Towards Dynamic and Adaptive Allocation of Staff in a Digital-organized Production Context: An Innovative Perspective from Work Science

The increasingly complex socio-technical systems in modern businesses are forcing us to adapt our risk management models to a context of digital-organized production. This new phase of industrial digitization is bringing new opportunities and new challenges for managers and workers. A new work organization is emerging, along with new models for optimizing the allocation of labor to production activities. Three approaches are proposed in the literature: Mathematical optimization, models from work sciences, and integration of these two. Integrated analytical models are limited both by the number of variables considered and knowledge of the associated uncertainties. These models are static, not always focused on reducing risks at the source, and based on expert elicitation by unspecified protocols. Advances in this field are raising several questions regarding ethics, legality and safety.

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Using Technology in the diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is among the most prevalent chronic health disorders affecting school-age children. The disorder attracts a lot of controversies. One of the main reasons for criticism is the diagnostic process, which in some aspects is subjective and can be relatively easily biased. There is a discrepancy between the expanding scientific biological, genetic and imaging knowledge and the clinical based procedure of ADHD diagnosis. In the absence of available biological markers that would support diagnosis on a routine clinical visit, professionals are asked to continue and use clinical interview, extensive history taking, parent-teacher rating scales, review of psycho-educational test data, and direct observation. Shortcomings associated with standard clinical approaches suggest an increasing need to consider complementary strategies for determining diagnostic standing and assessing treatment outcome.

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Smart Phones and Dumb Drivers: The Limits of Cognitive Ergonomics

As phones and cars get smarter, drivers seem to get dumber. Drivers are making choices to engage with communication technology in vehicles more frequently, to the detriment of traffic safety. The National Safety Council estimates that 28% of crashes in the United States are a result of drivers distracted by in car technology. 

The personal and economic costs of these crashes are staggering, resulting in thousands of ended lives and billions of dollars in costs every year. The benefits of the ability to connect to social networks while driving is less clear. In this complex problem, what role can design and ergonomics play? Improving design to make technology easier to use is one way to reduce the burden new technologies place on us. For example, devices that allow for hands-free use or that read to us rather than take our eyes from the road are touted as ways to allow users to interact with technology, but remain safe. 

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Big Data Analytics as a Tool for Reducing Ergonomics Risk

The first step towards reducing ergonomic risks in a production system is to devise methods to understand and characterize the risk events. According to Drury, in recent years, Big Data Analytics (BDA) has developed computational methods to derive meaningful,actionable conclusions from huge data-sets also in the field of human factors/ergonomics (HFE). Ergonomic metering in complex production facilities is necessary to provide industrial enterprises higher levels of quantification and visibility in their ergonomic risks.

Big Data Analytics (BDA) methods can help companies make more informed business decisions by enabling data scientists, predictive modelers and examining large data sets to uncover hidden patterns, unknown correlations. For this reason, an ergonomic risk monitoring system is necessary. Internet of Things (IoT) can provide useful tools in order to develop a more detailed analysis of ergonomic programs.

Ergonomics Principles: It's Not Only about Physical Factors but also Other Factors

The work capabilities not only depend on physical conditions only but also other important aspects like mental, social as well as psychological. According to International Ergonomics Association Ergonomics is defined as “it is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance”. Ergonomics help in harmonizing things that may interact in terms of workers abilities, limitations and needs.