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A strategy for human factors/ergonomics: Developing the discipline and profession

Buckle was one of eight world experts in human factors/ergonomics (HFE) asked to prepare this future strategy paper for the International Ergonomics Association (IEA).

HFE has great potential to contribute to the design of all kinds of systems involving people but faces challenges in the readiness of its market and in the supply of high-quality applications. Buckle et al. presented a strategy for the global HFE community to strengthen demand for and application of high-quality HFE, emphasising its key elements: systems approach, design driven, and performance and well-being goals. The ideas represent a consensus but Buckle proposed the emphasis on a design-led and socio-technical system approach.

The authors argue that, to contribute to future system design, HFE must demonstrate its value more successfully to the main stakeholders of system design. HFE already has a strong value proposition (mainly well-being) and interactivity with the stakeholder group of ‘system actors’. Nonetheless, the value proposition and relationships with the stakeholder groups of ‘system experts’, and ‘system decision makers’, who have a strong power to influence system design, need to be developed. Therefore, the first main strategic direction is to strengthen the demand for high-quality HFE by increasing awareness of its value by communicating and building partnerships with stakeholders, and educating them. The second main strategic direction is to strengthen the application of high-quality HFE by promoting the education of HFE specialists, by ensuring high standards for HFE applications and HFE specialists, and by promoting HFE research excellence.

The paper formed a keynote address at the IEA Congress, Brazil (2012). The study was awarded the Liberty Mutual Award 2012–13 for the best paper in the journal Ergonomics. The strategy proposed has been adopted by many countries as their blueprint for the human factors/ergonomics discipline development (e.g. Germany, Netherlands, Brazil).