Revolutions and shifting paradigms in human factors & ergonomics

To automate or not to automate: advocating the 'cliff-edge' principle

We reflect briefly on the last forty years or so of ergonomics and human factors research in automation, observing that many of the issues being discussed today are the same as all those decades ago. In this paper, we explicate one of the key arguments regarding the application of automation in complex safety-critical domains, which proposes restraining the capabilities of automation technology until it is able to fully and completely take over the task at hand. We call this the 'cliff-edge' principle of automation design. Instead, we espouse a use for the technology in a more problem-driven, human-centred way. These are not entirely new ideas and such a philosophy is already gaining traction in ergonomics and human factors. The point is that in a given system, tasks should be controlled either by human or by automation; anything in between only causes problems for system performance.

A Scoping Review of Ontologies Relevant to Design Strategies in Response to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Since the initiation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, academia and industry have been taking action to seek how to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) via research, practice, and community engagement. Due to the UN SDGs comprising comprehensive domain-centric ontologies for reaching a consensus on their achievement, so far there has been a literature gap on how and what product design strategies can help achieve which of the SDGs. Inspired by the implication of creating a better world with design, this study conducted a scoping review to synthesize existing design strategies toward the implementation of the SDGs. More than 110 design strategies/methods were collected and synthesized as evidence to map onto the ontological domains of the SDGs. The results indicate that Goals 8, 9, 11, and 12 can be correspondingly addressed by the current body of design strategies, whereas a gap exists in the design strategies to address Goals 15, 16, and 17. Most of the corresponding strategies can be workable to Goals 3, 4, 6, and 7 to a certain extent and, in a broad sense, are in line with the contextual implications of Goals 1, 2, 5, 10, 13, and 14. This study provides a useful starting point for researchers to explore how design has been contributing to the sustainability goals. It also contributes to existing knowledge of the design discipline by providing methodological guidance for researchers and practitioners to conduct further research and practice on the UN SDGs.

Research Outputs in Ergonomics and Human Factors Engineering: A bibliometric and co-word analysis of content and contributions

This paper analyzes research outputs in Ergonomics and Human Factors Engineering (EHFE), revealing its intellectual structure via bibliometric techniques, co-word, network analysis, and science visualization tools. Population comprises of 23,472 records published during 2000-2018, in 19 core journals of Human Factors and Ergonomics subject category in Scopus. The findings showed that in EHFE fields "the United States", "University of Central Florida" and "Stanton NA" were the most productive country, university and author, respectively. It was also found that "Ergonomics" was the most frequent keyword and "Ergonomics and Human Factor" were the most frequent co-occurred keywords in EHFE documents. Hierarchical cluster analysis led to the creation of eight topical clusters, including among others "Biomechanics ergonomics", "Work-related MSDs & work system design", and "Performance". The results indicated that "Biomechanics ergonomics" was a well-matured cluster while "Human machine interaction", "Ergonomics design", "Macro-ergonomics", and "Cognitive ergonomics" were found to be emerging or declining clusters.

The promise of machine learning in predicting treatment outcomes in psychiatry

For many years, psychiatrists have tried to understand factors involved in response to medications or psychotherapies, in order to personalize their treatment choices. There is now a broad and growing interest in the idea that we can develop models to personalize treatment decisions using new statistical approaches from the field of machine learning and applying them to larger volumes of data. In this pursuit, there has been a paradigm shift away from experimental studies to confirm or refute specific hypotheses towards a focus on the overall explanatory power of a predictive model when tested on new, unseen datasets. In this paper, we review key studies using machine learning to predict treatment outcomes in psychiatry, ranging from medications and psychotherapies to digital interventions and neurobiological treatments. Next, we focus on some new sources of data that are being used for the development of predictive models based on machine learning, such as electronic health records, smartphone and social media data, and on the potential utility of data from genetics, electrophysiology, neuroimaging and cognitive testing. Finally, we discuss how far the field has come towards implementing prediction tools in real-world clinical practice. Relatively few retrospective studies to-date include appropriate external validation procedures, and there are even fewer prospective studies testing the clinical feasibility and effectiveness of predictive models. Applications of machine learning in psychiatry face some of the same ethical challenges posed by these techniques in other areas of medicine or computer science, which we discuss here. In short, machine learning is a nascent but important approach to improve the effectiveness of mental health care, and several prospective clinical studies suggest that it may be working already.

The complexity of human performance variability on watch standing task

The primary objective of this study was to examine the complexity of human temporal variability of topside roving watch task in naval operations concerning the reported times of ship status and to explore the potential presence of chaotic behavior and fractal properties of the reported log times. Topside rover reporting time intervals recorded in the deck logs of the USS Jason Dunham over the 2013-2015 period were analyzed to understand the underlying complexity of the watch standing task that is critical to the success of naval operations. The results on the 0-1 test, analysis of the largest Lyapunov exponents, as well the exploration of the fractal dimension and 1/f spectral analyses, showed that the fluctuation of standing watch time reports data exhibits chaotic and fractal system properties. The critical implications of the study findings for the human-centered design of complex systems were also discussed.

Physical ergonomics awareness in an offshore processing platform among Malaysian oil and gas workers

Introduction. The reliability of offshore oil and gas (O&G) facilities depends on the operation and maintenance activities, where human physical intervention is involved. Workers are often exposed to ergonomics hazards due to inefficient workplace design. Ergonomics awareness among workers is a crucial factor in mitigating such hazards. Objectives. This study intends to evaluate the state of physical ergonomics awareness among Malaysian O&G workers and to assess their perception toward the criticality of physical ergonomics issues within an offshore processing facility. Methods. Data were collected through online questionnaire distribution. The respondents were required to evaluate three sections of the questionnaire to reflect their state of physical ergonomics awareness: design criteria in an offshore workplace that are related to physical ergonomics; effects of physical ergonomics implementation in design; criticality of physical ergonomics issues. Results. The results showed a good level of physical ergonomics awareness among respondents without them being influenced by dissimilar experiences (engineering design and operation/maintenance) and the range of experience in an offshore workplace. Conclusion. This study provides an overview of Malaysian O&G workers' outlook toward the physical ergonomics issues in an offshore workplace. These data could be further analyzed in future as relevant aspects of designing an offshore facility.

Elongation of the surface of the spine during lifting and lowering, and implications for design of an upper body industrial exoskeleton

The aim of this study was to assess the elongation of the skin surface of the spine for simulated industrial lifting and lowering tasks to aid the design of industrial exoskeletons worn on the back. Eighteen male participants lifted and lowered a box of varying loads (5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg) using three techniques (squat, semi-squat, stooped) from the ground to a table. Motion capture sensors attached to the spine from C7 to S1 measured movement. Stoop lifting involved significantly more elongation (mean 71.1 mm; margin of error ±6.9) than squat lifting (mean 36.8 mm; margin of error ±6.9). Load and Task (lift vs. lower) did not have a significant effect on elongation. Elongation of the skin surface of the lumbar spine was greater than for the thoracic spine. These data detail example levels of elongation of the skin surface of the spine, which should be considered in upper body wearable industrial exoskeleton design. Further, exoskeleton design should take into account that the skin surface of the lumbar spine involves greater elongation than the skin surface of the thoracic spine during deep lifting.

Human Factors Science: Brief History and Applications to Healthcare

This section will define the science of human factors, its origins, its impact on safety in other domains, and its impact and potential for impact on patient safety.

Collaborative information seeking environments benefiting from holistic ergonomics

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of utilising a holistic ergonomic approach, covering engineering, cognitive and social perspectives, to cultivate beneficial and productive collaborative information seeking (CIS) systems and environments, specifically with regard to three main CIS pillars (control, communication and awareness).

Design/methodology/approach

– A qualitative research approach, based on a selective corpus of CIS literature, was utilised to perform a content analysis to note if terms and concepts normally associated with engineering, cognitive and social ergonomics can be used to eliminate terms reflecting issues related to three CIS pillars (control, communication and awareness) that can benefit from a holistic ergonomic approach.

Findings

– The content analysis revealed that a fairly extensive amount of holistic ergonomic terminology is prominent within the CIS literature, therefore establishing a connection between the two disciplines: CIS and ergonomics. This suggests that CIS system issues could benefit from the insights of a holistic ergonomic approach.

Research limitations/implications

– Since this is an exploratory study the scope of CIS literature utilised in the content analysis was limited to a selection considered most important by the authors; this should be supplemented by further research.

Practical implications

– Intended to instigate interest in further exploration of the beneficial and productive implications and practical application of holistic ergonomics in designing CIS systems and environments.

Originality/value

– This is the first research paper in the Library and Information Science literature that explores the potential of utilising holistic ergonomics to cultivate CIS systems and environments.

Neuromodulation research and application in the U.S. Department of Defense

BACKGROUND

Modern neuromodulatory techniques for military applications have been explored for the past decade, with an intent to optimize operator performance and, ultimately, to improve overall military effectiveness. In light of potential military applications, some researchers have voiced concern about national security agency involvement in this area of research, and possible exploitation of research findings to support military objectives. The aim of this article is to examine the U.S. Department of Defense's interest in and application of neuromodulation.

METHODS

We explored articles, cases, and historical context to identify critical considerations of debate concerning dual use (i.e., national security and civilian) technologies, specifically focusing on non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS).

DISCUSSION

We review the background and recent examples of DoD-sponsored neuromodulation research, framed in the more general context of research that aims to optimize and/or rehabilitate human performance. We propose that concerns about military exploitation of neuromodulatory science and technology are not unique, but rather are part of a larger philosophic debate pertaining to military application of human performance science and technology. We consider unique aspects of the Department of Defense research enterprise--which includes programs crucial to the advancement of military medicine--and why it is well-situated to fund and perform such research. We conclude that debate concerning DoD investment in human performance research must recognize the significant potential for dual use (civilian, medical) benefit as well as the need for civilian scientific insight and influence. Military interests in the health and performance of service members provide research funding and impetus to dual use applications that will benefit the civilian community.

Ethical challenges with welfare technology: a review of the literature

Demographical changes in high income counties will increase the need of health care services but reduce the number of people to provide them. Welfare technology is launched as an important measure to meet this challenge. As with all types of technologies we must explore its ethical challenges. A literature review reveals that welfare technology is a generic term for a heterogeneous group of technologies and there are few studies documenting their efficacy, effectiveness and efficiency. Many kinds of welfare technology break with the traditional organization of health care. It introduces technology in new areas, such as in private homes, and it provides new functions, e.g. offering social stimuli and entertainment. At the same time welfare technology is developed for groups that traditionally have not been extensive technology users. This raises a series of ethical questions with regard to the development and use of welfare technologies, which are presented in this review. The main challenges identified are: (1) Alienation when advanced technology is used at home, (2) conflicting goals, as welfare technologies have many stakeholders with several ends, (3) respecting confidentiality and privacy when third-party actors are involved, (4) guaranteeing equal access and just distribution, and (5) handling conflicts between instrumental rationality and care in terms of respecting dignity and vulnerability. Addressing these issues is important for developing and implementing welfare technologies in a morally acceptable manner.

Sustaining biological welfare for our future through consistent science

Physiological anthropology presently covers a very broad range of human knowledge and engineering technologies. This study reviews scientific inconsistencies within a variety of areas: sitting posture; negative air ions; oxygen inhalation; alpha brain waves induced by music and ultrasound; 1/f fluctuations; the evaluation of feelings using surface electroencephalography; Kansei; universal design; and anti-stress issues. We found that the inconsistencies within these areas indicate the importance of integrative thinking and the need to maintain the perspective on the biological benefit to humanity. Analytical science divides human physiological functions into discrete details, although individuals comprise a unified collection of whole-body functions. Such disparate considerations contribute to the misunderstanding of physiological functions and the misevaluation of positive and negative values for humankind. Research related to human health will, in future, depend on the concept of maintaining physiological functions based on consistent science and on sustaining human health to maintain biological welfare in future generations.

Function allocation in complex systems: reframing an old problem

In this article, we offer a new, macroergonomics perspective on the long-debated issue of function allocation. We believe thinking in this domain needs to be realigned, moving away from the traditional microergonomics conceptualisation, concerned predominantly with task-based decisions, and towards a macroergonomics approach, viewing function allocation choices as central to effective systems design. We frame our arguments within a systems perspective, advocating that function allocation issues need to be on the agenda of all individuals with a wider interest in the human and organisational aspects of complex work systems, including people who commission, sponsor, design, implement and use such systems. We also argue that allocation decisions should form a transparent, explicit stage early in the systems design and development process, involve multiple stakeholders (including end-users), be evidence-based, framed within the language of risk and utilise iterative methods (e.g. scenarios planning techniques).

PRACTITIONER SUMMARY

This article presents a macroergonomics approach to function allocation, advocating its importance in effective systems design. Adopting a systems mindset, we argue function allocation should form an explicit stage early in the design process, involve multiple stakeholders, be evidence-based, framed within the language of risk and utilise iterative methods.

One size (doesn't) fit all

The current radiology workflow model is inherently flawed by its emphasis on quantity over quality, limited accountability, and relative inflexibility of the technology. This adverse affect of technology inflexibility is of particular importance within radiology, because it is the single medical specialty completely dependent on technology for all its existence. For practicing radiologists, the human-computer interaction involves a multitude of individual events that collectively constitute the interpretation process. These individual workflow steps include image retrieval, display, presentation, navigation, processing, manipulation, decision support, and reporting. Considering the heterogeneous nature of the diverse population of end users, it is no surprise that the relative rigidity of the supporting technology creates a tremendous burden on radiologists' performance. The ideal scenario would be the creation of adaptive technology, which would consist of flexible and intuitive software that adapts to the unique needs and preferences of each individual end user, as well as the specific task at hand, while maintaining "best practice" guidelines. This interactive software would take into account a number of variables (education and training, computer experience, personality, visual perception, motor skills) to create user-specific profiles, which can be stored in a centralized database, independent of the specific vendor and technology being used. This user-specific software would also integrate affective computing technologies to dynamically adjust to end users' ever changing emotional states and stress levels. The end result would be the creation of intuitive technology that dynamically adapts to the changing needs and abilities of users, as opposed to the current inflexible technology paradigm.

Biomechanical evaluation of bike power saver

Bike power saver (BPS) is a new product that claims to change the angle of pedaling forces and reduce applied power dead range (Chic Sheng Industrial Co., Ltd, Taiwan, China). In order to determine its effectiveness, we quantified how BPS operates through a 3D kinematical study and electromyography (EMG) analysis of leg muscles during pedaling. Ten kinesiology students participated in this study. A 3D motion capture system consisting of nine high-speed cameras (VICON v8i, a capture rate of 120 frames/s) was used to collect the total body and pedal motion with and without BPS at statically determined low, middle and high intensity cycling levels. The short-time test (14s) was applied to all intensity levels while the long-time test (30 min) was applied only to the low wattage level. Wireless EMG was synchronized with the 3D motion capture system to monitor the right and left tibialis anterior, gastrocnemius, quadriceps and hamstring. The results revealed that BPS did not alter hip and knee movement significantly (p>0.05), but it did vary ankle movement. BPS caused a movement change in the pedals, and consequently induced instability in ankle control. The altered pedal movement led to an increase in activity level and presumably also energy expenditure for dominant muscles, resulting in a faster fatigue process. From these data, it is likely that the BPS actually requires more effort than a standard bike.