Belgium
In December the application of the law considering training for ergonomists in external services was published. This law requires an academic education in an ergonomics related discipline such as movement sciences or psychology. This is followed by a one-year multidisciplinary training in occupational prevention at university level and a specialisation course in ergonomics of one or two years (280 h). The minimum criteria are rather limited to ergonomics of workplaces. The focus is on the social aspects or the well-being of the worker and not on the economical aspects and the benefits to companies.
There are still some discussions about entrance for engineers and the facilities for ergonomists who are already working in the external services. One of the ideas is that part of the assessment procedure of CREE can be used.
Germany
The year 2003, due to the 50 th anniversary of the foundation of the Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaft (GfA), was an extra-ordinary year. As mentioned already in the previous report, this special event was celebrated by a Joint International Conference of the GfA and the International Society for Occupational Ergonomics and Safety (ISOES) with more than 250 presentations and more than 300 participants from all over the world. This Conference was organized by Heiner Bubb ( Munich) and Helmut Strasser ( Siegen) in May 2003.
The Annual Fall Conference, with the topic “Kooperation und Arbeit in vernetzten Welten” (“Co-operation and working in the world wide web and in a globalized world”) – organized by Holger Luczak in Aachen from September 29th to October 1st, 2003, was also dedicated to the 50 th anniversary and, therefore, was followed by the (2-day) VIIth International Symposium on Human Factors in Organizational Design and Management (ODAM). This Conference, mainly dealing with Macro-Ergonomics, was chaired by Holger Luczak and Klaus Zink ( Kaiserslautern).
The Annual Spring Conference 2004 was held from March 24 to 26 in Zurich/Switzerland. It was organized by Helmut Krueger and his team in co-operation with the SwissErgo, the Swiss Association of Occupational Hygienists and the Swiss Society for Occupational Medicine. The topic was “Arbeit + Gesundheit in effizienten Arbeitssystemen” (Work + Health in Efficient Working Systems). During this Conference, which attracted about 300 participants, a tutorial was also provided by Maggie Graf (SwissErgo) and Helmut Strasser (GfA) to inform paticipants about “Euro-Ergonom “ – “Ausbildung und Zertifizierung von professionellen Arbeitswissenschaftlern” (“Eur.Erg.” – “Education and Certification of Professional Ergonomists”).
It may be mentioned that, at present, there are substantial changes in the Academic Provision in Ergonomics due to the retirements of Wolfgang Laurig (Institute of Work Physiology, Dortmund), Helmut Krueger (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich) this year, and Holger Luczak (Technical University of Aachen) as well as Kurt Landau (University of Darmstadt) during the forthcoming year.
In general, the academic situation of Ergonomics in Germany is not as good as we would like to have it. Whereas the above-mentioned leading figures of the GfA will be replaced by successors, this is not true for all the other positions. In the period from 2004 to 2008, 9 out of 28 chairs of Ergonomics/Work Science and related subjects, such as Work and Organizational Psychology and Industrial Sociology, will probably not be replaced. For the period 2009 to 2012 , 5 out of 17 positions will be liquidated due to political/financial restrictions.
Italy
The national law on guidelines and technical requirements for usability and accessibility of Public Administration web sites is currently being approved. The draft contains some details about web site evaluation made by a human factors expert.
SIE national board is analysing the professional competences and ergonomic intervention procedures qualifications/certification on a national scale. On this issue a task force has been created. UNI, the national standard body, has contact with SIE in order to discuss the generation of a national standard on professional ergonomics competencies.
A national seminar on “Certification in ergonomics : Management systems, products and professional profiles was organized by the SIE in Rome, May 6-7 2004, at the national Research Council.
The SIE is pursuing its activities for spreading ergonomics practices in industrial companies, and the most recent activity was the one-day seminar “Ergonomics as a development factor for enterprises, organizations and technological innovation”, that was held at the Centro Ricerche Fiat on June 11, 2004
Other significant initiatives promoted by SIE regional committees are:
- National conference “New risks an health preservation in work sites”, with Campania Chapter, held in Naples January 22-23
- International workshop “Risk Assessment of Biomechanical Damage Risks in Small and Medium sized Enterprises-CRAFT- Project 70882”, held in San Gimignano (Siena) May 26-27-28
Nordic Countries
The interest in ergonomics and certification is slowly growing. The home page of the Ergonomics Society of Sweden is now functioning. CREE certification is mentioned, which has resulted in some requests for information and application forms. Also some people who have certified colleagues have requested information.
Also the interest in ergonomics courses is growing, at least in Sweden, partly as a result of the increased popularity of the new masters programs on design in which ergonomics courses are an important part.
In Finland the preparations are going on to establish an own National Assessment Board. Until their application gets approved, the CREE representative of NES will present Finnish applications as before. The Finnish Ergonomics Society is working actively both on national and international level (the president of NES is from Finland, there is Finnish member in the FEES board). Changes in the legislation (for example the law of safety at work) have increased the interest in ergonomics on the national level and most likely also in the international level (Eur.Erg.).
The annual Nordic Ergonomics Conference this year is going to be held in August in Kolding, Denmark.
Apart from the conference a number of national meetings and seminars has been held in the different countries.
Switzerland
A new position for a Professor of Ergonomics has been created in the Psychology Department of the University of Neuchatel. It will be taken up by Dr. Daniel Ramaciotti, who is on the Swiss CREE assessment board and who has a strong background as a practitioner of ergonomics. This positive development for the French speaking cantons is offset by the continued uncertainty about the replacement of Professor Helmut Krueger at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich. Professor Krueger’s retirement has been postponed for six months as a suitable candidate for the position has not yet been agreed. The future of the Ergonomics Masters Degree depends to a large degree on the interest of whoever is granted the responsibility for its management.
SwissErgo was pleased to support the meeting of the GfA in March in Zurich and is looking forward to the SELF congress in Geneva in September. At the Annual General Meeting in March Ms Berit Kaasli Klarer became the new President and Mr Rafael Weissbrot the Vice-President. There is a seminar planned for 22nd October on Safety and Ergonomics in the Building Sector.