ABSTRACT. In about the year 2000 Michael Patkin (Patkin, 2020), a general surgeon and enthusiast of ergonomics, pointed to the lack of research and practical applications of ergonomics in the field of surgery. Introduction of new surgical techniques has even accentuated the need for ergonomics in surgery. Today, awareness of ergonomics has become more important in general, also in the field of surgery. According to Sergesketter et al. (2019) the “awareness of ergonomics in surgical fields has risen dramatically in the past decade”. However, the increase of awareness varies across the many topics of ergonomics relevant to surgery, with probably the topic of work-related musculoskeletal disorders being on top of interests. Compared to many other areas in ergonomics, there is what could be considered a shortage of scientific contributions specifically concerned with ergonomics in surgery. As result of a search in Web of Science using the combination of key words ("surgery room" OR "operating room" OR "operating theater") AND (Ergonomics OR "Human Factors") a total of 416 papers popped up (June, 4th, 2020), which is a small fraction of the 30’518 papers found with the keywords (Ergonomics OR "Human Factors"). The outcome of this literature search is probably not due to a lack of interest in research on ergonomics in surgery but rather may be due to a misconception in the research, as the relevant factors of ergonomics are investigated and shared in an isolated environment or fields outside the broad domain of ergonomics in surgery. A journal dedicated to “Ergonomics in Surgery” does not exist. The holistic approach has, therefore, not yet been considered sufficiently in the domain of this special session. Considering the rapidly increasing degree of complexity of surgery, a lack of holistic approach could have a high impact on health and safety for both, for patients undergoing surgery, and for healthcare workers in the operating room and its environment.

ABSTRACT. A mapping of the occupational risks in the operating theatres of the University Hospital of Verona (Italy) was carried out focusing on the ergonomic aspects in settings where interventional radiology procedures are performed.

ABSTRACT. The present PhD study documents a high prevalence of multisite musculoskeletal pain among surgeons and that it is significantly associated with e.g., lower work ability. The study also presents objective measures of surgeons’ muscle activity in conventional and robotic surgery, demonstrating a sustained static muscle activity pattern for both surgical modalities, which are likely to induce musculoskeletal pain. Future research should investigate possible means to increase the resilience of the surgeons and alleviate their physical workload.

ABSTRACT. We report the design and testing of a chair to better fit and support an ophthalmologic surgeon during a procedure. The aim of the new chair design is to enhance the surgical performance by reducing physical fatigue. If surgeons are more comfortable, they may make fewer errors, leading to better patient safety. The seat surface is made of fiber-reinforced plastics and molded with a curvature that provides pelvic and side support. The cushioning material is not urethane; instead, it is plastic entwined in a thread structure that can be easily processed. A mechanism that allows the backrest to slide forward and backward allows adjustment for differences in thigh length while enhancing support in the sacral and pelvic regions. The clinical pilot test by surgeons indicated that the prototype chair decreased the pressure on the seat surface and prevented backward tilt of the pelvis compared to a conventional chair. The synergistic effect of the seat surface and backrest allows a stable work posture while minimizing forward displacement.

ABSTRACT. Nurses’ mental models of double-check items for the verification of chemotherapy medications have been assessed. Possible design guidelines were proposed based on the findings to improve the displays of nursing information systems.

ABSTRACT. The major aim of this symposium is to present, share and discuss recent results from a Japanese-German research cooperation on connected and automated driving that started in 2019 and that addresses communication, education and transition of control.

ABSTRACT. Automated driving is an ever-fast developing technology which is going to change the traffic system fundamentally. This development raises the ques-tion about how to interact in urban, less-regulated situations involving au-tomated vehicles (AV) and vulnerable road users (VRU) like cyclists and/or pedestrians. Thus, it is essential to gain an understanding of interac-tions between VRU and current, mainly non-automated vehicles. This study focusses on cyclist-vehicle interaction and raises the questions whether there are typical interaction parameters. To address these issues, da-ta of a previous Naturalistic Cycling Study (NCS), was re-analyzed. The se-lected sample consisted of 11 cyclists (ranging from 24 to 48 years, 8 males, 3 females). The subjects’ bicycles were instrumented with two cameras (forward view and face of the rider) that recorded a four-week lasting cy-cling period. In total, 69 interactions between cyclists and vehicles in less-regulated traffic context were analyzed. As a result of this descriptive ap-proach, we identified common cyclist maneuvers (e.g., avoiding) and behav-ioral parameters (e.g., keeping constant speed) in the light of different infra-structural context. The discussion addresses the functionality of different behavioral patterns and the arising challenges for AV technology.

ABSTRACT. Pedestrians’ decision-making when crossing a road is investigated in an online video study with a two-alternative choice reaction task. Results are interpreted with a hierarchical Bayesian parameter estimation of the drift-diffusion-model.

ABSTRACT. Multi pedestrian scenarios are the next step towards more realistic traffic research. We conducted a traffic observation with uninformed pedestrians to find differences in behavior depending on the pedestrians group sizes. We found out that most of the pedestrian’s behavior occurs while they approach the street curb which hasn’t been reported in previous research yet. This paper reports several objective data concerning pedestrians’ positions, actions and their timings during the approach towards the curb. We identify potential differences between single pedestrians and two pedestrian groups. The results lay the basis for a future controlled experiment where the found differences will be statistically evaluated.

ABSTRACT. Cooperative traffic situations, in which at least two agents interact, represent not only safety-critical situations but also relevant situations for maintaining traffic flow. The successful solution of cooperative situations depends on the decisions of involved road users and their mutually expected reactions. A video-based online study (N = 116) was conducted to compare the depend-ence between drivers’ decisions and expectations about other drivers in a narrow passage and lane change scenario. The effect of the perceived conflict between involved drivers’ outcomes and the perceived power to influence these outcomes were examined. Besides, perceived own and other drivers’ cooperativeness were analyzed. In most cases, drivers decided in accordance with their expectations. A tendency towards defensive decisions and a posi-tivity bias in self-attributed cooperative driving in contrast to other drivers was observed. Varying perceptions of the situation on the inter-social level provide indications for mismatches between decisions, expectations, and preferences. The results give insights into expectation-based decision-making processes and associated factors that could influence traffic behavior.

ABSTRACT. To explore issues pertaining to the interactions between low-speed automated vehicles (AVs) and other road users, we analyzed video data recorded during field operational tests using cameras attached to the AVs.

ABSTRACT. Minimal Risk Maneuvers (MRMs) are introduced to reduce the risk of an accident during the transition from automated to manual driving. In this paper, we present the results of a dynamic driving simulator study with 56 participants with the control authority as the independent variable, i.e. allowing and blocking driver input during the MRM. In order to not communicate wrong information, input blocking was established by disabling the brake and gas pedal but not the steering wheel. The latter turned according to the performed MRM and participants had to overcome high counterforces to change the vehicle’s direction. Two scenarios on a highway were investigated with the ego vehicle located in the right lane and only differing in the implemented MRM, i.e. stopping in the own lane or maneuvering to the shoulder lane combined with a standstill. Our results show a high intervention rate in both groups. Participants intervened mainly by maneuvering into the middle lane and after the Human-Machine-Interface announced the upcoming maneuver. In total, four accidents and five dangerous situations occurred due to interventions in both groups. Trajectories during re-entering into traffic showed that participants favored the middle lane over the shoulder lane here as well. To conclude, allowing or blocking driver intervention did not reduce the risk of an accident and more countermeasures need to be taken.

ABSTRACT. Self-evaluation and self-critics is a rare exercise, among the members or executive committees of academic and professional associations. Human fac-tors and ergonomics associations throughout their seven decades of existence have rarely been evaluated. The aim of the present research is to highlight what objectives were achieved, what are the obstacles to attain the outlined objectives of the HF/E associations of the study sample, and what lessons can be learned throughout the existence of each society? To answer these questions, five responsible/representatives of four (4) HF/E associations participated in the discussion panel. Their answers to the three questions on: achievements, obstacles and lessons learned were stratified into categories of (1) achievements: seven goals have been achieved, (2) eight obstacles are facing HF/E societies to achieve their missions, and (3) twelve lessons are learned during life time of HF/E society from its inception to today. These results are discussed taking into account the context of each HF/E society, while having a critical eye when adopting experiences of other HF/E societies. Some of these are of great value, others cannot be applied locally. A particular emphasize steamed from the discussion among members of the panel is the implementation of workable strategies for short, medium and long terms to promote ergonomics at all levels.

ABSTRACT. Practitioners are welcome to participate in an interactive discussion with international colleagues to share their current achievements and challenges in applying ergonomics research in nominated industry sectors. During this Special Session the facilitator will lead discussions in selected industries where ergonomists are engaged. The first session would discuss the transition of offices into agile workplaces as the first topic. This discussion would be for half the session time. The second industry would be healthcare focusing on hospitals and the experiences of ergonomists managing the challenges of a changing community including dementia and bariatric patients. All participants are welcome to contribute but they will be requested to limit their point to 90 seconds to ensure all can share and participate. Canadian ergonomists will be most welcome to bring their local perspectives.

The session can draw out the physical, cognitive and organizational aspects of the work done by ergonomists as well as how they interact in the workplace. The role of the ergonomist as part of a multi discipline team in assessing these issues, implementing changes and evaluation of the benefits would be discussed.

ABSTRACT. Homes with visually impaired people live together with relatives who are normally experiencing problems with the safety due to improper home environments. For example, slipping due to oily texture or falling down from stairs without handrails. Visually impaired people rely on touching various surfaces to create familiarity and help them walk around and stay in the house. The safety environmental improvement in the home for people with disabilities is essential. At the same time, this improvement must not interfere with the normal residents' housing. For coexistence and everyone can live together equally according to the principle of design for everyone. (Universal design, 2008) This research aims to design and improve the environment within the residential area for the visually impaired according to ergonomics principle. The research was divided into two phases ...

ABSTRACT. The increasing demand for rattan bassinets and cribs is not directly proportional to consumers' attention to product safety which is less than to the products’ aesthetic designs. Thus, it is necessary to investigate the effects of rattan slat bassinet and crib design regarding the risk of entrapment for a baby’s safety. This research was conducted in terms of ergonomics, namely by observing the babies' behavior while doing their activities in the rattan bassinets and cribs. The bassinet and crib have variations in the gap sizes between the components on the crib sides. In terms of physical safety, the handmade rattan crib slat components, with 10 mm diameter rattan that is curved in form, have a risk of producing inconsistent rattan gaps that exceed 2 3/8 inches (60 millimeters). This results in the potential for injury to the limbs of infants aged 5-12 months. The baby’s limbs can be trapped in the rattan slat decoration.

ABSTRACT. Workplace stress and fatigue due to long working hours and prolonged cognitive workload has been reported to be a significant predictor of cardiovascular diseases. Continuous monitoring of cardiac activity could provide to be a way to identify the early onset of stress and fatigue. However, the discomfort brought by ECG measurement electrodes has been a challenge for long term ubiquitous monitoring at the workplace. In this study, we have developed tin-coated copper active electrodes embedded onto a mat that can be fastened to an office chair or bed allowing unobtrusive measurement of cardiac activity. The experimental results from filtering and R peak detection of cECG measurements show high accuracy, and the heart rate calculated had a very high correlation with the conventional ECG measurements for both chair (r=0.991, p<0.01) and bed (r=0.981, p<0.01) form factors. The decrease in the mean squared error of computed heart rates from cECG measurements on chair (MSE = 0.43 bpm) could be attributed to increased lumbar contact as compared to lying down on bed (MSE = 1.13 bpm). The developed cECG sensor and measurement system could be seamlessly integrated into everyday objects such as chair, bed and car seat for unobtrusive cardiac monitoring with no prior preparations. Further heart rate variability studies to identify the markers of changes in sympathetic nervous activity could provide an early indicator of stress and fatigue to promote an active and healthy lifestyle in the workplace.

ABSTRACT. New air traffic management systems are being researched throughout the world to enhance the safety and efficiency of the airspace. However, human air traffic controllers have been effectively balancing both safety and efficiency in their operations. In resilience engineering, this human trade-off characteristic is called the efficiency-thoroughness trade-off if efficiency is prioritized and thoroughness-efficiency trade-off if thoroughness or safety is prioritized. Moreover, understanding human decision-making is attracting attention in the field of air traffic control system design since it could be incorporated into autonomous systems to improve resilience and automation acceptance. In this study, we analyzed the mechanism of efficiency-thoroughness trade-off decisions in an approach control simulator experiment, so that the results could be applied to future air traffic management systems. The results showed that efficiency-thoroughness trade-off decisions were made when situational difficulty was under 3.5 times the difficulty of an easiest situation and when situational difficulty was over 3.5, a high ratio of thoroughness-efficiency trade-off decisions were observed.

ABSTRACT. On average, a hunter is accidentally killed every nine months in New Zealand [1]. One of the most common causes of hunting fatalities in this country (up to 64%), are target identification failures - mistaking people for large game. Failure-to-identify incidents have no borders and occur primarily wherever a thriving recrea-tional hunting industry exists. The USA and Canada experience similar incidence, with up to 75 fatalities per year [2]. Despite these statistics, no empirical research has been conducted on causation. Instead, researchers have focused on lag indica-tions associated with incident rates and post investigative findings. Because of this, and in the wake of a pair of particularly troubling incidents in which a hunter shot and killed his own son [3] and in which a schoolteacher was killed while camping [4], we conducted a PhD study investigating the causes of failure-to-identify. This paper provides an overview of the findings and some of the result-ing safety recommendations made to the hunting and firearms community.

ABSTRACT. Safety culture has increasingly been discussed since the accident in Chernobyl, back in 1986. Studies made in this context have developed a number of definitions, approaches and diagnostic methods. However, there are few studies discussing transformations in safety practices, which can be brought about once diagnoses are applied. Thus, the purpose of this study is to analyze the methodological approach used in a safety culture assessment, which was applied to two offshore platforms and was based on an approach grounded in human and organizational factors related to industrial safety. This study was carried out and discussed based on document analysis, as well as on interviews made both with the researchers who developed and applied the diagnosis and with some key users who took part in the process. The main results show the challenges and advantages of the methodology used. The participatory approach used allowed for the development of action proposals intended to transform safety culture based on discussions on real work situations.

ABSTRACT. This session is a workshop in which participants will be given step-by-step guidance and training on how to use two systems Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) methods (Work Domain Analysis Broken Nodes (WDA-BN) and the Event Analysis of Systemic Teamwork-Broken Links approach (EAST-BL)) to identify interventions to disrupt systems that are designed to achieve illicit ends. This form of ‘Oppositional’ HFE is a new and emerging area of HFE and potentially opens many new and interesting application areas, expanding both the reach and capability of HFE. Three case studies will be used throughout the workshop based on the research team’s work in disrupting terrorist cells, darknet marketplaces, and cryptolaundering processes.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this panel session is to reflect on the progress of the human factors/ergonomics field over the past nine years regarding the development of the discipline and profession in the desired direction, which was agreed upon at the 2012 IEA Triennial conference in Recife, Brazil. We will discuss the extent to which our research, education and services now better combine the three core characteristics of human factors/ergonomics: (1) design driven, (2) systems approach, and (3) dual outcomes of performance and well-being. We will also discuss progress towards better linking our human factors/ergonomics discipline and profession to influential stakeholder groups of systems design, namely managers and designers. The session starts with a series of short reflections from different members of the former IEA Future of Ergonomics ad hoc committee, and others who have an overview of our field. Afterwards, session attendees will  be asked to share their experiences (live discussion 20 minutes duration).

We will then attempt to draw conclusions about the current state of the field and the lessons for the IEA, its member societies, and their individual members for the next nine years. The session could be the impetus of a new initiative to further shape to future of ergonomics.

The panelists are:

Jan Dul (organizer), professor of Technology and Human Factors, Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University, Netherlands.

Ralph Bruder, professor, Institute for Ergonomics & Human Factors, Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. 

Pascale Carayon, Leon and Elizabeth Janssen Professor in the College of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.

Pierre Falzon, past president IEA (2003-2006), emeritus professor of Ergonomics, CNAM, Paris, France.

William S. Marras, professor of Integrated System Engineering, Spine Research Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.

Andrew S. Imada, past president IEA (2009-2012), AS Imada & Associates, Laguna Niguel, CA, USA.

Kathleen Mosier, president IEA (2018- 2021), emeritus professor of Psychology, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA, USA.

The Question and answer periods will be moderated by Karen Lange Morales, Co-Editora en Jefe - ACTIO - Journal of Technology in Design, Film Arts, and Visual Communication  and Professor of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia; IEA representative of the Sociedad Colombiana de Ergonomía

ABSTRACT. This introductive workshop into digital human modelling seeks to interactively engage the audience through a moderated program. Participants organized in two interest groups, ‘Manufacturing’ and ‘System Design’ will develop solutions for selected common tasks in ergonomic practice, using two digital human modelling (DHM) systems, imk automotive EMA and Human Solutions RAMSIS.

ABSTRACT. Within an innovative supermarket scenario and based on Human-Robot cooperation, this paper proposes an approach for the optimization of the refilling tasks. A methodology for the assessment of the most ergonomic combination between lifting height (hwork) and refilling process (W) customized for the store clerk is presented.

ABSTRACT. The 3D planning software EMA offers a combined approach which takes into account the factory planning level and the detailed planning at the single work station level. Ema Work Designer supports digital production planning, prospective ergonomics and productivity assessment by providing a more efficient and accurate approach to 3D human simulation of manual and semi-automatic tasks at the micro level. Additionally, the new module EMA Plant Designer allows to include entire factories and production lines for evaluation of lead time, production costs, material flow, buffer position, space and layout at the macro level. An application example shows that ergonomic and productivity design don’t contradict each other, if they are considered early in the design phase in one common software system. Many practical experiences suggest that this approach facilitates cooperation between different business units that are traditionally separated, such as factory/facility planning, manufacturing engineering, industrial engineering, production, and health & safety.

ABSTRACT. The paper reports an investigation conducted during the DHM2020 Symposium regarding current trends in research and application of DHM in academia, software development, and industry. The results show that virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and digital twin are major current trends. Furthermore, results show that human diversity is considered in DHM using established methods. Results also show a shift from the assessment of static postures to assessment of sequences of actions, combined with a focus mainly on human well-being and only partly on system performance. Motion capture and motion algorithms are alternative technologies introduced to facilitate and improve DHM simulations. Results from the DHM simulations are mainly presented through pictures or animations.

ABSTRACT. Exoskeletons are currently introduced for several industrial applications, but in many cases the efficiency of such devices in supporting heavy physical work has not been fully proved yet. Biomechanical simulation could considerably contribute to determining the efficiency of exoskeletons in various use cases with different user populations. In this paper we present an approach to extent laboratory and field studies by using the software AnyBody Modelling System. The biomechanical simulation is applied to the “Paexo Shoulder”, a commercial exoskeleton provided by Ottobock. Results show that the exoskeleton substantially reduces muscle activation and joint reaction forces in the shoulder and does not increase activation or forces in the lumbar spine. Comparison with laboratory measurements show very similar results. This indicates that the simulation framework could be used to evaluate changes in internal body loads as a result of wearing exoskeletons and thereby, supplements laboratory experiments and field tests during exoskeleton design and development.

ABSTRACT. For many years, the Association of German Engineers (VDI) has been issuing guidelines for simulating production and logistics systems as well as for Digital Factory tools. The target group encompasses experts from science, consulting institutions, industrial companies, interest groups and software houses. The guidelines represent the state of the art, but in individual cases can also be regarded as a preliminary stage of a standard. This opens up the possibility of publication without the topic already being viewed as capable of being standardized. An individual guideline can contain several guideline parts. In simulation software and Digital Factory tools, the working human is playing an increasing role. From this background, special guideline parts have already been published, which deal with the modeling of humans in production-logistic simulation and with ergonomic aspects in the Digital Factory. The last-mentioned guideline part deals with the work task and especially with related anthropometric and work-physiological aspects. A further guideline part is currently in the process of being published and regards the stresses and strains from the work environment. This guideline part with its close relation to Occupational Health and Safety is discussed in the following. It reveals that a large field of research and development issues still needs to be clarified in order to integrate these aspects into Digital Factory tools.

ABSTRACT. There is a diversity of industries and a large number of small scale, cottage industries and other occupations and& cultures in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (known collectively as BRICS countries) which are the source of livelihood of large parts of the population in these countries. People involved in these occupations are frequently exposed to various operational issues and risk factors that not only affect business but also contribute to the development of strain, fatigue, and various health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders leading to low productivity and loss of income. These issues have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in significant lockdowns and loss of employment and income across the globe and particularly for the most vulnerable populations. Research has been conducted by members of the BRICSplus network (the network of ergonomics societies in BRICS countries) addressing such societal issues pertaining to global issues of work and the impact that COVID-19 has had on this work.

ABSTRACT. How far can a whole social routine be transformed after the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic? It is possible that it has impacted human factors and ergonomics, such as sleep, physical activity, mental health and activities of daily living. It is necessary to focus on society currently, and to determine new forms of interaction in search of a better quality of life. The objective of this work is to determine the extent to which the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 influenced human behavior in relation to style and quality of life, whether or not imposing new routines, and whether these, such as these, may impact the change of a society. To better understand the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on society, human factors variables were raised, and a survey study, where several people were able to answer and share their experiences in the midst of the restrictions of the pandemic when answering an online questionnaire. The research seeks by asking questions to the target audience on variables related to the home environment, employment situation, work routine and health in general. In addition, the research explores symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as sleep, wakefulness, and physical activity levels. There is a need for a new direction in research to monitor the changes across society, seeking a vision of a new society, which emerges in the face of a disruptive period, which impacts the entire planet.

ABSTRACT. Brazil's e-commerce system has changed around insecurity and low-quality delivery, not being efficient and effective. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Brazilian population was forced to leave insecurity and use e-commerce. But are the significant issues resolved? How do people shop online? What does the Brazilian market like when shopping online? In what ways do Brazilians use e-commerce? Has behavior changed? These are the critical aspects of this study. In an online survey of convenience, a probability sample conducted using a snowball method. The survey pointed out that the acceleration of e-commerce shows the urgency to ensure that the country can better use e-commerce to take advantage of the digitalization opportunities and help the government in its economic recovery.

ABSTRACT. Communication is a fundamental tool in health crisis management, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study addressed the communication of the official agencies and the main Brazilian governmental stakeholders on Twitter. The analysis carried out showed inconsistent, incongruous, and conflicting information that includes misinformation and scientific negationism, hindering the implementation of non-pharmacological care strategies measures needed to reduce the virus's spread, contributing to thousands of deaths by COVID-19 reached by the country caused by the pandemic.

ABSTRACT. Currently, almost a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, the transfer to an online mode of learning does not seem to be a temporary measure anymore, but rather a viable way of studying. This study explores how people often involuntarily involved in this type of work evaluate the process and considers potential consequences. The pandemic of 2020 has brought rapid and dramatic changes in lives of educators and students across the world. In Russia, both students and professors of higher education institutions had to adapt within a week to an online mode of working. Education process implies joint work where the course and success of the process heavily depends on the ability and readiness of all actors to contribute and respond timely. Despite reported stress both from educators and students, many universities have opted to continue online studying as a measure to prevent the spread of the disease. This study aims at analyzing the way educators and students working online conceptualize the process of online learning. Students and professors of four state universities of St. Petersburg participated in a survey that asked to both directly evaluate the process of online learning and to give metaphorical associations. The study has revealed persistent negative psychological patterns both among students and among educators that may cause resistance to the development of a new learning space and undermine the success of the education process. The results can be used as the basis for designing adaptation trainings needed for a smooth transfer to online learning.

ABSTRACT. This co-design project was undertaken in an informal settlement called Setswetla, on the banks of a river, with a population density of approximately 30 000/km2 living in low-rise, self-constructed buildings. Potable water is provided by the municipality, but no provision is made for the disposal of waste water. The project team was tasked with designing a greywater treatment system that was cheap and effective in a harsh environment. The design process was iterative and was guided by several principles including participatory engagement, sustainability within context, using locally available materials and resources, building local skills, and developing pride and ownership. This presentation will discuss the design process and its effectiveness in situ.

ABSTRACT. This presentation captures reported national and local challenges to the provision of healthcare in local clinics and contextualises them under the current pandemic.

ABSTRACT. Human factors remain the missing link in engineering design, and in particular in light of demographic change and digital transformation, this session will contribute to generating new insights for the development of operations processes in smart, sustainable, and human-centered production and logistics systems.

ABSTRACT. The authors present a new multipurpose platform to evaluate in real-time workers’ postures computing relevant ergonomic indexes while supporting fast postural training of operators by providing adequate feedbacks.

ABSTRACT. International efforts to improve occupational safety and health (OSH) in garment suppliers in developing countries have so far had little impact. External pressure from international buyers and multi-stakeholder initiatives tends to result in window-dressing changes decoupled from OSH practice on the shop floor. Experience from interventions in the garment industry in Bangladesh shows that using lean as a tool to integrate OSH with productivity can create considerable improvements, and thereby offers prospects for new strategies to secure safety and health in the garment industry in emerging economies.

ABSTRACT. Airfreight handling personnel is exposed to elevated levels of physical strain during freight consolidation and disaggregation. Given a fixed workforce with varying physical condition and different skill levels as well as a timetabled schedule of freight handling tasks causing different amounts of physical strain, this paper investigates how workers should be assigned to tasks, such that physical strain is distributed fairly among workers and skill requirements are met. We model the problem mathematically, present a solution procedure and evaluate its performance in a computational study.

ABSTRACT. The objective with this project is to develop a key performance in-dicator (KPI) related to work environment deviations, such as risk observa-tions, near misses and injuries. This as a support for managers decision mak-ing in steering companies towards higher risk awareness as well as to con-tribute to the development of safer and more sustainable work environments and jobs. In addition, the aim is to contribute to a work environment (WE) reporting standard with a KPI related to the severity of WE deviations. Based on a literature study an iterative development of such a KPI has resulted in the Sustainable Risk Awareness Index (the SRA Index) and a visualization of it and its components using the Risk Awareness Triangle, also developed in this project. The development of the SRA Index is described and the index is exemplified with data from the electrical installation sector, the healthcare industry and one of Sweden’s largest private health company. Also the Risk Triangle is exemplified. The need for and the advantages of standardized methods to report WE deviations in companies sustainability reports are dis-cussed. It is concluded that initial use of this KPI, according to manage-ment, fills an identified gap, it provides the management with a usable tool for systematic work environment overview and it supports their informed decision-making.

ABSTRACT. The exoskeleton technology is discussed as a promising approach in order to relieve physical work in logistics and thereby contribute to health prevention. In recent years, several models have come onto the market that are designed to support specific manual activities. However, especially the work in logistics is characterized by changing activities that cause different physical strains. An exoskeleton test center is being set up at Fraunhofer IML to investigate the effect of exoskeletons in realistic workplaces under laboratory conditions. In a logistics course consisting of typical main and secondary activities of logistics workers, exoskeletons of different categories will be compared in participant studies. Objective and subjective methods are used to analyze movement behavior and performance effects as well as to determine user impression. In a preliminary study, two participants tested a powered exoskeleton over a four-week period in a selected area of the logistics course while their movements were analyzed with motion capturing. The findings will be used to design the planned studies with a larger study sample. After evaluation of the exoskeleton test center and the experimental design, it can be used by future users as well as for exoskeleton manufacturers.

ABSTRACT. Education and training play an increasingly meaningful role in recent research on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) through the whole companies’ supply chains. However, considering the extent of the subject, most research works focus on specific issues, which are not easily replicable in other contexts. Therefore, this work gathers the main results achieved by researchers and systematically identifies leading research paths and trends for future works. A review and systematic categorisation of the existent literature have deemed essential for achieving the scope. The Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) technique has been chosen to extract meaningful information on education and/or training and cluster articles, which have been grouped into eight topics. This analysis has brought out several key factors (industry hazards, workers’ motivation, availability of technologies, etc.) that influence the success or failure of implementing OSH education and training programs. This work pays particular attention to human factors which, if effectively managed, would induce a great step forward for OSH education and training. There is still little or no evidence of education and training’s effectiveness through time since monitoring the outcomes has been often neglected by the management. Nonetheless, Industry 4.0 technologies will help to fill this gap by enabling real-time and continuous tracking of outcomes, which will pave the way for several future works.

ABSTRACT. This symposium is organized by the Gender & Work Technical committee of the IEA. It aims to share innovative initiatives to integrate sex/gender considerations into knowledge transfer and ergonomics interventions.

ABSTRACT. The occupational health literature has established that gender plays an important role in all dimensions of the workplace. This review aims to identify the most recent approaches in the integration of gender in the literature on healthcare workers in conflict settings. We updated the search of a previous review by including the period between 2019 and 2020. Five articles were included in the final review. The findings of this update have identified a dearth of articles with adequate consideration of gender in their study design and a shortage of articles aiming to explore gender differences in their research. It also highlighted the limited use of gender sensitive approaches hindering the researchers’ ability to reveal gender-related differences in the exposures and outcomes of male and female participants. The results of the original review and its update have found similar gaps in the literature on healthcare workers in conflict settings, which identified inadequate consideration of gender throughout the different phases of the research process in the reviewed literature. Minimal progress in the integration of gender have been made in recent studies following our published review. This implies that the most recent literature on this topic has not given adequate attention to this important research angle. Our results highlight the need to strengthen the efforts to encourage gender integration in occupational health research. There is a need for more comprehensive tools and strategies to improve the integration and evaluation of gender in research and support better evidence-based policies and practices.

ABSTRACT. This presentation will inform researchers looking to integrate sex and gender issues in their participatory research-intervention projects about the best practices described in the literature. Feedback of audience members’ experiences in such projects will be sought.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: This communication aims to present perspectives of both stakeholders and researchers involved in occupational health intervention-research (IR) studies about the facilitators and obstacles to considering sex and gender throughout the whole study, from the early stages to the final dissemination.

ABSTRACT. The organisational context and social environment of work can be quite different for men and women. This presentation highlights some of these differences and strategies that consider these elements during ergonomic interventions to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.

ABSTRACT. Colombia has a population of 25 million women; almost half of these are economically active and the majority are linked to the informal sector facing highly feminized jobs. This situation affects the development of their ‘work activity’ and dramatically decreases their quality of life. From the 'analysis of the work situation', the characteristics of the human being, the work environment and the social context in which the work activity takes place, this study aims to lay the foundations for building ‘ergonomic indicators’ that favour understanding and the transformation of feminized work systems. Using a mixed approach methodology, we seek to access a population of 80 women between 18 and 60 years old who are linked to the informal sector. The application of questionnaires with specific variables such as general con-text, family environment, socio-occupational aspects, work environment, individual conditions, among others, leads researchers to obtain the expected results. At the time of writing this paper, the project has partial results of the qualitative component. From there, the categories that will lead the construction of the indicators are defined, such as: occupations of opportunity, changes in operating modes, new work activities, space and proximity, new forms of employability, perceptions of the new way of working and more. As the project is currently under development and given the government policies associated with the pandemic, the development of the quantitative section has been delayed. It is expected that the results and general conclusions will be shared within the framework of the congress

ABSTRACT. Industry interest in the use of exoskeletons to reduce worker physical loading and fatigue (and thus musculoskeletal injury and illness) continues to accelerate globally. As the market for exoskeletons continues to grow, the development and refinement of exoskeleton designs also expands. While numerous studies on the potential benefits of exoskeletons, most to date have involved only small numbers of participants in laboratory settings on simulated tasks and as such makes it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the benefits of industrial exoskeleton in real work situations. Note: Sessions 53, 53.1 and 53.2 will all cover aspects of exoskeleton research with session 53 focusing on exoskeleton studies in industry.

ABSTRACT. The prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders is high amongst dental practitioners all over the world. Indian population comprises nearly three lakh dentists, making it crucial to ergonomically assess the dental occupation using different methods of an ergonomic assessment. The dental profession comprises highly frequent hand-arm motions and necessitates the implementation of the appropriate ergonomic assessment tools. Assessment of Repetitive Tasks (ART) has been created primarily to evaluate the risk involved in the repetitive movement of upper extremity body parts such as arms and hands. Umpteen number of studies have been done using other ergonomic tools (RULA, REBA, SI, and OCRA) in dentistry. Limited investigations have been conducted using the ART technique for assessing the dental profession ergonomically. In the study, ART was used as the key tool to assess the risk levels involved in the Indian population of dentists. The study deduced that the new improved ergonomic methods like ART may prove effective in the determination of risk factors responsible for prevalent MSDs in dentistry.

ABSTRACT. This study investigated the prevalence of cervical musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and its associated factors among Chinese dentists using logistic regression (LR) and decision tree model (DT). It was concluded that the combination of the two models can better assess the risk of cervical MSDs.

ABSTRACT. Playing Related Musculoskeletal Disorder (PRMD) among musicians especially violinists are one of the prevailing concerns in Performing Arts Medicine and least explored from human factors perspective. In this study, effects of self-stretching & postural reeducation program towards reduction of PRMD in Neck flexor muscle group among Classical Carnatic violinists is studied. Experimental study design with a convenient sampling method was used for the study. 40 Eligible violinists from Harish Raghavendra School of Music, West Mambalam, Chennai were selected, of which, 10 violinists chose not to participate. Hence, after taking study participation consent,30 young Violinists between 15-25 years across gender with a criteria of minimum five years professional music training under the same tutelage were selected and divided in to two groups (Group A – Sample & Group B - Experimental) with 15 participants in each. Both the groups were studied for a duration of 7 hours (with two 15 minutes break every two hours) during their continuous musical concert performance. Group A Violinists performing music conventionally without any intervention & Group B Violinists performing the concert with a trained self-stretch (done before concert beginning & during the two 15 min breaks) to cervical flexor muscle group (10 Reps) and informed awareness on postural correction before the start of concert. To determine the comparative outcome on flexor muscle tightness, Range of Motion (ROM) of neck flexors are measured through a standardized Manual Goniometry method. As studies have established the correlation of performance anxiety with poor posture, MPAI (Music Performance Anxiety Inventory) tool was used. Quick DASH (Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand) was used to determine the effect of intervention towards preventing PRMD among neck flexor muscle group. Statistical value difference signifies that, there is a marginal reduction in PRMD of cervical flexors among violinists in the experimental group validating the Alternate Hypothesis.

ABSTRACT. The aims of this paper include introduction of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance in relation to occupational disease in cases of musculoskeletal disorders. The paper also gives updates on the musculoskeletal health of office-based computer users from 2018 to 2019 and 2020 during COVID-19 pandemic.

In Schedule 2 of the Employees’ Compensation Ordinance, compensable occupational disease concerning musculoskeletal issues caused by prolonged use of computers only include injuries to the hand or forearm (including elbow). If office employees suffer from lower back or shoulder pain, any application for compensation may not be practicable and feasible.

Statistics indicate that 96% of office employees in Hong Kong spent at least six hours a day on computer work in the years 2018 and 2019. A total of 78% of office employees reported musculoskeletal discomfort and among all cases, Shoulder, Neck and Lower Back were the three highest reported body regions to have discomfort in past research from 2011 till 2020.

In terms of the musculoskeletal health of computer-based users during COVID-19 in 2020, 80% of respondents self-reported musculoskeletal discomfort during the pandemic season of COVID-19. A high percentage of respondents who suffered from musculoskeletal health issues did not seek medical treatment. In addition, about one-third of the respondents had a basic workstation setup with the use of a laptop, tablet or phone only for work/study from home. 54% of the survey respondents perceived no suitable work/study space at home, but only 10% of the survey respondents were dissatisfied with their workstation setup at home.

ABSTRACT. The transport trucking industry is an important industrial sector that contributes greatly to the Canadian economy. Nevertheless, it is an industry that faces im-portant challenges in terms of occupational health and safety (OHS). This paper summarizes a set of studies that documented the prevalence of self-reported mus-culoskeletal (MS) pain, self-reported MSD risk factors, and work-related physi-cal demands among truck drivers working for the same company specializing in industrial gas production and delivery in Canada. Multiple data sources (i.e., vid-eo-based observations, direct measurements, and self-reports) were used in this study. Among all drivers, the overall prevalence of MS pain in at least one body area investigated for the past 12-month period was 43.1%. Prevalence of MS pain was higher among Bulk drivers than in P&D drivers. MS pain in Bulk driv-ers was mainly associated with psychosocial risk factors and lifestyle whereas MS pain in P&D drivers was mainly associated with physical risk factors. Bulk drivers’ work was characterized by long working days ranging from 9.9 to 15.1 hours (mean = 11.4 h), with half (49%) of the total working time spent behind the wheel. The average work metabolism of P&D drivers and Bulk drivers dur-ing the delivery tasks correspond to the upper bound of the “Moderate” work rate range. The results of this study bring a more differentiated picture of the preva-lence of MS pain, exposures to MSD risk factors and work demands in these two groups of drivers.

ABSTRACT. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of Work-related Musculoskeletal Symptoms (WRMS) and associated work system factors impacting laparoscopic surgery in Peruvian Hospitals. Methods: An online survey with 17 questions was sent to 350 laparoscopic surgeons in different hospitals in Perú. The survey was distributed by email and paper format and consisted of six sections: informed consent, demographic data, physical symptoms, working conditions, impact on surgeons and others. Descriptive data were presented in tables and figures while associations were established using chi-square and fisher´s exact tests with a significance of 0.05. Results: 140 surgeons responded to the survey. Most surgeons worked more than 5 years (57%) and belong to the age group 30-60 years (87%). The prevalence rate of WRMS in survey respondents was 89%, with targeted WRMS identified in the following body regions: shoulders (59%), neck (51%), hand/wrist (41%) and upper back (43%). Duration and complexity of surgeries (nature of tasks) and inadequate table height (technology) were considered as highly contributing factors to WRMS by more than 50% of surgeons surveyed. 40% of surgeons considered the lack of suitable equipment and inadequate training as a highly contributed factor to WRMS. Conclusion: The study determined a high rate of WRMS, especially in the upper body region. These WRMS were associated with several work factors mainly related to inadequate operating table height, duration and complexity of surgeries, lack of suitable equipment and training.

ABSTRACT. When a Swedish town planned transport, a gender analysis told them to change their representations of traffic patterns. When COVID-19 struck, doctors realized their pulse oximeters weren’t working for people with brown and black skin. In France, ergonomists surprised a printing company when they told them that the workload of their female workforce had recently doubled. But knowledge isn’t enough to change practice. Do ergonomists who observe inequality have an ethical obligation to fight it? This talk will explain that ergonomic analysis needs to take account of gender to protect health and performance because (1) Blind spots in representations of tasks that leave out certain demographic groups can reinforce inequality when the task planning is updated, for example with scheduling software; (2) As work is increasingly mechanized, traditional work organization in factories and services can result in blind spots that affect workers’ health; (3) Work reorganization may not adequately take account of collective aspects of work and their complexities, for example with telework (4) Ergonomists can spot these situations, but talking about them can arouse strong resistance. Our experience in collaborative intervention research suggests some paths toward multilevel transformations, but it will be a long journey.

ABSTRACT. I propose to address briefly:

- The origins of Inclusive and Universal Design / Design for All as applied to the Built Environment

- Undergraduate education and training – breaking with “Star Culture”

- Levels of engagement by architects and other built environment professionals

- Professional engagement by representative bodies

- Policies and Strategies

- Ergonomic Research and Standards

- The Challenges

- Current perceptions

- Understanding diversity

- Embracing the user

- Complexity in practice

- Impact of technology

- Sustainable development

The above will be illustrated with Good Practice Case Studies from around the globe.

ABSTRACT. Human computer interaction (HCI) between medical radiation technologists (MRTs) and x-ray equipment influence the quality and safety of patient care with diagnostic procedures and should be considered during purchase of equipment. Practitioners from London Health Sciences Centre collaborated with a professor and students of the Fanshawe Advanced Ergonomic Program to complete a field study to identify HCI Factors in x-ray equipment that could be used as part of a hospital’s centralized purchasing guide.

ABSTRACT. Delegates at conferences have a desire to learn in a new format – “quick bites” are the new norm that liken the ever-engaging TED Talks. This HIROC sponsored event will have competition winners give Mini TEDx-like Talks describing a Human Factors/Ergonomics (HFE) project that positively effects patient safety in healthcare.

The aim is to demonstrate how HFE can make a difference in patient care. The talks were selected through a pre-conference open submission competition. The submissions included a short statement and a video that demonstrated practical solutions that can be spread. The winners, selected by a panel of jurors, will be presented with a plaque and the opportunity to present their work in a TEDx-like format. Their talk will describe a patient safety problem, how they addressed or mitigated that problem using HFE methodologies, as well as the achieved outcomes/lessons learnt and impact on patient safety.

ABSTRACT. This research maps out today's use environment and some important use scenarios for vials for injection and infusion in order to inform vial design and to increase the safety and the usability of the next generation of vials and their related accessories. The vial user interfaces are described, and findings of market research as well as field observations are summarized. Finally, a hierarchical task analysis covering generic user interaction for the main use scenarios is presented. Based on the current generic hierarchical task analysis, the use-related risks of a specific use scenario can be assessed. The focus on a specific use scenario of a vial-based injection system will take the specific risk profile of the medicine and the clinical practice into account. This risk assessment will complete the here presented context information and the HTA to a holistic systems ergonomics assessment.

ABSTRACT. In this study, a mobile application is developed to enable mobile real-time cardiac monitoring in intensive care units (ICUs). The aim is to enable accessible and accurate real-time remote ICU cardiac monitoring using ECGI without incurring excessive additional personnel, equipment, and infrastructure costs (e.g., in comparison to setting up a tele-ICU), or adding to the existing physical and cognitive workload of the ICU care providers (e.g., electronic medical record (EMR) maintenance).

ABSTRACT. The stethoscope plays an important diagnostic role in the physical examination however, it is not yet designed or utilized for/to its full potential as a diagnostic device. The Steth-Link, aims to increase medical effectiveness and diagnostic potential, facilitating cardiologists in their auscultation responsibilities by creating a new and improved diagnostic tool in the form of an electronic stethoscope that harmonizes with the efficiency of the auscultation process in an unobtrusive way; benefiting both the cardiologist and the patient.

ABSTRACT. This study utilized human-centered design techniques to present a solution to the persisting problems faced by people with epilepsy (PWE). With the goal of improving patient safety and building well-connected health systems while addressing the needs of all stakeholders involved, a concept design and prototype of a mobile health application was proposed.

ABSTRACT. With regard to autonomous driving and associated new interior concepts of the vehicle, the focus will be on innovative and efficient air-conditioning concepts concerning the seat. The seat offers the opportunity to provide air-conditioning close to the body of the passenger. A new seat ventilation which generates a directed air flow to the passenger is developed. In the following investigation, an outlet air duct concept at the side of the seat is objectively assessed. Furthermore, the thermal comfort regarding different climate conditions is investigated. When evaluating the results according to the comfort zone diagrams of ISO14505-2:2006 the seat outlets perform well for hot climate conditions during a pull-down. Cold ambient temperatures are less suitable for this outlet system. More investigations are necessary to test whether this concept, in combination with other air-conditioning systems, can result in potential energy savings and increasing thermal comfort.

ABSTRACT. Which are the subjective feelings and objective risks of driving in an automatic mode when holding the steering wheel or not holding it? Two conditions of simulated driving of a partially automated car have been tested (hands-on and hands-off), in two situations of driving on highways including critical events forcing the driver to take over. The user subjective experiences were compared: the situation awareness, feelings of safety, control, attention, on-board activities, psychological and physical comfort were analyzed on the basis of in-depth interviews right after the activity. For the critical situations designed, the performance results indicate a negative impact of the hands-off condition on the takeover. The hands-off condition is appreciated for its comfort and the multi-activity it allows, but the hands-on condition is objectively and subjectively safer in critical situations.

ABSTRACT. Sitting comfort in next-generation cars was explored using a key objective measure of vibration transmission. Connected, autonomous, shared, and electric vehicles (CASE mobility) will allow users to engage in several on-board activities. Within a laboratory experiment, the arrangement of the seat–occupant system was characterized with reference to performed activities in terms of “sitting configuration”. Six males and six females occupying a car seat were exposed to four whole-body vibrations in four sitting configurations matching four pairs of activities. Primary-resonance modulus of vertical in-line transmissibility at seat cushion was calculated from acceleration measurements and used as the response variable of an ANOVA model. The model showed an appreciable main effect of both vibration magnitude and sitting configuration as well as a limited interaction between them. Conversely, it failed to show a main effect of sex and any sex-related interactions; nevertheless, for all treatments, the within-group mean value of the response variable was greater for males than for females. Results suggest that not only vibration magnitude but also sitting configuration and possibly sex affect sitting comfort in next-generation cars for CASE mobility.

ABSTRACT. Future mobility is changing so that new requirements concerning air conditioning in vehicles arise. With the increase of electric- and the development of autonomously driving vehicles, classical air conditioning concepts ought to be adapted to fulfil new requirements. During the development of new climate concepts, the thermal wellbeing of the occupants in the vehicle need to be kept in mind. New air conditioning concepts will only prevail if they ensure adequate thermal comfort with reduced energy consumption. Objective evaluation methods are currently used to a limited extent during the application process for vehicle air conditioning. In the following investigation the interior climate for two vehicles (mid-range and upper-class) is objectively assessed and compared for a wide range of ambient temperatures from -20°C to +40°C. During this investigation the ISO 14505-2:2006-12 is tested to find out whether it is suitable to assess and evaluate the thermal perception by measuring the equivalent temperature. When evaluating the results according to the comfort zone diagrams of ISO 14505-2:2006-12 the mid-range vehicle has a better interior climate than the upper-class vehicle. This paper will show that it is necessary to adapt the comfort zone diagrams to demographic differences that influence the thermal perception of humans.

ABSTRACT. Exposure to Whole body Vibration (WBV) has been associated with an increased prevalence of low back pain in occupational settings. Current WBV directives, guidelines and standards are devoid of any recommendations for the length of time needed to accurately and reliably characterize a vehicle operator’s daily, full-shift exposure to WBV. Using full-shift, seat-measured, tri-axial WBV exposures from a group of 64 regional truck drivers, the daily WBV exposures were cut to simulate different lengths of measurement (5, 7.5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120, 240 and 480 minutes). The differing lengths of the data (5 to 240 min) were then normalized to reflect 8-hours of vehicle operation [A(8) and VDV(8)]. The analysis of the data demonstrated that the z-axis was the predominant exposure axis and a measurement duration of 30-minutes or longer would be required to accurately estimate a truck driver’s daily, full-shift A(8) and VDV(8) exposures. Determining the minimum required measurement duration can help reduce the costs associated with WBV exposure assessment.

ABSTRACT. The development of affordable, efficient, effective and accessible surveillance testing has been a focus since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (i.e., COVID-19) in December 2019. Systems ergonomics can play an important role in pandemic response efforts beyond formal health care settings, including the translation of those tests to support community health. In this paper, the important role systems ergonomics on a project to design and prototype a mobile COVID-19 laboratory are described. In future, we should develop methods and strategies that are rapid and support use by individuals with limited training in systems er-gonomics.

ABSTRACT. Changes in work and work environment during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic were assessed at a commercial laundromat by survey and interview. Despite some initial psychosocial improvements two-months into the pandemic, by six-months, strong declines were evident. Responses suggest that the decline may be a result of increased worker uncertainty, lack of re-enforcement of - or adherence to - new policies and procedures designed to protect workers, and a less-visible, more closed management style.

ABSTRACT. In April 2020, the UK’s initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in drastic and rapid changes to the way work was done within the National Health Service. Despite the difficult times, staff across this healthcare organisation adapted and developed methods of coping to keep the system functioning. This study aimed to capture the changes and adaptive ways of working specifically for one department, namely the physiotherapy service at one large acute NHS hospital trust in the UK. Eight online focus groups were held with a total of 26 physiotherapy staff to explore the changes in their work system as a result of the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SEIPS 2.0 model was used to provide a system structure for the analysis. The results report the staff’s experiences of work during this time, use a systems perspective to depict the changes in the system and new ways of working, and provide some recommendations for preparation for a future ‘waves’ of this pandemic. Furthermore, by positioning the results within the resilience engineering paradigm, a larger theoretical basis is provided for developing recommendations.

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic poses significant challenges to pain and opioid management for chronic opioid users undergoing surgical procedures. In response to the pandemic, the Johns Hopkins Perioperative Pain Program (PPP) adopted telemedicine to continue providing care for its patients. In this study, we describe a human factors approach used to facilitate the transition of the PPP to telemedicine and examine the impact of telemedicine on the quality and safety of perioperative pain management.

ABSTRACT. Human factors and ergonomics (HFE) is challenged by machine and system safety under digital transformation calling for sound solutions suitable for application at the shop floor level. HFE challenges will arise with future human-system interactions referring to dynamics in task design, digitised interaction interfaces, and work system entities interwoven in networks. Work system design, i.e. enclosing operator work task, workplace, equipment and environment, seems promising, especially with prevention through design early in construction of today and tomorrow machinery and technical installations. The Human Factors Group of the ISSA Section Machine and System Safety compiled some design requirements and recommendations available in the given context. The Scientific Symposium is likely to support collection of HFE knowledge available, discussion with HFE experts potentially interested and suggestions for research required to increase HFE contributions to machine and system safety in digital transformation. Contributions from, discussions and cooperation with those interested in HFE and objectives presented are always welcome.

ABSTRACT. Future work processes in digital transformation include dynamics in task design, digitised interfaces, and work system components interwoven in process chains and networks. This causes challenges for design according to human factors and ergonomics (HFE) and occupational safety and health (OSH) since it goes beyond anthropometry and biomechanics and calls for work system design and compatibility with human information processing. The Human Factors group of the International Prevention Section of the ISSA on Machine and System Safety is compiling HFE design requirements and solutions from international literature and standards at an internet platform to foster machinery and system safety. The platform structure for the Human Factors group is geared to the concept of work system design and already introduces work behavioural issues, work place issues, and work equipment issues. A given sample requirement for interaction interface design illustrates how good practice referring to HFE contributes to machinery and system safety. Compilation of HFE design requirements in the context of digital transformation is a cumbersome endeavour. While some HFE design requirements are available, others lack specifications for application at the shop floor level. Systematic research along work system design could result in differential design requirements regarding human-system interaction under conditions for work equipment, work place and work environment imposed by the work task.

ABSTRACT. The growing interest in exoskeletons indicates that wearable robotic devices will represent one of the next changes in many occupational scenarios and new challenge for human factors, ergonomics and safe-ty disciplines. Despite the high interest in exoskeletons with an occupational application to prevent work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs), large-scale implementation of this type of exoskeletons has still a long way to go, mainly because there is little knowledge of these wearable service robot devices and their real preventive effects on WRMSDs, and because of some technical and user acceptability is-sues. The objective of the work is to represent the state of the art of occu-pational exoskeletons and to illustrate the new challenges for ergo-nomics and safety disciplines. So, The work provides same needs must be met and what requirements this typology of exoskeleton must possess, in order to maximize the user benefits and minimize potential negative impacts, using a human-centred design (HCD) and presents results of a joint INAIL/IIT project on collaborative exoskeletons.

ABSTRACT. Upon further investigation into machine safety and robotics (MSR) standards, traditional health and safety practices, and interviews with practitioners, strategies that included the identification and inclusion of ergonomics and human factors concepts into the design of safety systems has the potential to improve MSR outcomes.

ABSTRACT. In the context of Industry 4.0, a human-robot collaborative assembly system is an example of a cyber-physical production system, where operators and robots interact during assembly. Considering the growing market and the in-creasing use of industrial collaborative robotics, companies need support in the proper and profitable introduction of this technology in their production environment. From a design standpoint, it is necessary to develop safe and ergonomic interactions between the operator and the system, primarily focusing on operators’ needs and characteristics of the robot. When designing collaborative systems and workstations, human-factors and cognitive requirements are often underestimated or ignored, even if they are crucial for the operator’s wellbeing and production performances. Considering this gap, the present work aims to evaluate cognitive ergonomics variables in human-robot collaborative assembly systems. Three different scenarios of human-robot collaboration have been developed based on the analysis of the scientific literature. The effectiveness of the scenarios has been validated through multiple experiments based on a laboratory case-study where operators physically interacted with a low-payload collaborative robot for the joint assembly of a workpiece. Multiple cognitive variables have been identified and evaluated by gradually changing the workstation elements as well as the conditions of human interaction with the robot. Preliminary results showed the impact of each scenario in reducing the operator’s stress and cognitive work-load while improving the operator’s trust, acceptance, and situation aware-ness.

ABSTRACT. Thirty-two per cent of the traffic accidents are caused by misperception (inability to understand) the traffic signs. This study aimed to evaluate the recognizability rate of traffic sign icons in Indonesia and redesign seven of them. The seven redesigned icons had a considerable effect on reducing response time and increasing response accuracy.

ABSTRACT. This research was to use the support vector machine (SVM) method to establish a physical health recognition model. This model could recognize the physical health status by the Center of Pressure (COP) value of human postural balance. According to the results of this study, the SVM classifier was training for 30 seconds with standing straight, and the established postural balance model has excellent recognition ability. The high sensitivity and specificity also indicate that this model is less likely to have classification bias.

ABSTRACT. This study objective is to investigate the effects of back belt wearing on the Transversus abdominis (TrA) activities which is considered to be one of the spine stabilizer muscles. It was found that during lightweight objects lifting, back belt can significantly increase the TrA activities. No effect of back belt wearing was shown during moderate or heavyweight object lifting.

ABSTRACT. This study aimed to evaluate the force exertion strategies during repetitive luggage lifting/lowering tasks based on time-frequency analysis. Right-handed male subjects participated in this experiment and repetitively performed a sequential task including luggage lifting and lowering for 25 times. To vary the workload on the right and left hands, the luggage used in this experiment was designed to enable the modification of the location of additional heavy goods. The experimental conditions included scenarios wherein heavy goods were installed to the right side, center, and left side on the top of the luggage and scenarios without additional heavy goods. In the experiment, the handling force on each hand was measured using two six-axis force-torque sensors at a sampling frequency of approximately 50 Hz. The measured handling forces were analyzed using a short-time Fourier transformation, and the median frequency was calculated. In the scenario where additional heavy goods were installed, the median frequency of handling force on the left hand increased whereas that on the right hand decreased with time. In conclusion, the present study clarified that participants adopted different force exertion strategies with the left and right hands or under experimental conditions and that the applied strategies can be evaluated based on time-frequency analysis.

ABSTRACT. Purpose: The commercial cleaning sector workers are prone to musculoskeletal disorders because of the monotonous burden and overexertion with awkward posture for an extended period. This study presents a detailed biomechanical ap-proach for analyzing the roadside manual cleaning activity, which can help intro-duce suitable ergonomic interventions for workers' comfort. Method: Anthropometric information of ninety-two cleaning staff was utilized to generate the population for the Three-Dimensional Static Strength Prediction Program (3DSSPP) software. The videography of the roadside cleaning activity is then analyzed in a frame-by-frame manner and replicated on the humanoid in software. The workers' cleaning activities were classified into three categories, namely a) sweeping activity- collecting waste through the long broomstick; b) dumping activity- unloading gathered waste through dustpan, and c) scraping ac-tivity- removing mud and grass with a spade. Results: Analysis of the frames in 3DSSPP software of sweeping activity re-vealed that there were significant variation among back compression force (BCF) values but consistent for shear force (SF) values. Erector spinae muscle group, hand-load, and upper body weight contributed to BCF in the dumping activity. SF in the frontal plane was found in sweeping activity only and was most notice-able in the sagittal plane during scraping activity. 'Strength percent capable' values identified knee and hip as the limiting joints for dumping and scraping activity, respectively. Conclusion: Software-based analysis helped identify the prominent body parts under the influence of biomechanical overexertion during cleaning activity. It can also provide initial guidance for introducing interventions in the workspace.

ABSTRACT. Fatigue is an often-overlooked hazard that can impair human health, safety and performance. It increases the risk levels of existing hazards in place and subsequently, the potential for errors and incidents. A synthesis of the latest legislation and best practices was conducted to determine gaps and issues related to workplace fatigue in Canada.

ABSTRACT. This paper presents a thesis in progress. This research work focuses on the frameworks of thought and action that structure prevention in France, described as the health and safety doctrine, and their relationship with service activities. It involves both a work of conceptualization of this doctrine, operated from the notion of social apparatus in Foucault's philosophy, and the construction of an original methodology to question it from the work activity. This text also develops some preliminary results to illustrate the contribution of the methodological choices made.

ABSTRACT. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic had a tremendous impact on societies, economies and individuals. The increased spreading of the virus in the society led to new challenges for occupational safety and health, and, thus, for fast reactions. In Germany federal regulations and technical rules for health care and activities within the scope of the biological agents ordinance were in place already, but companies in other domains, e.g. production and services, implemented only own solutions to the best of their knowledge. This led to confusion and uncertainty. Soon it became clear that official standards and mandatory federal technical rules were required to identify suitable protective methods and means. Moreover, they were required for legal certainty. This led to the early publication of the German SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Safety Standard and the subsequent development of sectoral rules of the German Social Accident Insurance. Soon afterwards, the mandatory SARS-CoV-2 Occupational Safety Technical Rule provided further details about background of the pandemic, central aspects and definitions, protective technical means and methods, and preventive occupational healthcare. The development was coordinated by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA) and elaborated by the Advisory Committees of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS). The committees have a pluralistic composition, which ensure that the relevant groups in society have a good specialist representation. This has been very important for acceptance and compliance in the working environment.

ABSTRACT. Safety development is of high stakes in work environment, as recent accidents remind us. Despite several paradigms have proposed approaches to characterize and develop safety practices, it appears that more complementarity is still possible based on the consideration of real work. From a case study in the aeronautics industry (metal additive manufacturing), the objective of this article is to present an operationalization of the concept of constructed safety practices. First, an analysis of regulated safety has been done from the actual safety practices prescribed (risk assessment, protection equipment, etc.). Then, a characterization of managed safety practices has been achieved regarding the current work activities and exposure situations to micro and nanoparticles. Finally, one confrontation interview with a worker was a mean to identify constructed safety practices development. Constructive safety appears both in the individual or collective strategy built by the worker, and by the development of safety prescriptions based on a knowledge of managed safety practices This exploratory work gives prospects to build another theoretical and practical prospect to act on the safety development.

ABSTRACT. Fully autonomous systems without any human interventions are not achievable in practice, but one day the levels of autonomy will probably high enough so the system will be considered autonomous for “practical reasons” and the pilots will only intervene very rarely. This will deepen a problem that is already present in current automatic systems, the “out of the loop pilot syndrome”. This paper explores, the paradox of a “pilot for an autonomous system” and how he can build any situation awareness, showing that SA level 2 might be the key for unlocking interventions. It shows also the current conventional solutions for human machine interface design, and proposes a new type of HMI, called Parallel synthetic task.

ABSTRACT. Driven by digitally enabled machines, robotics and artificial intelligence, the speed and pace at which tasks can be automated are unprecedented. The changes in the nature of the work activity caused by an “automation revolution” is the motto for the current debate on automation and the future of human work. This debate has crystalized, so far, into forecasts estimating the extent to which occu-pations are “automatable”. But what are the real effects of automation in the con-tent and pace of work? What is the place of the human activity within work envi-ronments increasingly automated? Through a research approach from the “point of view of activity”, two studies were designed to investigate these questions. Study 1 was conducted in two cork processing companies, whereas study 2 fol-lowed an exploratory strategy with Portuguese experts involved in the design of future automated driving situations. The findings suggest the activity constitutes the critical “link” between the theoretical definition of work automated processes and the real work. But such link remains “hidden” compared with the complexity of the automation apparatus. Diverging from techno-deterministic interpretations, the perspective of our research is to contribute to monitoring the ongoing trans-formations of work evoked by automation considering the operational leeway for workers develop their experience, preserve their health, and revalue their work practices.

ABSTRACT. The creation of robotic systems demands the formalization of how-to-do rules. However, professional workers interact with the world in a way that goes beyond formal rules, such as when facing unforeseen and context-dependent events. The solution to replace human tasks by robotic systems consists in the creation of “micro-worlds”, which presuppose controlled environments, with fixed rules, in which robots are able to operate successfully. Accordingly, such micro-worlds must be designed, built, supervised, maintained and optimation by (human) roboticists who make sense of what robots must and must not do. To address this interaction between them, this article discusses cases that show how experienced workers use their perceptual skills to anticipate and solve problems on the robots under their supervision. Through the analysis of the “course of action” (Theureau, 2004) of real events, its goal is to show how human activity is directed by getting a sense of the situation during the interaction with the machines and how the context influences such sense. As a result, it contributes with Industry 4.0 in its aim to increase automation to maximum power, enabling robots to perform increasingly complex functions. On the other hand, it argues against its assumption that human performance in automated environments is a residual problem to be solved – i.e., eliminated. The actual challenge is how to design micro-worlds that enable and enhance the human-robot integration in the shopfloor for guaranteeing quality, safety and efficiency.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: This article proposes a methodological approach to design an analytical model for automation towards remote operations. This model is based on the principles of co-operation and appropriability of automatic technologies by field and control room operators, as the knowledge and skills of field operators was shown to be necessary for proper and safe operation to take place, even after automation took place. This has led to a hybrid co-operation local-remote system that has improved the automation design and training to facilitate collective decision takings.

ABSTRACT. Focusing on "ergonomics 4.0" questions leads to hopes and fears for the future of work. But queries about the future of work most often consists of predicting organizational and/or technical forecasts of manufacturing and services industries, and to develop HF&E knowledge and methods in order to correct noxious trends for workers. This symposium will explore another path: envisioning the future we want. Not predicting what is coming, but visioning and shaping a desirable future to make right now. Starting from the essential role of work for societies and individuals (it is through this that humans make the world and reach their humanity), the aim will be to discuss the contribution of HF&E to creating desirable and possible work. The key questions are: what contributions in terms of concepts and methods are made by HF/E for providing renewed visions and purposes to the future of work?

ABSTRACT. The differential value of an ergonomic intervention is to bring an innovative approach in the models and practices of treatment of risks at work, in the assessment procedures and in the models used for data processing. These procedures are based on an approach to occupational health that must be elaborated by the worker and must also be understood as a construction directly linked to the work context. The ubiquitous approach of the ergonomic intervention presented here was developed and designed as a process of specialized knowledge production in the field of occupational health, specifically in the operational field of the activities of an oil company. The objective of this ergonomic intervention was to transfer the practices, models and strategies developed in the laboratory or from the theory to the practices developed by the workers and the company. a flexible structure was developed according to the new models of workers involved in the field of occupational health.

ABSTRACT. Imagine a scenario where what was planned went down the drain; imagine a scenario where a significant part of professional competences are questioned; imagine a scenario where it is necessary to change the way of doing in a radical way; imagine a scenario where contact with others becomes virtual; imagine a scenario where time and space dedicated to work became fluid. Imagine?

The situation, experienced by many workers, belonging to the most different professional categories is very delicate. In addition to the precarious processes of work relationships and the constant threats arising from the automation processes and data sciences where it is propagated that, in the future, work will be restricted to few and elite professional categories, there was the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic; these disturbing facts question, even more, the importance and centrality of work for the constitution of subjects, collectives, organizations and even society as well. In the field of psychic health and the approach related to psychodynamics of work, there are significant signs of the emergence of pathogenic suffering, which not only relate to individualized and individualizing ways of evaluating performance, but also with respect to fear about the future and continuity. Subject's existence as professionals, as someone contributing to the production of goods and services and to the development of society is questioned...

ABSTRACT. The notion of emancipation belongs to a long social tradition, but it is curiously absent from the HF/E community as if it is an outdated ambition. Starting from the idea that emancipation is a heuristic notion for discussing the purposes and mobiles of HF/E, the aim of this communication is to discuss the relationships between emancipation and work. Two main focuses are well identified: emancipation from and within work. But a third focus, still to happen, could be named emancipation by work.

ABSTRACT. SUMMARY The notions of human ecology and ergonomics were linked by one of our discipline founders (Cazamian, 2000). The concept of sustainable development leads us to consider nature as part of the environment that conditions human work, but also as one of the dimensions of environment affected by human work. The aim of this communication is to discuss the ways future work will guarantee the survival of life within work systems and between layers of the overall ecosystem (Hubault, 2015). We start from our experiences of two types of interventions: reactive and requirement based classical ergonomic approaches, pulled by industrial and market needs, and prospective ergonomics based on people’s needs approaches (Pueyo, 2020), inspired by the evolution of human activities in ecovillages and in socio-environmental projects. We find some trends in both contexts related to design, management and field activities and the need to guarantee life in all the ecosystem layers.

ABSTRACT. Occupational back-support exoskeletons are designed as support for manual material handling, aiming to reduce the exposure to risk factors for Work-related Musculo-Skeletal Disorders. We present our findings from field trials of an active exoskeleton prototype.

ABSTRACT. We carried out field evaluation studies with experienced workers using a spring-loaded upper-limb exoskeleton in their job activities. The outcomes of instrumental and perception-related parameters revealed overall reduced muscular activity and above-threshold usability and acceptance indexes. Long-lasting assessment studies are paramount to unveil the long-term effects of this technology.

ABSTRACT. In the present day, manufacturing companies are constantly facing new challenges, mostly deriving from the possibilities offered to industry by the fourth industrial revolution. New capabilities and services are available for customers and companies by advanced technologies and interconnections, changing the way we live, work and relate to one another. A promising example of Human-Robot Collaboration is the exoskeleton, a wearable device that interacts with the users to reduce the strain associated to the repetitive tasks present in the manufacturing environment. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)*, a multinational corporation operating into four (4) Regions: EMEA, North America, LATAM and APAC, had the opportunity to benchmark and test exoskeletons in the different Regions. The focus of the present paper is to present a collaborative approach within Regions on exoskeletons application and feasibility studies including experimental tests, key performance indicators and legal requirements. Main aspects and results are presented together with the open questions.

* The company merged with PSA creating Stellantis in January 2021. Abstract was submitted at an earlier stage.

ABSTRACT. In designing sleeping systems for at home, medical contexts and limited spaces in vehicles, knowledge on (dominant) sleeping postures is essential. Literature shows that adults predominantly sleep lateral (55-70%), and in lesser extent supine (20-30%) and prone (5-10%).

ABSTRACT. Regional turboprop passenger aircraft are more fuel efficient than equivalent re-gional turbofan jets. Aerodynamic interaction between the propeller and the air-craft wing and body cause higher noise and vibration in the turboprop cabin than in jets; to improve the passenger cabin of turboprops, an improve comfort model is required to enable design optimization. Three age-stratified focus groups were conducted with the aim of eliciting passenger priorities for comfort in aircraft cab-ins. Participants discussed view elicited in response to images of different air-craft, and aircraft interiors. Transcriptions of the focus groups were coded using NVivo and the most common thematic areas identified for each age group. Phys-ical comfort (space and seat design), the physical environment (noise, air quality, vibration, thermal), safety and hygiene were the most commonly coded thematic areas. The oldest group (50-70) rated the thermal environment as more important than younger groups. Turboprop aircraft were considered noisy and to be less comfortable than turbojets. However, noise and vibration were considered to be outside of the passenger’s control and therefore accepted.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: For the Flying V (a new aircraft in development) it seems beneficial to have staggered seats (the adjacent chair is slightly set back). 97 participants tested the staggered seats and a regular aircraft seat and rated the overall comfort better. The comfort of the armrest was also better, probably due to the fact that each participant had her/his own space at the armrest.

ABSTRACT. Aircraft seat is rated as the most unsatisfying aspect of flying; understanding the main factors impacting on passenger’s evaluations can provide a concrete opportunity for airlines to improve seat comfort and thus enhance passenger satisfaction and loyalty. Although there is a great deal of interest, the research on effective assessment strategies for subjective comfort is still underdeveloped. In this study a model-based approach for the analysis of subjective comfort data is suggested. The model adopted can be interpreted as a parametric version of the psychological process generating comfort ratings. The proposed approach is exploited through a case study concerning comfort assessment of aircraft seats designed for regional flights.

ABSTRACT. This study measured the active range of motion (AROM) and functional range of motion (FROM) of finger joints and explored the relationships between them. The results revealed that the AROM cannot fully cover the FROM in some scenarios with force.

ABSTRACT. When testing medical interventions in a simulator, establishing an environment that allows findings to generalize to clinical settings; designing scenarios that are representative of clinical situations and that can be delivered consistently; and ensuring correct operation of simulator systems to ensure efficient data collection, can be challenging. We address these factors using the example of a study that tested auditory displays for the pulse oximeter conducted in a medical simulator with anesthesiologist participants. To establish fidelity of the clinical setting, the simulator was arranged as an operating room (OR) and actors trained to conduct surgery based on real cases. To ensure that scenarios were presented uniformly to each participant, we devised a novel approach: visual displays of vital signs were video-recorded and auditory displays then dubbed into the recordings that were displayed to participants via a monitor. Timing of actors’ actions was controlled by the simulator coordinator via verbal cues through earpieces according to a script that corresponded to the recorded displays. To allow for any technical malfunctions and to ensure effective data collection, we established redundant systems for recording scenarios and carried out piloting and training prior to conducting experimental sessions. Taking into ac-count these factors, we were able to show that a novel auditory display was more effective for identifying oxygen saturation values than a standard dis-play. Participants appeared to accept the simulator setting as natural and re-acted in ways similar to behavior displayed in the OR. We conducted 20 sessions without any loss of data.

ABSTRACT. To support the pediatric intensive care unit with the COVID-19 pandemic, we followed a user-centered design process to create a dashboard in a context where direct access to users was impossible. To this end, we applied contextual inquiry, user interview, requirement definition, iterative design with user validation and usability testing in a remote fashion. Being unable to be physically present at the hospital limited our understanding of the context of use, extended the duration of the study and limited the number of interviews and testing sessions. However, we were able to benefit from the experience of our team members, adopt an efficient decision-making method to select appropriate requirements and use remote moderated usability testing to conform our design process to an aggressive timeline.

ABSTRACT. Health information technologies (HIT) can support care and coordination of pedi-atric trauma patients. This study adapted to a remote usability study protocol to test a HIT prototype that was designed using a participatory design process. The participants were mostly successful interacting with the prototype and were able to locate and understand necessary information. Several design and interaction is-sues were identified. The tests provided valuable feedback about the prototype’s design that will inform the final prototype for testing in a team-centric in situ set-ting when it is safe to do so.

ABSTRACT. Healthcare providers’ physical and mental well-being is important because it could impact patient care, but not much is known how workloads, stress, and fatigue vary across providers. This study found moderate levels of these factors along with a relatively low adoption level of ergonomic interventions such as safe patient handling equipment.

ABSTRACT. Rapid increases in intensive care unit (ICU) workloads under COVID-19 conditions have led to concerns about safety and labor issues. This study proposes a method for estimating the workloads of nurses under this consideration and provides workload management feedback.

ABSTRACT. The Physiological Workload (PWL) is a concept that aims to analyze the amount of effort performed by a worker to carry out his activities. In hospi-tals, certain occupations perform exhausting activities, such as transporting patients and changing positions. Even though several research types are re-lated to the concept, it is impossible to find a standard for this estimate and analysis in the literature. Thus, this research aims to evaluate workers' physiological workload responsible for transporting patients - called stretcher-bearers - based on two different variables: the perception of the worker's effort and the postures used to perform the activities. The analyzed stretcher-bearers work in a public hospital in southern Brazil, in the emer-gency sector. The applied methodologies contemplated variables related to work and the worker: The Corlett and Bishop Diagram, the Borg scale index, and the Ovako Working Posture Analyzing System (OWAS). Stretcher-bearers' verbalizations were analyzed with the collected data. Thus, it was possible to propose improvements such as the standardization of equip-ment used, the choice of an optimal path, and workers' need to carry out cer-tain activities together. In the end, it can be concluded that the variables al-low an excellent analysis of the physiological workload faced by these hospital workers.

ABSTRACT. Mobile eye-tracking and wristband technologies were employed to collect data from a representative sample of intensive care unit nurses in a naturalistic study. Nurses’ eye movements and heart rate were classified to evaluate nurses’ cognitive workload and physiologic stress throughout twenty-one 12-hour day and night shifts. Cumulative cognitive workloads across day and night shifts were equivalent, with higher cognitive loads during the first hour and middle of 12-hour patient care shifts in comparison with the last hour.

ABSTRACT. Human trust is a key factor in the adoption of autonomous vehicles. The de-velopment of trustworthy automation design offers the opportunity to ad-dress users’ concerns well in advance. However, uncertainties may remain due to the novelty of the technology. Hence, concepts are needed that foster users' trust also during and after the rollout. In this survey, we introduce a user-centered trust label for autonomous shuttles. In an empirical mixed methods approach, we identified and evaluated label requirements and trust criteria from the perspective of prospective users as a basis for design con-cepts. Key findings show that the idea of a trust label is well received and has the potential to foster users’ trust towards autonomous shuttles. Trust in the label requires, above all, an independent awarding institution. To in-crease the trustworthiness of the autonomous shuttle service through the la-bel, it must in particular make safety-relevant aspects visible and enable user participation. Design drafts show concepts for an analog trust label attached to the vehicle as well as interactive app features. Findings are useful to re-searchers in the field of human-automation interaction as well as to devel-opers and providers of innovative mobility services to enhance passenger experience.

ABSTRACT. To ensure the safe and correct use of conditionally automated driving functions, users need to be given appropriate information about the system's limitations and their responsibilities. This study compares the effect of two interactive driver education video tutorials with varying levels of information relating to the intended use of SAE Level 3 (Lvl 3) automated driving. The results indicate that drivers benefit more from a greater information depth with specific examples than from high-level, generalised information. In conclusion, it is recommended that current driver information and training practice is revised in line with the new requirements arising from the introduction of automated driving.

ABSTRACT. According to Hoff and Bashir (2015), who developed a theoretical model of trust in automation, this study deals with pedestrians' adoption of automated vehicles (AVs) and their trust in the AVs. External HMI (Human Machine Interface) integrated into AV is known to increased pedestrians' trust during road crossing. To empirically apply this model and evaluate the trust potential of eHMI's, we conducted a study with 49 participants in a virtual reality environment. The study manipulated two factors: vehicle type (conventional, automated, and automated with eHMI) and road infrastructure (unmarked, pedestrian crossing with and without traffic lights). Participants self-rated their trust in automation before and after the study. Trust and emotions were retrieved after each road crossing. Preliminary results indicated a positive impact of eHMI on pedestrian's behaviors, trust and emotional levels. Infrastructure was also enhancing positive emotions and trust. During an uncertain situation such as pedestrian crossing, pedestrians felt more control with a conventional vehicle than an automated vehicle. The theoretical application of Hoff and Bashir's model is discussed regarding the results. Further research is needed to clarify dynamic contexts' implications and eHMI efficiency on automation trust.

ABSTRACT. Future vehicle design is mainly driven by the technology changes and the results of this transformation. Automated driving in particular creates completely new potential for vehicle design solutions. But also, future mobility means shared mobility: The classic form of mobility known as individual transport is increasingly moving into the background, thus being replaced by new mobility approaches such as car-sharing or ride-hailing. Unlike public transport, this specific change in passenger cars collides with the still strong desire for individuality. Adaptive elements in the vehicle context provide a solution to this conflict. The term adaptivity is a diversely used principle and does not generally offer any guidance for a user-centered development in the vehicle context. Within this contribution we derive necessary strategies for the development of user-centered adaptivity and describe them exemplarily. The three core strategies are Contextual Adaptation, Psychographical Adaptation and Anatomical Adaptation. These strategies create a guidance for the goal-oriented development of adaptive elements. In addition, several technologies and innovations were examined and potentials for further development are provided.

ABSTRACT. Lower back pain and neck pain are common problems in Upper Austrian elementary school teachers. Nevertheless, this cohort exhibits good work-related behavior and mental health.

ABSTRACT. The fatigue life of musculoskeletal tissues is a function of damage from repeated stress and tissue repair performed by healing process. Factors such as increased psychological stress, age, sex and BMI may lead to increased MSD risk due to the reduced fatigue life resulting from impaired healing.

ABSTRACT. As staff and faculty worked from home during the pandemic, most (more than 85%) used laptops, oftentimes in makeshift workstations. These poor working conditions may have led to high levels of discomfort (40% of respondents reported moderate to severe discomfort (severe low/middle back pain, moderate discomfort in eyes/neck/head, and moderate discomfort in the upper back/shoulders).

ABSTRACT. The risk of musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) in office workers is commonly attributed to ergonomic risk factors such as static physical load and forced postures. The present research aims to provide evidence that contributes to the understanding of the problem in the work system of bank cashiers, considering also the Psychosocial Risk Factors (PRF) as a potentially influential element within a holistic and systemic analysis (Dul et al., 2012). The relationship between the level of psychosocial risk and MSD in bank cashiers was explored.

ABSTRACT. This Special Session deals with the question of what the competencies of HFE professionals are and what distinguishes them from other occupational health professionals.

ABSTRACT. Designing large-scale products like an aeroplane, engaging end-users in the concept phase is difficult. However, early user evaluation is important to choose the path which fits the user’s needs best. In particular, comfort-related assessments are difficult to conduct with digital models that are shown on a desktop PC application. Digital Human Modelling (DHM) plays a role in postural comfort analysis, while the subjective comfort feedback still largely relied on consulting with end-users. This paper applies a human-centred design process and analyses the ad-vantages and disadvantages of using VR prototypes for involving users during concept design. This study focused on using VR prototypes for concept selection and verification based on comfort assessment with potential end-users. The design process started with an online questionnaire for identifying the quality of the design elements (Step 1 online study). Then, alternative concepts were implemented in VR and users evaluated these concepts via a VR headset (Step 2 Selection study). Finally, the research team redesigned the final concept and assessed it with potential users via a VR headset (Step 3 Experience study). Every design element contributed positively to the long-haul flight comfort, especially tap-basin height, storages, and facilities. The male and female participants had different preferences on posture, lighting, storage and facilities. The final prototype showed significantly higher comfort rate than the original prototypes. The first-person immersion in VR headsets helps to identify the nuances between concepts, thus supports better decision-making via collecting richer and more reliable user’s feedback to make faster and more satisfying improvements.

ABSTRACT. The objective is to investigate the effects of foam and seat pan inclination on soft tissues deformation in the gluteal region using an open MRI. Four healthy male subjects, aged from 28 to 52 years old and BMI from 20 to 28 kg/m² participated in the experiment. A positional MRI scanner (Paramed® 0.5 Tesla) was used. Each participant tested three seating configurations defined by varying the seat pan angle (A_SP) and cushion material while the back was fixed at 22 degrees from the vertical: 1) A_SP=7° without foam (Reference), 2) A_SP=0° without foam (Shear), 3) A_SP=7° with a 50 mm thick foam on the seat pan (Foam). In addition, one configuration (Unloaded) with the trunk-thigh angle about 105° and the buttock unloaded, was also scanned for comparison. After segmentation and 3D reconstruction, volumes of bone, gluteal muscle, fat, and other tissues in three regions of interest (ROIs) under the ITs were calculated. The largest tissue deformation was observed for Shear, while the smallest was found for Foam. Though these findings were expected, to our knowledge, this is the first time that the effect of shear force on tissue deformation was quantified directly, providing quantitative data needed for validating buttock-thigh finite element models. The findings of the present study also confirm that the tissue beneath their ITs was predominantly composed of fat and connective tissue and the gluteal muscles slided away from the IT.

ABSTRACT. Lower back and neck pain are common musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among dentists and dentistry students. Increased awareness of ergonomics during job tasks could help to reduce MSDs. Virtual reality (VR) enhanced dentistry training programs are gaining popularity in academia. Quantifying inverse kinematics (IK) using VR manikins that mimic a user’s body can inform ergonomic risk evaluations. We calibrated and investigated one of the IK manikins' accuracy compared to motion capture (MoCap) using a novel method. We show that posture estimation using VR is accurate to less than 10 degrees in 81% of the seated pick and place tasks for the neck and trunk angles. These results suggest that an accurate estimation of posture in VR is achievable to inform real-time postural feedback. This postural feedback can be integrated into VR enhanced training for dental students to help reinforce ergonomic posture and safer movements.

ABSTRACT. Automated location of body landmarks and anthropometric measurements from 3D digital human models promote standardization of measurements, resulting in higher precision and consistence compared to traditional measurements. LABER has already developed a software tool to support automated body landmarks loca-tion and linear anthropometric measurements based on 3D digital human models. However, we have interest on area and body volume calculation, as these meas-urements are difficult to obtain by conventional methods. Considering this, we developed specialized algorithms for measurements of surface area, cross section area and volume based on automated segmentation of the digital human model in-to 13 body parts (trunk, upper arms, forearms, hands, thighs, calves, and feet).

ABSTRACT. Paediatric anthropometric database is important for child product design and their public health plans. This is unavailable in Nigeria and most developing nations. This study aims to provide a preliminary anthropometric database of infants in our environment and determine how they relate to their nutritional status. This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 108 infants recruited from a health centre in Enugu East LGA. Anthropometric variables (body weight; head, abdominal, chest, wrist, forearm, mid-arm and mid-thigh circumferences; shoulder breadth; crown-to-rump, crown-to-sole, rump-to-sole, shoulder-to-elbow lengths etc) were assessed using standard procedures. Nutritional status was assessed using the Weech formula and the Mid Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC) index. Data obtained were analyzed descriptively, while chi-square test was used to determine the association between variables at α=0.05. A total of 53 females and 55males participated in this study. Their mean age, birth weight, and total body weight were 10.64±5.46weeks, 3.30±0.59kg, and 5.61±1.00kg respec-tively. Their mean head, abdominal, mid-arm, and mid-thigh circumferences were 40.01±1.92cm, 42.21±3.22cm, 13.01±1.22cm, and 19.50±2.47cm respectively. The (75th, 95th) percentile of their chest circumference, mid arm circumference, shoulder breath and total body weight were (42.00cm, 44.50cm), (13.88cm, 15.11cm), (17.38cm, 19.00cm) and (6.30cm, 7.56cm) respectively. There was significant association between nutritional status [(Weech), (MUAC)] and each of chest circumference [(x2=52.42,p<0.0001), (x2=95.88, p=0.010)], abdominal circumference [(x2=68.25, p<0.0001), (x2=115.58, p=0.010)], foerarm cirumference[(x2=45.19, p<0.0001), (x2=151.90, p<0.0001)], and wrist circumference[(x2=46.94, p<0.0001), (x2=146.19, p<0.0001)]. The protocol is pragmatic and some selected anthropometric variables of infants can rely upon to determine their nutritional status.

ABSTRACT. In firefighting, fit and sizing of personal protective equipment are directly related with the protection level, work performance, and comfort of firefighters. Furthermore, proper fit and sizing depend on appropriate sizing systems and the validity of the data from which they were constructed. Thus, anthropometric data are paramount for personal protective equipment design. Despite recent studies, anthropometric databases on firefighters are still very limited. Aiming to fulfill this shortcoming as well as to understand if Portuguese firefighters’ protective equipment is adjusted to their anthropometrics, a study designated as Size FF Portugal – Anthropometric Study of Portuguese Firefighters is currently underway. This paper presents a preliminary comparison of anthropometric data of firefighters from two different fire brigades: a mixed brigade and a professional brigade. Results of an initial analysis show that participants from the professional brigade were on average 29 mm taller than participants from the mixed brigade. Moreover, participants from the mixed brigade were on average 6.93 kg heavier. Further, results of inferential ANOVA test at a 95% confidence level revealed statistically significant differences of the stature and weight between career-volunteer firefighters from the mixed brigade and career firefighters from the professional brigade. Furthermore, an examination of Body Mass Index revealed that 71.88% of all participants from the mixed brigade as well as 41.58% of participants from the professional brigade were considered above the normal weight range. Differences of anthropometric measurements between the two fire brigades reveal the relevance in developing a more comprehensive yet detailed anthropometric database of Portuguese firefighters.

ABSTRACT. The results of an anthropometric study carried out with 425 older adults of both sexes are presented. The research was carried out in a Social Center for Older Adults by Day in the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara. The sample consisted of 319 female and 106 male subjects. Thirty-nine anthropometric parameters were measured, and tables were built with the collected data. The anthropometric measures were compared to previous studies on Mexican older-adult populations. Those from other countries, as part of the overarching goal for improving the interactions between the older-adult user population, their environment, and the objects themselves. By applying a t-test to compare the dimensions between men and women, we found statistically significant differences (p <0.001) in the ana-lyzed measurements, except for maximum body depth and thigh height. Likewise, it was possible to verify the secular trend of weight and height in the studied population, finding that the older the age, the smaller these dimensions are. The data obtained were compared with those of studies of older adults of other nationalities. Statistically significant differences were found (p = 0.01) with women from Italy, Brazil, and Sweden.

ABSTRACT. Creating a sizing system for a product requires expert knowledge and experiences regarding the anthropometry and ergonomic product design based on anthropometric data. This study currently develops a website owning easy-to-manipulate interfaces, which can easily analyze anthropometric data to help designers get the necessary information for a design process.

ABSTRACT. The present context of health crisis and unprecedented lockdown is an opportuni-ty for thinking, position-taking, indignation and controversy. As a social activity, work redefines itself every day, according to circumstances. Work is a central ob-ject of ergonomics and ergonomists can learn from crisis : behind the health cri-sis, we highlight the work crisis. Ergonomics must take part in the social debates that accompany this crisis, and make its contribution to better reconciling the hu-man challenges of work and organizational issues in the future. To do this, we need criteria: the crisis highlights the need to experience the recognized contribu-tion, individually and collectively, of one's own work to meaningful social issues, and therefore to renovate our approach to occupational health.

ABSTRACT. The circular industry is increasingly at the heart of today’s preoccupations, both through savings in raw materials and the development of a different production method. This mode of production, which is more respectful of the environment, questions us in ergonomics area. Remanufacturing is one of these production methods, by its specificity of producing new products guaranteed as « like-new condition » from used products. From an organizational point of view, this activity takes root from a product in a variable state of wear and having already lived a first life, before its reuse and its (re)valorization in a second life. In order to understand this activity, the -industrial- request was oriented around the question of mobilized skills by operators, treated here on the basis of individual and collective operative regulations. This communication presents the results of an intervention lasting several months on the skills mobilized by operators during the appraisal -expertise- phases of the specific industrial remanufacturing process. Our results show a plurality of sensory skills, developed through experience and knowledge around the "potential" of each part and/or product. Based on these results, a debate on the means proposed by the Industry of the Future is proposed in order to consider the remanufacturing of tomorrow.

ABSTRACT. Circular economy is presented as an alternative to promote sustainable and responsible development. This economic model involves deep organizational and production changes. INRS, the French institute for occupational safety and health, conducted a strategic foresight approach in order to assess its potential impact on working conditions and therefore, on health and safety at work. The aim was to anticipate future needs for the prevention of occupational risks by 2040. Indeed, if circular economy offers the opportunity for a better integration of prevention, this may cause also adverse effects on workers’ safety and health. The first step of the study was to set up a 15-member team, associating OSH, foresight and circular economy experts who followed the exercise from start to finish. In association with partners outside the group, they identified the main key influencing drivers in the development of circular economy. Each of these drivers was then documented, in order to consider contrasted hypotheses of development in the future. Then, they built together global scenarios combining several hypotheses considering the drivers most likely to have an effect on working conditions and consequently on safety and health. They then drew up four stories, taking into account specific sectors and aspects of professional activity in order to make more concrete the potential consequences of different modes of circular economy development. OSH experts could translate them in terms of health and safety issues in order to reflect on the most relevant subjects to be taken into account in the future by INRS.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: Stroke affects driving ability and as such impedes mobility, independence, freedom and quality of life. Return to driving after stroke serves as an integral part for community reintegration and improved quality of life.

ABSTRACT. Outdoor mobility and access to transport modes are important for independence and an active lifestyle. Polio survivors often have impaired muscle function that can result in mobility problems including driving. This study sought to detail the modification of a vehicle for a polio survivor to achieve independent driving and investigate the impact of independent driving on the self-esteem and the health-related quality of life of the polio survivor with bilateral weakness of the lower limbs (paraparesis). This multi-level research utilized a mixed-method combining quantitative and qualitative data collection. It is a case report of a polio survivor with an inability to drive conventional vehicles. The Rosenberg self-esteem questionnaire and the SF-12 were administered and a direct interview was conducted to elicit qualitative responses on the self-perceived challenges of lack of independent mobility and consequence of modification of the vehicle. The design and fabrication of a hand-powered pedal controls for modification of conventional vehicle was reported. Improvements were observed in the self-esteem and the HRQoL when current scores were compared to scores before driving. The narration has also changed with increased independence in several aspects of living especially mobility, with respect to driving achieved by modification of the conventional vehicle. Independence in mobility-related activities such as driving can lead to improved self-esteem and HRQoL. Rehabilitation focus should be on simple and affordable modification of vehicles for persons with a disability such as polio survivors to increase independence.

ABSTRACT. People living with disabilities (PLwD) experience limitations in their functional performance and reintegration into the community. Stroke survivors (SS), persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) and amputees are the commonly encountered community-dwelling persons with disabilities in Nigeria. There appear to be no study that has compared the functional potentials (FP) and community reintegration (CR) among community-dwelling SS, SCI and limb amputees (LA). This study described and compared the level of functional potential and community reintegration among SS, SCI and amputees.

Sixty (60) community-dwelling PLwD (SS=20, SCI=20, LA=20) participated in this study. Their functional potential (FP) and level of community reintegration (CR) were assessed using the Barthel Index and Reintegration to Normal Living Index respectively. Data were analyzed descriptively and with one way ANOVA. The level of significance was set at α=0.05

The participants’ age ranged from 21 to 74 (51.25±14.50) years, with mean scores of FP and CR of 58.83±27.61 and 22.32±3.98 respectively. There was a significant difference in FP (F=107.80, p<0.001) and CR (F=8.03, p=0.001) across the three groups. The pair-wise post-hoc comparison of FP revealed a significant difference between SS>SCI (MD=49.25, p<0.001), LA>SCI (MD=53.73, p<0.0001) only. Similarly, the pair-wise post-hoc comparison of CR revealed significant SS>SCI (MD=3.90, p=0.003), significant LA>SCI (MD=3.95, p=0.003) only.

PLWD (SS, SCI and LA) have a low FP and CR. Persons with SCI have the least FP and CR, while LA has the highest FP and CR among these cohorts.

ABSTRACT. Virtual Reality (VR) is an emerging neuroergonomics tool for stroke rehabilitation. It can be em-ployed to promote post-stroke recovery during rehabilitation as a result of its neuroplasticity enhanc-ing effects. This study systematically reviewed and meta-synthesised evidence on the effectiveness of virtual reality on selected markers of neuroplasticity among SSv.

The databases searched were PEDro, CINHAL, the Cochrane Library, and PUBMed using combina-tions of Medical subject heading (MeSH) terms and keywords in the titles, abstracts and text for the population, intervention and major outcome (PICO format). The studies included were randomized clinical trials that compared the effects virtual reality among adult stroke survivors. The PEDro scale was used for quality appraisal of the included studies. Forest plot (RevMan version 5.3) was used for the metasynthesis of the results, level of significance was set at α = 0.05.

A total of 6 studies were included in the meta-analysis (involving 441 stroke survivors). The pooled effects on the improvement in motor function (SMD = -1.05; CI = -1.53, -0.56, Z =4.22, p< 0.0001, I2=93%) and balance performance (SMD = -3.06; CI=-3.80, -2.32, Z=8.11, p < 0.0001, I2=94%) was significantly in the favour of virtual reality.

There is evidence that VR is an effective neuroergonomics modality for encouraging neuroplasticity through its effects on the motor function, balance and muscle strength of stroke survivors.

ABSTRACT. Supporting an organization in its future means betting on its development by building a work use lab experimentation at different levels of its organization. A mission conducted in a company in charge of supporting digital transition of SME is an opportunity to present the multi-scale cooperation device that we implement during twelve months. The productions of the actors involved at each scale highlight the protagonists' learnings and the development path that open for the organization as whole. In discussion we are exploring the ways and means of an organizational development through a work use lab that setup an ephemeral and transitional learning device whose vocation is to become sustainable.

ABSTRACT. Abstract. During the 1980s and 1990s Argentine economy was unstable until finally in early 2000s the economic model collapsed. People demonstrated in the streets. Many factories closed down or went broke. In 2001, the President resigned. Under urgency and uncertainty a new social movement emerged. Workers could face unemployment developing the so-called recovered factories. In 2020, the pandemic reveals an unpredictable world, where it is no longer possible to rely on structures based on certainties. I resumed my research on recovered factories conducted during 2008/2011, looking for clues, traces and creative practices undertaken by workers in the face of sudden and unexpected events, I chose the terms urgency, uncertainty, inhabiting, trace, prospection and emancipation as useful elements in times of crisis. Thinking about the future of work in the context of a pandemic or crisis led me to analyze the practices carried out in the recovered factories and then address our own practices as ergonomists. I seek through a new theoretical approach to enrich the transition to future work in general and ours in particular.

ABSTRACT. This article sets out the foundations of a prospective approach to work that aims right now to build a desirable world of tomorrow. The postulate is indeed that it is from work and activity that this is achievable. It presents how this proposition accompanies concrete utopias and constitutes a paradigm shift for ergonomics.

ABSTRACT. An EMG-driven trunk muscle model and a regression model can be used to estimate low-back load for back-support exoskeleton control. These models require to be calibrated for each individual. However, an extensive calibration procedure may reduce the practical feasibility of using these models in a workplace setting. The current study shows that near-best model quality can be achieved through limited calibration, considering the number and characteristics of the calibration tasks.

ABSTRACT. Determination of the effectivity, usability and acceptance of an exoskeleton for a specific job requires a three-stage approach in which we get a first impression of its usefulness and potential fit (field observation), in which we measure the work load reducing effect (controlled experiment), and in which we measure use and acceptance, performance, work load and fatigue during the working day in practice (field study). This approach is described and illustrated for the case of an arm-support exoskeleton in plastering. The field observation of plasterers and the subsequent controlled experiment showed promising results in terms of shoulder load reduction and reductions of perceived exertion. The outline of the study de-sign for the (currently just started) field study on plasterers is presented.

ABSTRACT. In spite of Industry 4.0 and the resulting increased automation of work processes, assembly activities in constrained postures, e.g. overhead work that cannot be performed by robots are still necessary. Here, the passive upper body exoskele-ton Airframe made by Levitate is intended to provide support for overhead work. Thus, it reduces the risk of musculoskeletal disorders of the shoulders, neck and upper back. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the physiological advantages and disadvantages of an exoskeleton during simulated overhead work under laborato-ry conditions. Twenty subjects, aged between 18 and 64 years, participated in the laboratory study. To determine the physiological costs under variable test condi-tions, the muscular activity of the muscles trapezius pars descendens, deltoideus pars clavicularis, deltoideus pars acromialis and latissimus dorsi (bilateral in each case) were continuously recorded by surface electromyography. In standardized test sequences, the test persons were asked to perform three partial tests with and without the exoskeleton. This procedure included plugging and screwing activi-ties (by hand and using an electric screwdriver). After each run-through, the cur-rent physical condition was assessed using a simple body chart. In addition, a short survey on subjective perception was conducted after each partial test. The results show that the use of the exoskeleton Airframe® particularly favors a re-duced muscular activity of the shoulder and neck muscles. The test person’s sub-jective stress sensation also showed that the use of the exoskeleton had a positive effect on most activities, especially in the shoulder and neck area.

ABSTRACT. The aim of a field study was to prove whether the expected relief of the musculo-skeletal system occurs when an active exoskeleton is used. For this purpose, the seasonal changing of car wheels was chosen as a work task. The active exoskele-ton Cray X was used. The physical stress and strain of 10 professional workers during the wheel change was determined by measuring the heart rate, analyzing the work pulse and the energy expenditure. In addition, a survey was conducted with 20 employees to determine the physical stress in different body regions. When comparing the work performed with and without the exoskeleton, no sig-nificant difference was measured for the heart rate. The difference in the work pulses was only 2 beats per minute. The wheel change with active exoskeleton required an energy expenditure of 1073 kJ/h. When carried out without exoskele-ton, only slightly reduced values for the energy expenditure (1066 kJ/h) were registered. However, the objectively undetectable relief is subjectively felt. The strongest differences of the different application scenarios are found for the lower and upper back (25% and 21% respectively) and for the lower and upper trunk (11% and 7% respectively) in favor of exoskeletal application. Nevertheless, it must be concluded, active exoskeletons cannot fundamentally protect the employ-ee from medium and long-term musculoskeletal disorders by physically support-ing the execution of movements.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: The present study aims to clarify the relationship between objective workload measures (heart rate, heart rate variability), subjective workload (NASA-TLX) and performance across different airplane manoeuvre types and difficulty. Our findings suggest that the NASA TLX is sensitive between manoeuvre difficulty, but not manoeuvre type; meanwhile, cardiac measures are sensitive to workload changes between manoeuvre type, but not difficulty.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: Research regarding Single Pilot Operations (SPO) resides at early stages in the human-centered design process. Here, research findings from studies on the concept of dedicated, ground-based, support to SPO are presented and reviewed.

ABSTRACT. Fatigue is an important factor in aviation accidents and incidents. Since fatigue cannot always be prevented, it needs to be detected in real time so that countermeasures can be taken. This study researches whether vocal changes (in vocal intensity and fundamental frequency) can be used as a measure for fatigue in an operational aviation setting. Sixteen participants were measured two times. Before the first test moment, they were asked to sleep eight hours or more and before the second test moment six hours or less. During each test moment, they performed a PVT, filled in the KSS, and did two speech tasks. One task was aimed at free speech and one task was aimed at procedural speech. Pre-processing included segmentation of the speech into words and extracting fundamental frequency (f0) and intensity values. An overall mean of both variables was calculated for both free and procedural speech. Speech, PVT reaction time, PVT lapses and KSS scores were analyzed in SPSS using Paired Samples t-Tests and Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Tests. Participants slept significantly less during the night before the second test moment and scored significantly higher on the KSS. For the PVT, no differences in both reaction time and lapses were found. No significant differences in average f0 and intensity for both free and procedural speech were found either. The results did not show a significant relationship between fundamental frequency, intensity and fatigue. Further research is needed to examine if vocal changes can be used as a reliable fatigue measure.

ABSTRACT. Hospital food service workers face occupational risks working in an environment that requires a fast-paced production schedule to meet the nutritional needs of patients. The inclusion of ergonomics and reduction of musculoskeletal injuries (MSIs) in healthcare facility kitchens has the potential to not only impact workers health, safety and productivity but also the quality and efficiency of care provided to patients.

ABSTRACT. A device called Workstation on Wheels (WOW) allows healthcare staff to electronically deliver medications and chart online at the patient’s bedside. This paper examines ergonomic challenges of the WOW as experienced by staff on a Medicine Unit with respect to introduction of online charting at the bedside.

ABSTRACT. The transformation of schedules can be innovative if the actors concerned participate in it and if their professional logics are different. In activity ergonomics, it takes into account the content of the work and is discussed by all the actors to choose the best compromise. The objectives of this communication are to show that schedules and work content are interdependent, that the transformation of schedules is an opportunity to re-establish an interprofessional discussion on current and future work, and that this discussion facilitates the appropriation of solutions. The methodology is deployed in a pneumology unit for three years. An inventory of the initial work situation is first constructed from observations and interviews. The design solutions are then projected in groups with work simulation. The three groups, which bring together the different professional logics of the service, are recorded and analyzed on Actograph®. The effects of the groups are studied during the testing of the new schedules, based on observations, interviews and internal data. The results first show that the increase in nurses' day-night overlap (schedules) is dependent on improved patient flow and coordination with physicians (work content). Interprofessional discussions, equipped by the simulation, made it possible to project future working conditions, but above all to talk about current working conditions. They also enabled the actors to take ownership of the verbalized conditions for success: most of these conditions became a reality in the service during the test of the new schedules.

ABSTRACT. First responders and their patients can be exposed to high levels of whole-body vibration (WBV) during ambulance transport. Using vibration measurements over the front and rear axles of a shuttle bus, the purpose of this field-based study was to measure and compare the WBV exposures between a shuttle bus with a conventional, stock suspension and a shuttle bus with an alternative, vibration-mitigating suspension. This alternative suspension can be installed in ambulances. The WBV exposures measured from the rear of both shuttle buses were on average over 50% higher than those measured from the front of the vehicle. When comparing the floor-measured vibration levels, which were used as a surrogate measurement to compare the vehicle occupants’ potential exposures, the WBV exposures were always lower in the shuttle bus with the alternative suspension. If these results can be translated to actual ambulances, relative to the ambulance cab, it appears that patients and first responders traveling in the patient compartment in the rear of an ambulance would likely have up to 50% higher vibration exposures. The alternative suspension demonstrated it would reduce the WBV exposures of all vehicle occupants compared to a vehicle with a conventional, stock suspension.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to compare a neonate’s exposure to whole body vibration (WBV) between a higher profile stretcher with a built-in suspension and a more compact prototype neonate stretcher suspension system. The results showed that the stretcher with the built-in suspension was superior in reducing the neonate’s vibration exposures (attenuated 48% of the floor-transmitted vibration) compared to the alternative, prototype suspension (attenuated 32% of the floor-transmitted vibration). The potential advantage of the alternative suspension is the two-thirds (18 cm) reduction in the vertical suspension height which would allow use in smaller ambulances.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the impact of telemedicine on cognitive demands, workload, workflow, and communication of geographically distributed caregivers delivering stroke care in ambulance-based telemedicine. Overall caregivers were satisfied with improvements to teamwork, demands, and communication with the use of telemedicine, but the introduction of the system created some barriers, mainly experience level of caregivers and physical constraints.

ABSTRACT. Soteria is a patient transporting drone, which is part of a living lab setting for Future Mobility, which Embraer is developing. It has been designed in conjunction with the Talaria propulsion system, an autonomous and modular eVTOL flight package. The idea is that during disaster scenarios, Soteria is summoned by first responders to the scene after which a noncritical patient is loaded from the field into the carrier. Soteria then autonomously and independently ferries the patient safely to the closest hospital, where they are unloaded by medical personnel. It is important that handlings are fast and that the patient will fit in the system. Therefore, Soteria was ergonomically tested. The interior of the carrier, the interior layout, and human-machine interface were evaluated with a 1:1 model and compared with guidelines found in the literature. Based on that improvements were made and presented for future design iterations.

ABSTRACT. To this point, research regarding Human-Machine Interfaces (HMIs) and information needs in automated vehicles has focused on the period when the automation is active whereas this study investigated information needs regarding an Automated Driving System (ADS) while the same is not available. A driving simulator study (N=34) was conducted to measure the effects of display-ing the time until the automation will be available as well as reasons for non-availability on sub-jective ratings of the system and perceived system understanding. No effects were found for subjective ratings as usability, acceptance and workload, but there was a significant increase in perceived system understanding. Even though acceptance and usability showed no significant increase, participants ranked HMI concepts containing additional information higher than the baseline concept. The results indicate that HMIs giving information on the automation while it is not available are perceived favorably by participants and can increase transparency of the automa-tion.

ABSTRACT. We investigated the appropriate time window duration for calculating eye and head movement parameters in mental workload (MWL) estimation during auto-mobile driving. Participants performed driving tasks on a driving simulator, and eye and head movements were measured by controlling their MWL using the N-back task, which required them to keep answering aloud the N-th previous digit in a sequence of digits. The eye and head movement parameters were calculated by changing a time window from 30 s to 150 s in increments of 30 s. An anomaly detector of MWL was constructed using the one-class support vector machine (OCSVM) with the no N-back task (“None”) data. In each window length condition, we calculated the area under curve (AUC) for the binary classification be-tween None and the highest MWL condition, the percentage of anomaly data, and the distance from the decision boundary. The results showed that a time window of 30 s had significantly lower AUC compared with other time windows. In addition, the correlation coefficient between the subjective MWL score and the distance of each eye movement parameter data from the decision boundary monotonically increased in the time window 30 s to 120 s and decreased at 150 s. Therefore, we concluded that 60 s to 120 s is an appropriate time window duration for MWL evaluation.

ABSTRACT. This paper describes how a user-oriented system for identification of public transport vehicles can be developed and evaluated. For this purpose, a vehicle design is first scaled with respect to the project requirements using a proven method and with decided consideration of customer and accessibility requirements. In a next step, it is demonstrated why the recognition of the bus by public transport users at bus stops has to be identified as critical. The following section systematically generates concepts for bus identification and presents them virtually. Finally, it is described how the concept evaluation can succeed with a pedestrian simulator and which results are obtained: For example, a number should do the primary bus identification, the route should be displayed at the boarding and the individual stop destination should be clearly highlighted on the route.

ABSTRACT. Questions are arising as to whether train horn use at level crossings remain beneficial for all types of crossings, environments, and users. Six focus groups were undertaken with experienced train drivers (n = 19) across five rail organisations and three Australian states, with data collected using a scenario-based task. Study findings revealed that train horn utilisation was highly varied, considered beneficial in some situations, but non-beneficial in others. The results suggest that the uses of trains horns need to be carefully unpacked if more clarity in policy and direction in potential alternatives is to be further investigated.

ABSTRACT. In this paper we present the results from a Goal Directed Task Analysis (GDTA), a variant of cognitive task analysis techniques, to extract the operator’s situation awareness requirements. This analysis is done with 8 pilots from the Mid Saint-Laurence Pilots Corporation (CPSLC) on a ship docking scenario in a compulsory pilotage area. These findings are used to develop a tool to measure the pilot’s situation awareness during the maneuver using SAGAT questionnaire.

ABSTRACT. In a simulation study, we showed that replacing seated computer work by other office tasks has some potential to increase variation in trapezius and wrist extensor muscle activity in office workers.

ABSTRACT. Despite the differences when comparing sit-stand table usage patterns in office workers, measured by the table itself and by accelerometers, both methods classify office workers as presenting sedentary behavior.

ABSTRACT. This study investigated the current use, benefits, and challenges of sit-stand workstations with decision makers from over 150 organisations across industry sectors in Australia. Several benefits and challenges were identified with education programs needed to enhance effective uptake.

ABSTRACT. Increasing standing and walking time has been proposed to mitigate the risk of musculoskeletal discomfort (MSD) associated with prolonged sitting. However, the duration, frequency, and timing of standing and walking required to reduce risk of MSD is less understood. Objective: The primary aim of this cross-sectional study was to 1) understand the relationship between daily movement patterns and MSD among office workers; and 2) determine whether daily movement patterns and MSD differed between those with different sitting strategies during prolonged work. Methods: 26 participants completed baseline questionnaires and wore an inertial measuring unit to quantify posture and movement over a 48-hour period, stratified by work and leisure time. Participants were then classified as “breakers” and “prolongers” based on breaks taken during a 2-hour sitting bout. The relationships between posture, movement and MSD were assessed using Spearman correlation coefficients, two-sample t tests, and Mann Whitney U tests, then stratified by and compared between breakers and prolongers. Results: Step count(r2=-0.26), standing time(r2=-0.39), and walking time(r2= -0.31) were negatively associated with MSD, whereas sitting duration was positively(r2=0.20) associated with MSD; posture, activity, and MSD correlations were similar between work and leisure time. Prolongers(10.55(1.28)) spent more hours sitting compared to breakers(9.01(3.02)) and tended to have more overall MSD(p<0.05). Conclusion: Increased time spent standing and walking while decreasing sitting time during both work and leisure time may help reduce risk of MSD. Those who did not change posture during the work bout tended to spend more time sitting and less time standing and walking during both work and leisure time. Future interventions should consider encouraging increased standing and walking during both work and leisure time to reduce MSD among office workers.

ABSTRACT. Mid-air interaction is about touchless manipulations of digital content or remote devices, based on tracking of body movements, postures and gestures with non-intrusive sensors. Mid-air interaction is explored as an alternative or complementary interaction style in several application domains that require touchless manipulation like mobile and desktop micro gestures, gesture-based control of the TV and other “smart” home appliances, remote interaction with distant displays in the wild and in particular contexts (e.g., operating rooms), interaction with smart watches, in secondary driving tasks and so forth. In this special session, we have gathered six excellent papers which explored the interaction from human factors viewport. Paper1-3 focus more on posture theoretical model and design approach. Paper 4-6 focus more on application and UX of Mid-Air interaction.

ABSTRACT. Now inertial measurement units (IMUs) with accelerometers and gyroscopes are replacing the devices with only accelerometers. How does the results from old and new measurements compare in the field? The results from this field study indicate that arm elevation percentiles are similar from the two techniques, while, for velocities, the accelerometer-only measurements give much higher velocities (around twofold) than IMU measurements do. This needs to be considered in inter-study comparisons.

ABSTRACT. Touch is essential in our relationships and social interactions. Our study aims at understanding the functions of touch as they are co-constructed in computer-mediated interaction. We observed three couples interacting during one hour at distance with a simple touch device. On the basis of an interactionist approach, we identified correspondences between touch occurrences and (a) the structure of the dialogue and (b) the emotional tonalities of the interaction. Our results high-light three types of functions of touch: interaction management (e.g., turn taking), emotional communication (e.g., emphasis) and behavioural touches (e.g., mimic-ry).

ABSTRACT. Hygiene standards in hospitals, especially in operating rooms, are a recurring top-ic in medical research. Contactless technologies could provide a remedy here. However, these technologies currently receive less attention in medicine because a central criterion of human-machine interaction, the feedback to the user, is usu-ally neglected. The systems currently provide only audiovisual feedback, which increasingly strains the highly stressed auditory perception channel. Tactile feed-back in the room via ultrasonic waves could provide a remedy here. For this pur-pose, a virtual slider was implemented in the air with a discrete tactile feedback based on ultrasound in this study. In a test person study, 24 different feedback characteristics were tested. Initial parameters regarding the feedback intensity and the locking point distance of the tactile feedback characteristics were investigated and the results concerning the tactile coding of a slider with regard to a tactile in-dicator were discussed.

ABSTRACT. After eliciting 129 potential task-gesture combinations for 23 Smart TV tasks with a Canadian sample (N=22), we then conducted studies that collected participant preference scores on mid-air bare-hand gestures for TV control in both Canada (N=747) and China (N=300), and we analyzed the effect of characteristics of individual participants on gesture preference scores. The results showed that age and cultural differences are important in determining task-gesture preferences. While exploratory, the present results indicate a need for more research in this area and suggest that one of two possible strategies may need to be adopted in designing future gesture interactions: 1) develop customized task-gesture combinations for different cultures and different age groups; 2) develop a core set of task-gesture combination possibilities and let users choose which gesture they want to use for each task.

ABSTRACT. This research models how human decisions and behaviors on residential HVAC systems can impact energy usage and the cost of electric energy. The findings provide strategies for residents to choose energy-saving and eco-friendly alternatives while ensuring comfort. The proposed research will provide guidance on the design of systems that can respond to different users, climate conditions, seasons, and other factors.

ABSTRACT. The dialogue between ergonomics and sustainability has been increasingly approached as an alternative for organizational innovation concerned with human centrality in a greater complexity of business processes.

ABSTRACT. The work of urban solid waste collectors requires handling household waste in an ever-changing environment characterized by a high variability level which is highly demanding. This paper compares two modalities of urban solid waste collection (manual and container-based), by applying the ergonomic work analysis and evaluating workers’ lactate levels. The methodology employed can be classified as an exploratory and descriptive case study in a medium-sized city in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Qualitative data collection, in this paper, includes semi-structured interviews with waste collectors and direct observation of their work routines and activities. Quantitative data collection measured workers’ lactate levels before and after their workday. The analysis of the data comprised both qualitative and quantitative approaches, including coding interviews and statistical analysis. Results identified the core constraints (e.g. work rhythm, load handling, risk of accident and collective work) of the waste collection work and workers’ perception of why those were critical determinants for their work. Comparing the work activity analysis for the manual and container-based collection modalities showed that both present physical overloads and that the workers can adapt their activities to both of these processes. The evaluation of workers’ lactate levels indicates that the manual work is more strenuous than the container-based one, which is also corroborated by the insight from the ergonomics work analysis. Overall, the complementarity of the qualitative and quantitative approaches to understand and subsidize work transformation enables the consideration of mental, organizational, and physical dimensions of the activity and fosters communication and decision-making among managers and other indicator-oriented stakeholders.

ABSTRACT. There are multiple tools in the market to define the scope of sustainable products in terms of their attributes [1], and sustainable corporate guidelines [2]. However, considering the principles of Hannover [3], the so-called "Social" aspects from the traditional TBL [4] are not incorporated into decision-making enough. Besides, some tools do not offer the possibility to adapt the decision-making process to the contexts or make decisions with more technical arguments. In the scenario of sustainable design teaching, the scope of products could be better supported in technical aspects when responding to ambiguous requirements such as "developing a sustainable product". In this situation, the framework of Green Ergonomics [5] and the Ergoecology [6] with its "eco-concepts" well developed, can help to ground product design in specific sustainability attributes.

ABSTRACT. In this symposium we will propose a reflection on working at home, something that happened suddenly for many in these pandemic times and that was already routine for others who always worked from their homes.

ABSTRACT. Results from an ongoing questionnaire study on telework during the COVID-19 pandemic show that mandatory telework (as opposed to voluntary), but not the extent of telework, is associated with poor well-being and more life-to-work conflict.

ABSTRACT. During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has been adopted by many organizations as a way to reduce the risk of contagion and preserve jobs and companies. This emergency situation led to a sudden and compulsory shift from the office to home, forcing the adoption of teleworking from home by people and organizations who had little or no experience with this type of workstyle modality. Also, important phases such as planning and resourcing workers and managers may have been passed over with minimal or no atten-tion. This paper aims to raise and discuss experiences on the adoption of re-mote work during COVID-19 and issues that should be addressed to avoid possible negative outcomes. Experiences in the adoption of telework during the pandemic show consequences already discussed by the literature, like work-family conflict, but under specific circumstances, such as the closure of schools and daycare centers. Excess workload and technology invasion are also reported as difficulties of remote work in this scenario. Using a mac-roergonomic model, we address issues that should be verified to overcome these challenges, at different levels, considering factors related to the organi-zational, personnel, and technological subsystems, and the external environ-ment. The use of a macroergonomic model intends to consider aspects from diverse areas that could influence individual, group, or organizational desired outcomes. The consequences of sudden and enforced remote work during COVID-19 reinforce the importance of planning and accompanying telework comprehensively.

ABSTRACT. Work environment (WE) information in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting is an approach for human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) practitioners and researchers to connect HF/E to an organisation’s strategy and branding. This review of reporting guidance in standards connected to WE demonstrates much work is needed as the existing guidance is of low quality and the breadth of WE coverage is not comprehensive to adequately communicate about the WE from the worker perspective.

ABSTRACT. The process of identifying ergonomic demand is usually something developed by ergonomists. Focusing on psychosocial aspects, the objective of this research is to develop an agile tool in which workers are directly involved in pointing out the demand for work ergonomic analyzes.

ABSTRACT. Distribution of visual attention in high-risk and dynamic environment is an important issue for safety since missed or delayed information detection is a significant factor of accidents. In complex socio-technical systems operators need to draw their attention on numerous visual displays, yet auditory infor-mation from verbal exchanges plays also a major role in the development of their situation awareness. Team leaders may then develop strategies to gather information both from visual and auditory sources. The aim of our study was to identify how team leader’s attention is distributed among visual displays and interactions with team members as a function of their level of performance during a highly demanding situation. Ten leaders from the Diving-Safety Team in French nuclear submarine were equipped with a mobile eye-tracker in a full scale simulator during training sessions. Areas Of Interest were grouped into four categories: technical displays, navigation displays, team members and written documentation. Two critical AOIs related to two failures were analyzed. Our results showed that most part of leaders’ attention was directed toward interface displays (78% of all dwells). Significant differences showed that high-performance leaders performed more frequent visual scanning and were also able to monitor longer and more frequently critical AOI. The allocation of attention showed that high-performance leaders directed more frequently their attention on commandment team members suggesting a higher level of hindsight on the situation. Further research is needed to identify more accurately the distribution of attention between visual and auditory channel in relation with situation awareness.

ABSTRACT. This study aims to analyze airline industry professionals’ work activity in assisting passengers with disabilities in identifying possible service improvements. Semi-structured interviews and observations of airport, airline, and service provider workers' activity were carried out in 16 airports in the five Brazilian regions. The critical incident methodology was also adopted to map difficulties in providing services to passengers with disabilities and factors that facilitate service and operations. A descriptive, statistical analysis of the participants’ characterization data and thematic analysis of the interviews were performed. The following challenges were identified during the travel cycle: i) situations of non-accountability by families, which requires the follow-up by airline professionals; ii) non-boarding due to medical documentation requirements; iii) lack of follow-up or passengers’ embarrassment due to inadequate communication between professionals; iv) difficulties related to the lack of infrastructure or an insufficient number of employees; v) constraints and conflicts with passengers with disabilities who refuse to comply with security procedures; vi) accidents when boarding wheelchair users; viii) damage and loss of assistive equipment; viii) difficulties in handling situations involving people with mental disorders. Concerning service provision facilitators, people mentioned aspects related to i) airport infrastructure; ii) the training of employees to assist; iii) availability of prior information before boarding. The analysis of airline transport professionals’ activity allowed gathering information to support processes to improve management related to the accessibility, airport infrastructure, assistance equipment, and services provided to passengers with a disability or reduced mobility.

ABSTRACT. The teaching work is characterized by a new perspective in academic procedures, based on the intensification of activities and high charge for publica-tion in recognized journals. This paper analyzes the work of teachers in the con-text of postgraduation higher education in a public university, identifying the main constraints to which this professional category is subjected, considering es-pecially, the evaluation system for intellectual production. The methodology em-ployed can be classified as an exploratory and descriptive case study using Activ-ity-Centered Ergonomics concepts. Data collection includes: perception question-naire, work diary, observation participant and semi-structured interviews applied to all teachers who work in the Production Engineering department of a federal public university located in a medium-sized city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Results identified the main constraints perceived by the studied teachers (exces-sive tasks; lack of recognition, collectivity and institutional support; and demand for productivity). In the workers' perception, teachers that don’t work in the post-graduate program are less stressed than those who do, although both groups have physical and mental overloads. Teachers who work in postgraduate school suffer and feel frustrated with the great weight given to publications in detriment of oth-er activities as or more important for teaching work. It should also be noted that there is no enough financial or institutional support to achieve the goals. The evaluation of intellectual production must consider the different activities of the teaching workload in order to avoid suffering and really contribute to increase quality to the scientific knowledge.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: Two short term visual memory experiments are considered in the context of increased use of 5G technology for mobile phones. A significant result of an effect is found in one experiment. Further research is recommended for users of 5G smart devices.

ABSTRACT. Working memory forms an important component of the command centre of brain. Incoming information from all sensory modalities lasting from few seconds to several hours requires working memory for immediate storage before those information gets stored as long-term memory. Loading working memory with many information at one time can result in corrupted storage in long term memory. This could lead to less efficient recollection of information. This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of performance while loading the working memory with both primary and secondary task at the same time. Participants performed Backward Wechsler Digit Span test for digits from 3 to 7 as primary task in with-music and no-music condition. Behavioural parameters namely typing duration and accuracy, and electroencephalography (EEG) parameters namely theta, beta and alpha bands was collected for three stages: encode, maintenance and recall. Results revealed decrease in accuracy as size of digit sequence increased in the presence of music. Spectral power of theta band increased during with-music condition in comparison to no-music condition indicating strain on working memory due to music. The study results revealed that listening to favourite music during task loads the working memory and hinders the task performance.

ABSTRACT. Physiological tremors are slight oscillations that are produced when head and limbs are left unsupported in healthy individuals. This study aims to verify the presence of neurogenic component in physiological hand tremor by appropriately choosing a neurophysiological parameter (i.e. visual cue – eyes open and eyes closed). The physiological hand tremor was recorded from eight subjects while performing three tasks – rest, postural and action under eyes open and eyes closed conditions. Accelerometer and EMG sensors were fixed at fingers, wrist, forearm, biceps and deltoid muscles. Consequently, time and frequency domain features were extracted from accelerometer and EMG data. One-way ANOVA was performed to evaluate the statistical difference (p<0.05) between the two conditions. Our study concluded that visual cue had a significant effect on physiological hand tremor only during action task. Besides, the amplitude of the hand tremor was reduced during eyes open condition due to increase in voluntary muscle force, which showcased the positive influence of neurogenic component on physiological hand tremor.

ABSTRACT. This study evaluated the effects of error rate on cognitive demand during augmented reality (AR) interactions. The results showed that a cerebral oxygenation and perceived workload increased as the error rate increased.

ABSTRACT. The level of performance of a control console operator is associated with the speed of data processing, so that the contextual reconstruction of data, whether collaborative or individual, depends on aspects such as knowledge of the actual and effective technical operation, knowledge of the functional and operational history of the process units to be controlled; this is closely related to the physical, biomechanical and physiological availability. this study approaches the physiological aspects in two elements considering their relationship with neurological aspects that may affect the monitoring and control tasks. it also examines the relationship between professional experience and cognitive abilities bringing closer to the understanding of specific aspects of anticipation and their relationship with the elaboration of a knowledge base.

ABSTRACT. The review part addresses application of probabilistic predictive modeling (PPM) in human-system-integration (HSI) problems encountered mostly in aerospace engineering. The emphasis is on missions and off-normal situations, when the re-liability of the instrumentation and human performance contribute jointly to their successful and safe outcome. The extension part addresses 1) the role of the fail-ure oriented accelerated testing (FOAT), including possible application of a flight simulator as an appropriate accelerated test vehicle; and 2) the significance and role of the adequate trust.

ABSTRACT. Through analyzing the pilots’ eye movement behavior, this study proved that the execution of Verbal Reports (VR) during flight operations under spatial disorientation (SD) has a positive influence on pilots’ attentional functions. Thus, the VR procedure can be recommended as a means to improve attention and to overcome SD effects.

ABSTRACT. The effects of conjunction features to the target detection performance in cockpit displays were analyzed by employing the hierarchical signal detection model. The present study gave insights on how different search conditions leads to changes in the underlying psychophysical processes (detection sensitivity and response bias) during guided search tasks.

ABSTRACT. Pilots must manage their workload correctly to achieve a safe operation. Howev-er, few studies have attempted to estimate a pilot’s workload in real-time, and there are no established methods of doing so. To provide more direct support for a pilot’s workload management, we attempted to construct a model that estimates the pilot’s future workload using data on various flight-related parameters that can be acquired in real-time. Participants conducted simulated flights using the flight simulator. Based on the data obtained from these simulations, we used ma-chine learning to construct a model to estimate the workload level 30 seconds lat-er on a five-point scale. This model correctly estimated 32.0% of the test data, and in 72.3% of the test data, the deviation between the subjective value and the esti-mated value was within one workload level. We implemented a system that pre-sents the estimated workload level to the pilot in real-time, and from the review of a license holder who conducted simulated flights using the proposed system, we confirmed that the system is effective for workload management.

ABSTRACT. Biomechanical evaluation of three trunk support exoskeletons showed spine load reductions ranging from about 5% to 17% during dynamic lifting. Additionally, lifting speed and lumbar flexion were affected to a various extent. Results indicate that evaluation of exoskeletons based on EMG alone can lead to erroneous conclusions regarding spine loading.

ABSTRACT. A newly developed prototype of a soft cable-driven elbow exoskeleton for lifting and lowering of loads was developed. To identify potential harmful forces within the elbow joint, an analysis was conducted with biomechanical simulation. To analyze the effect of the exoskeleton on the human body, biomechanical simulations were conducted on the prototype to assess the joint reaction forces during a lifting task with and without the soft elbow exoskeleton. To reduce these forces, the optimal way to attach the cables for generating the moment around the elbow needs to be identified using biomechanical simulation. First results show that in average the load on the elbow joint is reduced while wearing the exoskeleton compared to lifting 5 kg without any assistance. A large distance between the lower arm and the attachment point in ventral direction is very beneficial, due to the introduction of another lever arm into the system. Especially if the elbow is fully stretched, whereas the pulling force vector would go parallel to the arm. With the implementation of the lever arm, the load on the elbow is lower for any position of the arm.

ABSTRACT. This randomized within-subject shoulder exoskeleton evaluation confirmed that the exoskeleton reduced muscle activity and fatigue compared to overhead work without exoskeleton. These effects were not reflected in task performance or perceived exertion.

ABSTRACT. In this work we derive the requirements of a soft upper-limb exoskeletons starting from the biomechanical analysis of human workers while performing three different industrial overhead tasks in laboratory settings. The results of the work allow to define the degrees of freedom which need to be supported to reduce the biomechanical overloads, as well the dimensional characteristics, in terms of required lengths and forces, of the soft actuators of the wearable robot.

ABSTRACT. We present a preliminary concept of simulationbased optimization methodology framework for designing workspace with exoskeleton. The framework consists of three main elements human [ergonomic performance], workspace [industrial tasks, sub-tasks, environment, safety] and exoskeleton [assistance levels, robustness, workspace, imposed constraints], mathematical models and interactions that can converge to an optimal solution i.e. workspace design recommendations. We select the changing the drill bit in for the vertical drilling machine as an industrial task. The human and workspace mathematical modelling is performed using the Jack software and Process Simulate software. In future, we will focus on developing exoskeleton mathematical model and establish mathematical interaction between human model and the exoskeleton model.

ABSTRACT. The need for improvement of teaching in ergonomics to industrial engineers’ development was identified, from the point of view of understanding work and man in work design.

ABSTRACT. This research is based on bibliographic research and critical literature, and intends to address, in a didactic way, the graphic problem of choosing typography – an essential element for the reproduction of text and thought. To make this choice, one must take into account the purpose of the graphic object and the text it conveys, that is, one must pay attention to whether the text is intended to be “read” or to be “seen”. Here, we essentially address the problem of texts to be read and, consequently, the concepts of legibility and readability. There are multiple factors to consider in order to compose a readable text. On one hand, the typeface extrinsic factors (macro- and micro-typography), on the other hand, the typeface intrinsic aspects, such as uppercase or lowercase, proportions (x-height and its relation to ascenders and descenders), serif or sans serif, and also thickness and contrast. In this context it is also important to focus the fonts with optical sizes, which consist in the digital recovery of a resource from the manual typesetting era, when metal typefaces were crafted by punchcutters, with slight drawing variations intended to achieve the ideal perception, balance and expressivity of type.

ABSTRACT. “Progetto di Vita” (PdV Life Project) represents the guarantee element for respect of rights and Quality of Life of people with disabilities. It is based on the principle of resilient community that welcomes vulnerability conditions by interpreting “disability” in the semantic meaning of “different abilities” and of resource, triggering a process implementable when institutions, research and welfare services operate according to a holistic approach. In Italy, Law 112/16 identifies in PdV the principle of paths aimed at fully implementing right to social inclusion expressed by UN Convention. The law provides measures allowing parents to face the future of their children with disabilities in the so-called “Dopo di Noi” (after us). PdV represents a key principle for that holistic approach necessary to address the multidimensional character of disability that can impact on design and management of built environment. Actions in this direction cannot but be supported by a wider infrastructure, through the transdisciplinary approach essential for pathways of social inclusion related to accompanying disabled people to autonomy (where possible). This paper aims to report the results of the first stages of a research path aimed at the development of procedural guidelines at meta-project level for the design of new residential models for people with disabilities built around PdV holistic approach foreseen by Law 112/16.

ABSTRACT. SUMMATIVE STATEMENT: The Brazilian Ergonomics Regulatory Standard (NR17) focuses on physical ergonomics, does not consider the whole system performance but can be improved by adding macroergonomics guidelines.

ABSTRACT. This study aimed to place the students in an operational situation as Hu-man Factor and Ergonomics (HFE) engineers within a vehicle architecture project and propose them as learning objectives using the different ergonomics tools to evaluate the occupant packaging of a vehicle. A Computer-Aided Design (CAD) application has been proposed, enabling the users to generate a 3D digital model, called digital mockup, of a car without in-depth knowledge in the use of CAD software. The students' groups used the CAD application and reproduced a digital mockup after measuring the different dimensions in a real car. This quickly generated car model allows them to evaluate occupant packaging elements, such as posture, reach-capability, and visibility by ergonomics tools. Most users of the CAD application were satisfied and believed that it saved their time significantly. However, the CAD application needs to improve in several aspects to better responds to the vehicle interior design needs.