Designing for People
Police vehicles on motorways need to be distinctive for safety and security reasons and the blue and yellow ‘Battenburg’ livery now being used by police forces across the country is underpinned by high quality ergonomics research. This research has been recognised for its excellence by the presentation of the Ergonomics Design Award to ergonomists from [...]
As the enabling legislation is prepared for Parliamentary approval of the HS2 high speed rail network, an IEHF-accredited ergonomics and design consultancy, CCD, has been appointed to provide human factors expertise. Parsons Brinckerhoff, one of the world’s leading planning, engineering, and program and construction management organisations, has appointed CCD who are using their expertise to [...]
There have been advances in the priorities of human factors in many sectors in the past couple of decades. Perhaps nowhere has this been clearer than in infrastructure such as transport, utilities and construction. However, it’s arguable that the greatest explosion of new human factors ideas, understanding, analyses, designs, standards and implementations has been in [...]
Over the past two decades, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) have had a transformational effect on the use of navigation services by non-expert users. SatNavs are now almost standard equipment for the motorist and GNSS plays a large role in applications as diverse as agriculture and surveying. Largely driven by the inclusion of GNSS receivers [...]
There are some passengers who would like to have wider seats on trains to make them more comfortable. The design of seats and their layout is widely recognised as an ergonomics activity and ergonomists will primarily take into account the dimensions of the people expected to use the seat, but the scientific methods they use [...]
Motorists need to drive more carefully during the week following when the clocks go forward in spring, warns the Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors (IEHF). Many of us focus on having to get up an hour earlier but it should be the least of our concerns because research shows that there is a sharp [...]
More older people in the workforce is the inevitable outcome of our ageing society and there has been a prediction that there could be a 63% increase in the number of people working past statutory retirement age by 2020. This has significant implications for society as a whole and should be seen in a positive [...]
A recent survey by Passenger Focus (which has been widely covered in the media) has indicated that rail passengers prefer to stand in a queue to buy their ticket from station staff, rather than buy from one of the numerous ticket machines positioned nearby. The media have blamed this primarily on the thought that the [...]
Aircraft pilot, train driver, car driver or being master of a ship – they’re all part of a complex system, responsible not only for controlling their own vehicle but also interacting with other people in similar vehicles wanting to share the same space. This is an inherently risky business, but most of the time, everything [...]
University of Massachusetts researchers received the 2010 Liberty Mutual Award for their scientific paper “Can Younger Drivers Be Trained to Scan for Information That Will Reduce Their Risk in Roadway Traffic Scenarios That Are Hard to Identify as Hazardous?” The paper, published in Ergonomics (Vol52, No6, June 2009), discusses a scientific investigation aimed to reduce the risk [...]
