Ergonomics — Where we have been and Where we are going

Abstract

It is suggested that the future of Ergonomics for the next twenty years is best predicted as a linear extrapolation of the past thirty, a steady growth with gradually increasing influence and responsibility. Because of the increased responsibilities more attention will need to be paid to ethical problems. There will be changes of orientation reflecting changes in society generally, in particular less emphasis on productivity and human energy conservation and more on improved quality of products with consequent economy of materials and physical energy. There will also be greater attention to machines as specialised servants of the individual rather than individuals as components in massive man-machine systems. More detailed future trends are considered under the separate aspects of research, application, teaching and documentation. The importance of better documentation is particularly emphasised.