At Heart, I'm still an Ergonomist

Over the last 18 years of my career, I have done just about every type of industrial ergonomics work you can imagine. I've worked in mines, turkey processing, bubble gum factories, and for all of the big three. I've analyzed workstations, made suggestions, hammered out the details of implementing better designs, worked with the beneficiary of those good designs, and weathered all types of budget restrictions.

After gathering all that field experience I graduated to a broader view - looking at the systems that need to be in place to ensure that ergonomics can be properly implemented at all levels of the organization. For a while all I did was ergonomic training for every type of industrial player: human resources, HS&E, quality, engineering, maintenance, product designers, and the list goes on.

But then something started sneaking up on me. That something was programming. I have always loved programming and thanks to my Human Factors Engineering background, was able to put together applications that people could actually use. I tricked out Excel, dove into Access, started learning the ropes of data driven web design, and before I knew it I was responsible for just about every shred of data that flowed in to and out of our Health, Safety, and Environment department at Cooper Standard Automotive.

In those dark long nights when debugging code, obsessing about pixel-by-pixel placement of buttons, and teasing out the best method to present the information to a global audience, I had an Epiphany. Actually, the epiphany came at a conference. During the conference, a professional ergonomist whom I respect deeply said two words that I had never considered together before: macro ergonomics.

It was like someone tapped the middle of my forehead and whispered, "no, you are not a programmer - you are an ergonomist." You see, the real goal of ergonomics is constantly choreographing a delicate waltz between humans, systems, requirements, and technology. Lean too heavily on any one of those items and the macro-ergonomics tip over. Build an outstanding incident reporting system, but no one can figure out how to log on - tip. Implement a picture-perfect material delivery system, then expect the worker to press a clip into place requiring 30kg of force -tip. Train an army of engineers on the optimal work height for all workstations but give them no means to justify their improvements - tip.

I have the pleasure of speaking at NOSHCON this year for the first time. I've never been and am really looking forward to it. When I come, I hope to have one of those "Aha!" moments again. And if you should happen to hear my talk, perhaps I can trigger the same for you.