In this column, William F. Moroney reports on human factors/ergonomics issues that have appeared in the press. Contributions are invited. Please send electronic copy with references to moroney@udayton.edu.
A Google search on January 24, 2014, on the term ergonomics and climate change yielded 1,690,000 results, and a search on the term human factors and climate change yielded 22,500,000 hits. This result would lead the casual reader to erroneously believe that human factors and ergonomics are major players in the area of climate change. The large number of hits is really a search engine artifact, treating the terms human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) and human activity as equivalents. The reality is that compared with areas such as aviation and interface design, the HF/E profession has not been a major player in climate change. It is hoped that the articles in this issue and material in this column will encourage members of our profession to apply their talents in this critical domain.
Ergonomics and Sustainability. Ergonomics, Volume 56, 2013. The editorial for this special issue provides an excellent discussion of the interaction (or, more specifically, the lack of interaction) between ergonomics and sustainability. In 1994, Moray addressed this issue at the International Ergonomics Association (IEA) Congress. In 2008, Scott and Drury (among others) repeated Moray’s concerns about ergonomics, focusing on problems in the technologically developed world and not addressing issues in industrially developing countries. In the same year, IEA endorsed the formation of a technical committee to focus on the interaction between HF/E and sustainability. The 17 articles in the Ergonomics special issue address a variety of areas, including a historical examination of the lack of interaction and the need to “seize the day.” Papers also address, among other topics, green ergonomics, a strategy for increasing recycling, and the interaction between anthropometrics and sustainability. The last article addresses sustaining a healthy and productive workforce. The editors conclude their review with this plea: “Perhaps we should be looking now for ergonomics to do more to move beyond stating its importance and relevance within this area, toward applying the existing body of knowledge to the design of interventions and improvements, bringing us closer to a sustainable future.”
Climate Change Psychology: Coping and Creating Solutions. American Psychologist, May/June 2011. This special issue describes the role of psychology in the reduction of and adaptation to climate change. Paul C. Stern wrote, “Psychological contributions to limiting climate change will come not from trying to change people’s attitudes, but by helping to make low-carbon technologies more attractive and user-friendly, economic incentives more transparent and easier to use, and information more actionable and relevant to the people who need it.” Stern is coauthor of the first of seven articles, which address “(a) human causes of, consequences of, and responses (adaptation and mitigation) to climate change and (b) the links between these aspects of climate change and cognitive, affective, motivational, interpersonal, and organizational responses and processes.” The authors call for interdisciplinary interaction and a systems approach in addressing these issues. Links to all articles are available at http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/66/4/. The special issue updates the findings and recommendations of APA’s 2009 Task Force report, Psychology and Global Climate Change: Addressing a Multifaceted Phenomenon and Set of Challenges, available at http://bit.ly/1o4mA3z. A brief video on the topic is available at http://bit.ly/1hQpFHd. A statement of the interaction between climate change and human rights from the perspective of psychology is available at http://bit.ly/1oVArvp.
How Behavioral Science Can Lower Your Energy Bill. By Alex Laskey, posted on TED, June 2013, http://bit.ly/ItI6Bc. Laskey describes an experiment in which four strategies were compared to motivate people to save energy. One of these strategies was so effective that utilities are now using it. Laskey says that to date, this behavioral modification technique has saved homeowners $250 million. He claims that in the United States, $40 billion is expended annually on wasted energy (leaving lights on and air conditioning running in unoccupied houses). By the way, $40 billion is about half the amount spent annually on coal use in the United States.
Embracing the Challenges of Climate Change. By M. Hanson, Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors, June 1, 2010, http://bit.ly/1hcT8Z9. This editorial specifies seven areas in which HF/E science can impact climate control: green industries (e.g., risk reduction in the wind turbine/energy conservation and waste reduction industries), low-energy systems and products (these would benefit from the application of our systems skills), transportation systems (design of recharging points for electrically powered vehicles, improving driver acceptance of energy management strategies), buildings and urban environments (addressing the human factors concerns of individuals working in buildings designed to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design [LEED] standards), communications (reducing the environmental impact of travel by providing usable, acceptable alternatives to businesses), retail (providing effective manual material handling guidance to online shopping organizations), and behavior change (facilitating ecologically effective decision making by consumers).
The Innovative PackH2O™ Water Backpack Wins the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt 2013 People’s Design Award. By Tom Black, October 30, 2013, http://bit.ly/1pqFkOp. Transporting water is often a problem after disasters. “In developing countries it is often the responsibility of women and children to transport the household water from source to home, and they do this by carrying jerry cans and buckets by hand or on their heads.” The PackH2O™, a low-cost, durable, and efficient human water transport device, was designed to address this problem. Using ergonomics principles, a design team from Greif, Inc., developed a 20-liter, hands-free, bladder-type backpack made of a “tough and puncture-resistant” material with “adjustable shoulder straps and a removable liner that can be sanitized in the sun.”
International Society for Environmental Ergonomics. http://bit.ly/1jymOzW. This organization has held biannual meetings since 1986. It concentrates on the interaction between the user and his/her physical environment. That physical environment is characterized by climate (temperature, humidity, heat radiation), noise, vibration, lighting, pressure, and thermal environments. Copies of the meeting proceedings are available at the organization’s Web site.
Related links: Forest fires
http://bit.ly/OAh9iA
http://1.usa.gov/1hQr5Bi
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