An Approach to Inject HFE into Existing Design Standards

Current human factors and ergonomics (HFE) programs and practices, though having potential, are not easily integrated into organizations’ management system. As a result, HFE programs have been perceived by many organizations as parallel and stand-alone, requiring a separate pool of resources to operate. A lack of integration into existing management and quality systems can make HFE programs costly and unsustainable for organizations, particularly those adopting lean strategies. Like HFE programs, emerging HFE standards are also often independent and stand-alone from readily available industry technical design standards. Embedding HFE principles into industry technical design standards offers a unique opportunity to position HFE upstream in the design and development phase of a product, and increase its adoption and application. Additionally, inclusion of HFE specifications within technical design standards may also improve communication between HFE researchers and HFE knowledge users (designers and decision makers), particularly within the design process. This discussion paper presents a case for embedding HFE principles into existing industry specific technical standards using the paramedic industry as an example, and a systems approach was used to inform the standard.