International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics (4 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Enhancing helicopter aviation safety through human factors specialists collaboration: a case study for closing the organisational gap  
  by Fabien Bernard, Nataly Jahchan 
  Abstract: Aviation safety stands as the paramount objective across all stakeholders in the aviation industry, including airlines, manufacturers and maintenance centres. Historically, safety enhancements primarily focused on cockpit design; however, in recent decades, the significance of maintenance activities has gained prominence. Human errors in maintenance have been identified as the second leading cause of aviation accidents, underscoring how urgent it is to improve maintenance practices. This publication delves into the potential solution of integrating human factors and ergonomics (HFE) dimensions, in the design process of new developments or upgrades to existing designs, to reduce errors and enhance maintenance activities. Through case studies, empirical data, and theoretical frameworks, this article demonstrates the effectiveness of the collaborative integration of HFE in aviation maintenance design. The results highlight how this approach fosters a culture of safety-conscious design and documentation, leading to improved maintenance practices, reduced errors, and ultimately safer aviation operations.
  Keywords: aviation safety; design office; maintainability; maintenance; technical documentation; human factors; human error; collaborative integration.
  
  
• Evaluating accessibility conformance of state public health agencies websites during the COVID-19 pandemic  
  by Arunkumar Pennathur, Amirmasoud Momenipour, Brandon Murphy, Priyadarshini Pennathur 
  Abstract: The goal of our study was to evaluate conformance with accessibility guidelines of homepages and vaccine information pages on public health websites dedicated to COVID-19 information in the US. We used the Web Access Checker tool AChecker to assess the accessibility of 51 public health agency websites in 50 states and Washington, DC. We computed aggregated conformance counts at the guideline level. We evaluated violations of the WCAG 2.0 Guidelines and collated all known WCAG 2.0 problems for each criterion at the A, AA, and AAA levels for each state, for the homepages and vaccine pages separately. The largest number of known violations occurred in meeting the perceivability and operability principles. In particular, problems in providing non-text content, contrast, and text resizing were prevalent. Our evaluation indicates that state public health websites can improve support for non-text content, the use of assistive technologies, contrast, and text resizing.
  Keywords: accessibility; conformance; POUR; website evaluation; COVID-19; public health.
  
  
• Human work in strategic technology transitions in manufacturing  
  by Arto Reiman, Esa-Pekka Takala, Elina Parviainen, Jari Kaivo-oja 
  Abstract: The swift evolution of manufacturing technology is primarily driven by business and technology-oriented needs, while the sociotechnical aspects are sidelined. This article addresses the management challenges of human factors and ergonomics (HF/E) in technology transitions commonly associated to Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 phenomenon. First, experts from 15 Finnish manufacturing companies were interviewed on the types of HF/E data collected and indicators employed in this context. Second, a scoping review was conducted to identify HF/E indicators available from the management perspective. The interviews and the reviewed literature showed that HF/E data and indicators are dominated by a risk management perspective arising from the origins of occupational health and safety. In this regard, the other side of HF/E the system performance is often neglected. Summing up, foundational perspectives for HF/E indicators are presented as starting points for future discussion in companies aiming to navigate fluently in strategic technology transitions.
  Keywords: business; ergonomics; human factors; human work; indicator; Industry 4.0; Industry 5.0; macroergonomics; management; manufacturing; strategy; system performance; technology transition.
  
  
• Semiautomatic rapid upper limb assessment methods: validation of AzKRULA  
  by Francesco Lolli, Antonio Maria Coruzzolo, Chiara Forgione, Mirco Peron, Fabio Sgarbossa 
  Abstract: In the Industry 5.0 era, optimising working posture is crucial to reduce musculoskeletal disorder risks. Rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) is a common evaluation method, but traditional approaches are often subjective, and wearable sensors can be costly and intrusive. Optical sensors offer a more practical alternative for industrial environments. This study compares the effectiveness of an in-house application, AzKRULA based on Microsoft Azure Kinect, with Siemens Jack Tat Suit software for RULA assessment. We evaluated 15 static postures with both AzKRULA and the Jack Tat Suit software, using expert assessments as a reference. The results showed a high level of agreement between AzKRULA, expert evaluations, and the commercial software, highlighting AzKRULA as a cost-effective, rapid tool for ergonomic assessment. Thus, AzKRULA can support ergonomists and health and safety managers in assessing upper-body ergonomic risks in repetitive tasks.
  Keywords: motion capture; ergonomics; Kinect; rapid upper limb assessment; RULA; human factors.