Ergonomics最新文献

This paper presents a constructive view of Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) and its implications regarding work, organisations and HFE interventions.

In contrast to a defensive approach to HFE, which would view work mostly as a source of constraints, and the role of HFE as reducing these constraints, the goal of constructive ergonomics is to eliminate obstacles hindering success and development and to maximise opportunities for acting and learning.

After having developed the concept and the methods of enabling interventions, as well as their consequences on the role of ergonomists, two enabling interventions are presented to illustrate the implementation of the constructive approach in real work settings.

The discussion advocates a conception of development as a fact, a means and a goal of HFE interventions, and emphasises the maieutic role of ergonomists.

Sitting time (ST) in the occupational domain has been linked to reduced wellbeing and quality-of-life. However, studies investigating the impact of reducing ST in these outcomes are scarce. An ancillary analysis using data from a RCT containing a 6-month sit-stand desk-based intervention, evaluated workers' changes in ST (objectively measured), and subjective wellbeing and quality-of-life. Two groups were created based on changes in ST. Independent and paired-sample T-tests were used to evaluate the differences between and within groups, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was conducted to evaluate the effects of ST reduction in the outcomes. Our analyses indicated that 13 participants out of 38 reduced ST (-72min/day [±40.0; p < 0.001], while 25 participants slightly reduced or increased ST (+36.7 min/day [±40.3; p < 0.001]). Both groups had an improvement in quality-of-life scores, but only those who reduced ST improved subjective wellbeing (p = 0.028). Despite these results, no time*group interaction was found.

The advantages of two-stage warnings have been validated. This study investigated how drivers' expectations of automated driving system capabilities and cognitive load affect their attention allocation and takeover performance when using a two-stage warning system in a Level 3 automated driving system. Thirty-two drivers participated in a driving simulation study. The results showed that drivers under high cognitive load had longer and more frequent fixation on the road, which suggested a cautious attention strategy. The high-expectation group gazed less on the road and got greater lateral deviation and maximum acceleration. Attention allocation of the high-expectation group was similar between warning stages but was more susceptible to cognitive load within the same stage. The two-stage warnings need to be designed to direct drivers' attention effectively.

Grounded on the Affective Event Theory and the Quality of Telework Model, this cross-sectional study examined the impact of perceived advantage of remote workstation on remote work performance and if this relationship is mediated through remote work intensity and moderated by worktime autonomy. The perceived advantage of remote workstation was operationalised as the arithmetical difference between perceived home office and in-site office workstation quality. A sample of 349 Italian researchers involved in hybrid work arrangements completed an online questionnaire. Results show that employees who preferred their home office than in-office workplace tended to perform better remotely; the mediating effect of remote work intensity was not observed; finally, worktime autonomy positively moderated the relationship between perceived advantage of remote workstation and remote work intensity. This study offers theoretical and practical insights for designing effective hybrid workplaces, emphasising the importance of workstation quality and worktime autonomy in determining remote work performance.

Our study was carried out in winegrowing in France and relates to the prevention of pesticide exposure situations. During treatments, the sprayer is a technical determinant directly responsible for these situations because of its design. The objective of our study is to gain a better understanding of pesticide exposure situations during the use of sprayers, by identifying the design of these machinery and the regulations that apply to it as a chain of determinants. Focusing on activity-centred ergonomics, this qualitative study formulates ergonomic (video recorded observations and interviews) and legal (content regulation) analyses at each level of this chain (treatments activities, sprayer design activities, regulation, and regulation development activities). The results highlight the role of design and regulation in the emergence of pesticide exposure situations, due to a little consideration of the real work of winegrowers. This means that design and regulation are relevant change levers for sustainable preventive action.

In operational tasks involving cognitive processes and visual guided pointing activities, this paper investigated the effects of icon layout types, visual features and text labels on the performance of visual search through eye tracking technology, taking the layout types of the icon (single row, double row, matrix and circular), visual features (round icon, round inverse colour icon, chamfered square icon, chamfered square inverse colour icon and borderless icon) and text labels (with or without text labels) as experimental variables. The task completion time, the total duration of fixation in AOI (Area of Interest) and the number of fixations in AOI were statistically analysed. Experimental results revealed that the combination of without text label, matrix layout and chamfered square icons could help improve interaction efficiency. The research results were helpful in providing a basis for designers to improve the usability of human-computer interfaces during the prototype design stage of software and other related fields.

Initial trust is one of the critical factors that influence the acceptance of and reliance on autonomous cars (ACs). This study identified the determinants of the initial trust in ACs and explored the relationships between them using structural equation modelling. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire to obtain demographic information, personality traits, design features, task scenarios, and human perception factors from 101 participants without prior interactions with ACs. The results showed that the perceived safety (0.716), capability (0.222), and external locus of control (0.101) are the main positive factors fostering initial trust in ACs, while task risk (-0.349) was the main negative factor. Multigroup analysis demonstrated that the respondents' previous experience with driver-assistance systems encouraged the development of initial trust. The results of this study can provide guidelines for the design and promotion of ACs to develop individuals' initial trust in ACs.

Standard Ergonomic Risk Assessment (ERA) from video analysis is a highly time-consuming activity and is affected by the subjectivity of ergonomists. Motion Capture (MOCAP) addresses these limitations by allowing objective ERA. Here a depth camera, one of the most commonly used MOCAP systems for ERA (i.e. Azure Kinect), is used for the evaluation of the NIOSH Lifting Equation exploiting a tool named AzKNIOSH. First, to validate the tool, we compared its performance with those provided by a commercial software, Siemens Jack TAT, based on an Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) suit and found a high agreement between them. Secondly, a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) was employed for task recognition, automatically identifying the lifting actions. This procedure was evaluated by comparing the results obtained from manual detection with those obtained through automatic detection. Thus, through automated task detection and the implementation of Auto-AzKNIOSH we achieved a fully automated ERA.Practitioner Summary:The standard evaluation of the NIOSH Lifting Equation is time-consuming and subjective, thus a new automatic tool is designed, which integrates motion captures provided by Azure Kinect and task recognition. We found a high agreement between our tool and Siemens Jack TAT suit, the golden standard technology for motion capture.

Disassembly, as a part of the electronic waste (e-waste) management process, is a labour-intensive task. The emergence of collaborative robots (cobots) provides a robotic solution to reduce the human efforts during disassembly. This study evaluated muscle activation patterns during cobot-assisted e-waste disassembly using surface electromyography (EMG). Twenty-two participants were recruited to perform disassembly tasks with and without cobot assistance. EMG signals from biceps brachii (BB), brachioradialis (BR), upper trapezius (UT), and erector spinae (ES) were collected simultaneously. Six features were then calculated to determine muscle activation patterns. Additionally, EMG-EMG coherence analysis was conducted for BR and ES muscles. Results showed a significant reduction in muscle activity with cobot assistance, particularly in the left ES muscle (46.4% decrease). Moreover, coherence between BR and ES muscles significantly increased. These findings indicate the proposed collaboration strategy not only reduces the muscle activity but also sheds light on enhancing muscle coordination during e-waste disassembly.

Roads are social spaces where human road users engage in communication, cooperation, and competition. With the introduction of automated vehicles (AVs) into this space, it becomes crucial to understand human-AV social interactions. This narrative review examines current research in this emerging field, synthesising insights from empirical studies that compare human-human interactions (regular traffic) with human-AV interactions (mixed traffic). We reviewed empirical studies using survey experiments, simulator experiments, test-track experiments, on-road observations, and AV accident analysis. They present mixed evidence on the influences of human-AV interactions in mixed traffic, with an overall negative trend. Negative influences are bi-directional: humans may interact with AVs less cautiously, such as driving more aggressively or exploiting AVs, while AVs can induce negative changes in driver behaviours, including exerting negative peer influences and creating challenges for drivers. We develop a typology of problematic social interactions and highlight outstanding research opportunities.