Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors President, Dr. Richard Graveling and 2013 Liberty Mutual Best Paper Award Winners, Jan Dul, Ph.D., Peter Buckle, Ph.D.,and Bas van der Doelen
April 30, 2013
HOPKINTON, MA – A team of eight prominent researchers and practitioners received the 2013 Liberty Mutual Award for their scientific paper, “A strategy for human factors/ergonomics: developing the discipline and profession.” The paper, published in Ergonomics (Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 377-395, 2012), proposes a new strategy for the field of human factors/ergonomics (HFE). For more than 60 years, HFE has enhanced human well-being and system performance by identifying and addressing the needs, capabilities, and limitations of system users. The award was presented at the 2013 Annual Conference of the Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors held in April at Robinson College, University of Cambridge, (Cambridge, United Kingdom).
The winning team of researchers includes team leader Professor Jan Dul, Ph.D., of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (Rotterdam, the Netherlands), Professor Ralph Bruder, Ph.D., of the Institute of Ergonomics, Technische Universität Darmstadt (Darmstadt, Germany), Professor Peter Buckle, Ph.D., of the Imperial College, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Faculty of Medicine, (London, UK); Professor Pascale Carayon, Ph.D., of the Center for Quality and Productivity Improvement, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI, USA); Professor Pierre Falzon, Ph.D., of the Research Center on Work and Development, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (CNAM), (Paris, France), Professor William S. Marras, Ph.D., of The Ohio State University, Biodynamics Laboratory, (Columbus, OH, USA); Professor John R. Wilson, Ph.D., of the Human Factors Research Group, Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, (Nottingham, UK), and Ergonomist Bas van der Doelen, of the Department of Knowledge and Communication, BMA Ergonomics, (Zwolle, the Netherlands).
“The winning paper is an important international collaborative endeavor,” says Roger Haslam, coordinating editor of Ergonomics. “It represents a paradigm shift in thinking about the future strategy and direction of human factors and ergonomics.”
In addition to the paper’s authors, 71 leading academic scholars and practitioners from 31 countries were consulted to provide input on the subject of HFE. The resultant document provides practical advice, strategies, and actions that could be adopted in the field and applied by HFE organizations and societies, as well as by individual HFE experts.
The authors identified three core competencies that set HFE apart as a discipline. As noted in the paper, HFE:
- takes a systems approach that integrates the various aspects of the person (e.g. physical, psychological) with the relevant aspects of the environment (e.g. technical, social, and organizational)
- is design driven, focusing on operational requirements and specifications of man-made artifacts e.g. (work place, tool, product, technical processes, service, software, built environment, task, organizational design, etc.)
- strives for joint optimization: performance (e.g. productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, quality, security, reliability, sustainability) and well-being (e.g. health and safety, satisfaction, pleasure, learning, personal development.
The paper proposes two important directions for the continued evolution of the discipline. The first is to make key stakeholders - decision makers for system design such as managers and engineers - more aware of the value of HFE by building partnerships, educating, and intensifying communication among them. The second strategic direction is to strengthen the application of high-quality HFE by promoting the education of HFE specialists, by ensuring high-quality standards of HFE applications and by promoting HFE research excellence at universities and other organizations.
According to the publisher, the paper has received the most online views of any article published in Ergonomics since 2007. The International Ergonomics Association has adopted the proposed strategy.
Several human factors/ergonomics societies have also started to organize member discussions to formulate new policies and activities based on the proposed strategy. “I am excited and enthusiastic about this recognition,” says Dr. Dul. “It is a big reward for all the effort that we all have put into formulating a common world-wide strategy for the diverse human factors and ergonomics community.”
The Best Paper Award promotes excellence in safety and health research. The annual Award, established in 2005 by the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety and the UK Institute for Ergonomics and Human Factors (formerly the Ergonomics Society), recognizes the paper published in the journal Ergonomics that best contributes to the advancement of ergonomics. The editors of Ergonomics, in conjunction with the Institute’s Honors Committee, select the winner from all of the papers published in the journal over the given year. All papers published in the journal are considered.
About Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety
Owned and operated by Liberty Mutual Insurance, the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety has helped to improve the occupational safety and health of millions of workers for nearly 60 years. Through laboratory and field-based investigations, the Research Institute seeks to advance scientific, business-relevant knowledge in workplace and highway safety and work disability. Research findings are shared with the worldwide health and safety community, and are ultimately used to develop recommendations, guidelines, and interventions that help reduce risk and control costs.
About Liberty Mutual Insurance
"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2011 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 84th on the Fortune 100 list of largest corporations in the U.S. based on 2011 revenue. As of December 31, 2012, Liberty Mutual Insurance had $120.1 billion in consolidated assets, $101.5 billion in consolidated liabilities, and $36.9 billion in annual consolidated revenue.
Liberty Mutual Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products and services, including personal automobile, homeowners, workers compensation, property, commercial automobile, general liability, global specialty, group disability, reinsurance and surety. Liberty Mutual Insurance employs over 50,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.
About Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors
The Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, founded in 1949, is the professional body for researchers and practitioners in the field of ergonomics, with an international membership in excess of 1700. Its aim is to promote the awareness, education and application of ergonomics in industry, commerce, public sector and government.
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