IISE transactions on occupational ergonomics and human factors最新文献

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSIntegrating ergonomics (or human factors) in production and service processes is a topic of interest for ergonomics researchers and practitioners, especially in industrially-developing countries. In this paper, we present how an ergonomic intervention was carried out in an area of a Colombian meat processing plant using the Ergonomics Checkpoints tool. Of 65 checkpoints verified, 24 required improvement action and 17 of them were a priority. The main problems were related to materials storage and handling, hand tools, machine safety, workstation design, and work organization. Organizational and engineering proposals were made. The engineering proposals were modeled in 3 D to increase understanding of and acceptance by the company's workers. We hope that the lessons learned and reflections derived from this case study serve as a reference for conducting ergonomic interventions in similar contexts.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSAn office ergonomics program was implemented at a multinational company in Hong Kong. The FITS Model office ergonomics program included four components: (1) F: Furniture Evaluation and Selection, wherein the ergonomist conducted a walkthrough review of furniture and environmental settings; (2) I: Individual Workstation Assessment, in which the office ergonomics guideline and educational video were developed. An interactive individual ergonomics workstation assessment included a health survey, and the assessor provided immediate recommendations for changes to workstation setup; (3) T: Training and Education; and (4) S: Stretching Exercises and Rest Breaks, which entailed classroom training to promote office ergonomics principles and demonstrate office stretching exercises. A case study is described, included the steps to implement the program and highlights of the feedback from the project team gathered during mid-term and final evaluations. Lessons learned regarding program management and the limitations of the project intervention offer useful information for practitioners and companies.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSSocial distancing restrictions imposed by the global outbreak of COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities in traditional User-Centered Design processes. This paper presents a shift in methodological thinking and deployment of participatory processes toward a more dynamic and resilient approach of user-centered design in a multi-year joint academia-industry design project. We moved beyond an overreliance on resource-intensive formal discrete events - such as in-person design workshops, focus groups, or traditional field studies and observations - toward including more continuous inputs to create a more sustainable and fluid approach within a living lab ecosystem. User-centered data collection methods were organized in a framework across three dimensions of interaction: 1) Communication; 2) Timing; and 3) Presence. Expanding methodological options along these differing dimensions increased opportunities for more diversified inputs and sample recruitment, while increasing overall data and design feedback collected. Lowering participation and knowledge sharing thresholds enabled more continuous, inclusive involvement of key stakeholders throughout design processes.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSThe 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.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSAuditory alarm signals are a safety measure that would benefit from improvement across many industries. There is a considerable research base that can be applied to the development and testing of audible alarms, though this is rarely done in practice. We describe a process that can be adopted in any area where audible alarm signals are widespread. A comprehensive approach to updating and improving auditory alarms requires consideration not only of individual alarm sounds but also of how the alarm signals will work together. We show the development and design of alarm signal sets following best practices from acoustic, psychoacoustic, and psychological knowledge to ensure that the resultant alarms are localizable, audible, easy to learn, appropriately urgency-mapped, and differentiable. We also describe benchmarking tests, and a protocol for thinking about how auditory alarm signals might be implemented in control rooms of different sizes.

OCCUPATIONAL APPLICATIONSDespite the frequency and cost of rotator cuff injuries among male and female workers, very little is known about the strength, endurance, and perceived exertion and electromyographic response of rotator cuff muscles to different exertion levels. In this study, sex differences were studied using muscle-specific maximal and submaximal exertions of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, and teres minor muscles. Females showed lower strength and endurance, but higher muscle activity and perceived exertion compared to males. The baseline data presented in this paper can assist ergonomic practitioners in determining the worker capacity to ensure that physically-demanding shoulder exertions can be performed without incurring injurious stress. Such data is also essential to establish population norms for the better design of workplace tasks.