive and environmental qualities of smart product concepts across a range of design disciplines. As such we advance the discourse on PE by envisioning a low-fidelity prototyping tool to create intermediary objects supporting design efforts towards future products and their new and emerging interaction modalities.

In a context of accelerated and unpredictable changes, organisations consider 'alternative futures' in order to enhance their anticipation strategies. This approach could be applied to prospective ergonomics in order, on the one hand, to consider very long-term scenarios involving the design of complex future situations, often characterised by 'ill-defined' and 'open' problems, and, on the other hand, to train ergonomists in prospective practice. With this in mind, an exploratory study compared two prospective approaches: one called prospective design, based on a continuity of the present in order to envision probable and/or preferable futures (referring to the concept of probable/preferable future activity, classically used in prospective ergonomics), and the other called design-fiction, inspired by science fiction to imagine alternative futures. The results indicate that design-fiction encourages the development of well-argued creative ideas, and stimulates critical thinking, by encouraging participants to envisage alternative futures, while stimulating in-depth reflection on potential future issues.

Practitioner summary: The article examines design fiction's role in design activities in prospective ergonomics. It examines how science fiction narratives and artefacts can impact collective creativity and collaboration, fostering argumentative exchanges and the development of ideas which taking into account both novelty and usefulness.