Ergonomics
Where does ergonomics fit in the
safety of large organisations?
by Andrew Healey, Human Factors Analyst
The causes of infrequent yet major accidents in industry or
the more diffuse accidents in healthcare commonly trace back
to management structures and policies for work, safety culture,
poorly designed equipment and working environment,
inadequate operating procedures and ineffective
communications. It follows that there is an obvious demand for
the Ergonomics and Human Factors (EHF) discipline for
organisational safety.
EHF continues to grow in order to meet certain regulatory
pressures in industry, and ad hoc requirements or research
needs across domains. However, while EHF has an increasing
presence in some organisations, it remains unclear where EHF
ideally fits in organisational safety. We may not be surprised
that some organisations do not have any defined strategy for
their overall EHF application, as they might for other functions,
such as human resources. Anumber of obstacles exist to
clarifying where EHF fits, such as determining its value, its
utility and the strategic framework used to apply it.
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