Ergonomics, 2012 and standards Tom Stewart, President, Ergonomics Society Chair BSI PH/9 Applied Ergonomics Joint Managing Director, System Concepts

Ergonomics = design for people Ergonomics (or human factors) 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. International Ergonomics Association

BSIPH/9 Applied Ergonomics  UK mirror to ISO/TC159 Ergonomics and CEN TC122 Ergonomics  Main current technical work at international level, especially:  ISO/TC159/SC4 Ergonomics of Human System Interaction (ISO 9241 series)  ISO/TC159/SC5 Ergonomics of the physical environment Note: Standards are referenced using ISO numbers only in this presentation

System Concepts as a company  30 professional staff  based in central London  consultants specialising in usability, ergonomics, health and safety as an idea  one system, several concepts  ‘user experience’ typical projects  usability  Nationwide, BBC, HP, Microsoft, Accenture  ergonomics  Office eg TUC  Retail eg M&S  Industrial eg Ford  accessibility  DfT  health and safety  Ernst and Young

The 2012 user experience  Find out about what’s on where and when (web)  Buy tickets for attendance and travel (web)

Web page

Nice - but is it usable?  Some people confuse ‘usability’ with ‘easy’ and ‘accessibility’ with ticking checklists but that’s too simplistic  A usable system is effective (does the job), efficient (worth the effort) and satisfying to use (safe, comfortable and maybe even fun) ISO  Achieved by following a human-centred design process ISO (revision is out as ISO DIS )  And applying relevant standards eg ISO on web interface design  System Concepts conducted usability testing for the 2012 New Media Team and found that it was usable (and made a few suggestions for improvements)

The 2012 user experience  Find out about what’s on where and when (web)  Buy tickets for attendance and travel (web)  Travel to event (ticket machines, signposting)  Get in and find seat (signposting, queues)

Managing queue behaviour is notoriously difficult

The 2012 user experience  Find out about what’s on where and when (web)  Buy tickets for attendance and travel (web)  Travel to event (ticket machines, signposting)  Get in and find seat (signposting, queues)  Watch and enjoy (seats, sight lines, lighting, acoustics, thermal environment, large displays)

‘Ergonomic’ stadium seats? “the Nada Chair is small and doubles as a pack for holding drinks, snacks, and binoculars!”

The 2012 user experience  Find out about what’s on where and when (web)  Buy tickets for attendance and travel (web)  Travel to event (ticket machines, signposting)  Get in and find seat (signposting, queues)  Watch and enjoy (seats, sight lines, lighting, acoustics, thermal environment, large displays)  (Hopefully not) experience emergency evacuation (control rooms)

Ergonomics standards for control rooms ISO 11064

The 2012 user experience  Find out about what’s on where and when (web)  Buy tickets for attendance and travel (web)  Travel to event (ticket machines, signposting)  Get in and find seat (signposting, queues)  Watch and enjoy (seats, sight lines, lighting, acoustics, thermal environment, large displays)  (Hopefully not) experience emergency evacuation  Leave venue (signposting and queue management)  Travel home and follow up results etc (web)

Who are the ‘users’?  Spectators (including VIPs)  Participants  Officials and media  Workers (admin, sales, security, hosts) Before that  All those involved in planning, managing, design and construction and media

including people with disabilities  Accessibility standards  Web, for example BS PAS 78, ISO , ISO  Buildings and facilities, for example BS 8300 But, standards are not enough  A survey of ‘inconveniences’ experienced by elderly and people with disabilities by the Accessible Design Foundation in Japan (to support ISO/TR 22411) found many problems which should have been avoided following ISO/IEC Guide 71 – see next slide, elevator

8221Tactile caution display 8222 Information by voice and other audio system 8223 Raised Characters, and braille 8224 Size: Characters and graphics 8232 Graphic symbols 8232 Vibration 8232 Flashlight 8251Alternative formats for identification measures (including fingerprint authentication) 8261 Blinking rate 8311 Location of displays 8312 Location of controls 8213 Location of information 8331 Building: layout 8222 Location of handrails 8322Location of controls and door handles 8411 Provision of lighting 8441 Avoidance of glare 8511 Choice of colour 8521 Colour combinations 8531 Information by colour coding 861 Size of characters on switches 862 Font types 863 Symbols for warnings 8711 Transformation to text of non-text information 8721 Easy caution display 8722 Easy operating procedures 881 Symbols and diagrams Size and shape and of products 8741 Spoken information 8751 Display in many languages 8101 Pace and time of information presentation 8911 Loudness of warnings and signals 8921 frequency in warnings and signals Distinguishable figure 81131~4 Tactile warnings Appearance of instruction manuals Operationability of controls Arrangement of controls Status indication of controls Containers Timed responses Accessibility of built ｔ environment 8131 Display of expiration date 814 Ingredient labeling 815 Surface temperature 816 Accessible routes 817 Logical process 818 Surface finish 819 Avoidance of allergenic/toxic materials 820 Consideration for acoustics 821 Fail-safe 822 Ventilation systems 823 Flame-resistant materials Design factors related to Accessibility (example 3)

(Y)our work is not yet done! Thank you