Ergonomics in the German Democratic Republic.

A survey of ergonomics in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was conducted over approximately a two-month period starting in mid-May 1982. This study was sponsored by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) located in New York City. IREX maintains scientific exchange agreements with Eastern European countries and the USSR. This survey is one of a series of similar studies conducted in Eastern Europe. Earlier countries surveyed were Romania (Seminara, 1975), Bulgaria (Seminara, 1976a, 1976b, 1982), the USSR (Seminara, 1977, 1979/80), Poland (Seminara, 1979a), Czechoslovakia (Seminara, 1979b), Hungary (Seminara, 1980), and Yugoslavia (Seminara, 1983).

Remedial human factors engineering (Part 2).

The article concludes with comments on panel enhancement techniques, overlays, segmented panel enhancement approaches, factors in selecting between approaches, future modifications, durability, configuration control, cost and practical lessons learned. Part 1 was published in the December 1983 issue on pages 253-264.

Remedial human factors engineering - part 1.

Some generic problems have been observed in present-generation nuclear power plant control rooms. This paper presents an initial attempt to develop remedial solutions. In Part 1, enhancement methodology is discussed in general terms. Part 2 will explore detailed panel enhancement options as applied to a specific case history.

A survey of ergonomics in Yugoslavia.

The writer conducted a survey of ergonomics in Yugoslavia during the month of December 1982. This survey was made possible by the scientific exchange programme between the National Academy of Sciences of the USA and the Council of Academies of Yugoslavia. The writer met with engineers and scientists in academic, research and public health institutions to develop an overview of historical developments, the compostion of the ergonomics community, current research interests and methodologies, academic training programmes and future trends. The schedule of visits, which spanned four of the six Yugoslavian republics, is summarised in Table 1. The present study is a sequel to earlier surveys of ergonomics or human factors in Eastern Europe (Seminara, 1975; 1976; 1979a; 1979b; 1979/80; 1980; 1982; 1983).

Nuclear power plant maintainability.

In the mid-1970s a general awareness of human factors engineering deficiencies associated with power plant control rooms took shape and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) awarded the Lockheed Corporation a contract to review the human factors aspects of five representative operational control rooms and their associated simulators. This investigation revealed a host of major and minor deficiencies that assumed unforeseen dimensions in the post- Three Mile Island accident period. In the course of examining operational problems (Seminara et al, 1976) and subsequently the methods for overcoming such problems (Seminara et al, 1979, 1980) indications surfaced that power plants were far from ideal in meeting the needs of maintenance personnel. Accordingly, EPRI sponsored an investigation of the human factors aspects of power plant maintainability (Seminara, 1981). This paper provides an overview of the maintainability problems and issues encountered in the course of reviewing five nuclear power plants.

Bulgarian ergonomics revisited.

In his earlier and more intensive review of ergonomics in Bulgaria, the author concluded that this discipline was highly developed and enjoyed strong government support. It was found that the network of ergonomics activities across national, regional, and local industrial plant levels was perhaps the most highly organised and comprehensive extension of ergonomics concerns of any country in the world. The brief revisit described in this report revealed that ergonomics continues to enjoy a very high measure of respectability. As also noted earlier, the field of ergonomics is still largely the province of physiologists and engineers. Some psychologists that are associated with design organisations are involved in ergonomics activities but, for the most part, psychologists deal primarily with more traditional topics that fall under the heading of industrial or work psychology.

Ergonomics in Hungary.

This report was made possible by a grant from the National Academy of Sciences. The NAS maintains an exchange programme with the USSR and Eastern European countries in order to stimulate the development of improved scientific relationships between East and West. The author participated in this exchange programme as an individual researcher and not as a representative of his employer, The Lockheed Missiles and Space Co.

Human factors in the USSR (Part 2).

In this second part of a survey of the human factors discipline which the author conducted in the USSR, work at four further centres is discussed and there are some comments on exhibitions of Russian products, together with general observations and conclusions. The first part of this report, which compares the Russian and American development, research interests, and academic programmes, appeared in the December 1979 issue.

Human factors in the USSR (Part 1).

A survey of the human factors discipline was conducted in the USSR. Interviews were conducted with prominent Russian scientists in research institutes, academic institutions and design organisations. This report describes the historical development of the field, current research interests and methodologies, academic programmes and the nature of this discipline as it has evolved in the USSR in comparison with the USA.

A survey of ergonomics in Czechoslovakia.

A survey of the historical development of ergonomics, and current research and training in this discipline, in Czechoslovakia. The report follows a series of visits to scientists in academic and research in institutions in the summer of 1978.