Personal Perspective: Critical human factors contributions in modern manufacturing

The roles of all personnel in manufacturing companies are changing as different forms of advanced technology and different methods of organizing production are introduced. There is some degree of freedom in defining these roles, and there is increasing recognition of the gains to be had from developing systems around the concept of the skilled, responsible operator with local control. In consequence, there is increasing recognition in industry of the input that can be made by the human factors profession. A number of critical human factors issues for modern manufacturing are identified in this article; these are critical both in terms of the relevant research gaps and application needs. Connections are drawn between these issues. Successful human factors initiatives in advanced manufacturing technology will only result from integration of approaches from the hitherto somewhat separate worlds of cognitive ergonomics as applied to human-machine systems, and psycho-social ergonomics as applied to work organization and job design.

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