Assessing human factors and ergonomics capability in organisations - the Human Factors Integration Toolset

• Published in: Ergonomics Vol. 62; no. 10; pp. 1254 - 1272
• Main Authors: Greig, Michael A., Village, Judy, Dixon, Shane M., Salustri, Filippo A., Neumann, W. Patrick
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 03-10-2019; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Abbreviations; Ergonomics; Ergonomics - methods; ergonomics strategy; Human factors; Humans; Industrial development; Integration; Macroergonomics; Manufacturing Industry; operations management; organisational design and management; Organizational Innovation; process management; Space life sciences; Surveys and Questionnaires; Usability; Workshops; organisational design and management; operations management; ergonomics strategy; Macroergonomics; process management
• ISSN: 0014-0139; 1366-5847
• DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2019.1572228

This paper presents the development of a tool that allows an organisation to assess its level of human factors (HF) and ergonomics integration and maturity within the organisation. The Human Factors Integration Toolset (available at:
https://www.researchgate.net/project/Human-Factors-Integration-Toolset
) has been developed and validated through a series of workshops with 45 participants from industry and academia and through industry partnered field-testing. HF maturity is assessed across five levels in 16 organisational functions based on any of 31 discrete elements contributing to HF. Summing element scores in a function determines a percent of ideal HF for the function. Industry stakeholders engaged in field-testing found the tool helped to establish the status of HF in the organisation, plan projects to further develop HF capabilities, and initiate discussions on HF for performance and well-being. Improvement suggestions included adding an IT function, refining the language for non-HF specialists, including knowledge work and creating a digital version to improve usability. Practitioner summary: A tool scoring HF capability in 16 organisation functions has been developed collaboratively. Industry stakeholders expressed a need for the tool and provided validation of tool design decisions. Field-testing improved tool usability and showed that beyond scoring HF capability, the tool created opportunities for discussions of HF-related improvement possibilities.
Abbreviations: HF: human factors; HFIT: Human Factors Integration Toolset