Chapter29-ErgonomicsOVERVIEWWolfgangLaurigandJoachimVedderInthe3rdeditionoftheILO’sEncyclopaedia,publishedin1983,ergonomicswassummarizedinonearticlethatwasonlyaboutfourpageslong.Sincethepublicationofthe3rdedition,therehasbeenamajorchangeinemphasisandinunderstandingofinterrelationshipsinsafetyandhealth:theworldisnolongereasilyclassifiableintomedicine,safetyandhazardprevention.Inthelastdecadealmosteverybranchintheproductionandserviceindustrieshasexpendedgreateffortinimprovingproductivityandquality.Thisrestructuringprocesshasyieldedpracticalexperiencewhichclearlyshowsthatproductivityandqualityaredirectlyrelatedtothedesignofworkingconditions.Onedirecteconomicalmeasureofproductivity—thecostsofabsenteeismthroughillness—isaffectedbyworkingconditions.Thereforeitshouldbepossibletoincreaseproductivityandqualityandtoavoidabsenteeismbypayingmoreattentiontothedesignofworkingconditions.Insum,thesimplehypothesisofmodernergonomicscanbestatedthus:Painandexhaustioncausehealthhazards,wastedproductivityandreducedquality,whicharemeasuresofthecostsandbenefitsofhumanwork.Thissimplehypothesiscanbecontrastedtooccupationalmedicinewhichgenerallyrestrictsitselftoestablishingtheaetiologyofoccupationaldiseases.Occupationalmedicine’sgoalistoestablishconditionsunderwhichtheprobabilityofdevelopingsuchdiseasesisminimized.Usingergonomicprinciplestheseconditionscanbemosteasilyformulatedintheformofdemandsandloadlimitations.Occupationalmedicinecanbesummedupasestablishing“limitationsthroughmedico-scientificstudies”.Traditionalergonomicsregardsitsroleasoneofformulatingthemethodswhere,usingdesignandworkorganization,thelimitationsestablishedthroughoccupationalmedicinecanbeputintopractice.Traditionalergonomicscouldthenbedescribedasdeveloping“correctionsthroughscientificstudies”,where“corrections”areunderstoodtobeallworkdesignrecommendationsthatcallforattentiontobepaidtoloadlimitsonlyinordertopreventhealthhazards.Itisacharacteristicofsuchcorrectiverecommendationsthatpractitionersarefinallyleftalonewiththeproblemofapplyingthem—thereisnomultidisciplinaryteameffort.Theoriginalaimofinventingergonomicsin1857standsincontrasttothiskindof“ergonomicsbycorrection”:...ascientificapproachenablingustoreap,forthebenefitofourselvesandothers,thebestfruitsoflife’slabourfortheminimumeffortandmaximumsatisfaction(Jastrzebowski1857).Therootoftheterm“ergonomics”stemsfromtheGreek“nomos”meaningrule,and“ergo”meaningwork.Onecouldproposethatergonomicsshoulddevelop“rules”foramoreforward-looking,prospectiveconceptofdesign.Incontrastto“correctiveergonomics”,theideaofprospectiveergonomicsisbasedonapplyingergonomicrecommendationswhichsimultaneouslytakeintoconsiderationprofitabilitymargins(Laurig1992).Thebasicrulesforthedevelopmentofthisapproachcanbededucedfrompracticalexperienceandreinforcedbytheresultsofoccupationalhygieneandergonomicsresearch.Inotherwords,prospectiveergonomicsmeanssearchingforalternativesinworkdesignwhichpreventfatigueandexhaustiononthepartoftheworkingsubjectinordertopromotehumanproductivity(“...forthebenefitofourselvesandothers”).Thiscomprehensiveapproachofprospectiveergonomicsincludesworkplaceandequipmentdesignaswellasthedesignofworkingconditionsdeterminedbyanincreasingamountofinformationprocessingandachangingworkorganization.Prospectiveergonomicsis,therefore,aninterdisciplinaryapproachofresearcher...
