THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF TRYING TO APPLY ERGONOMICS IN THE REAL WORLD

摘要

Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E) can be a difficult concept both to understand and to apply. It often comes across as a woolly or fuzzy topic that seems far removed from the more concrete and technical issues that engineers and business people deal with on a day to day basis. The methods used to explore errors and unsafe behaviours do not always lead directly to effective change and there can be many barriers to the successful application of a HF/E approach. This paper explores the experiences of an individual trying to promote and apply HF/E principles within an organisation over the last 3 years. The paper draws out lessons learnt from this experience and provides practical advice for others trying to do the same. It considers how to capitalise on successes, to create a sustainable focus on using HF/E principles and approaches to drive improvements across the organisation, whilst overcoming the predictable obstacles and barriers to such work.