A round table discussion on Ergonomics and Design for All took place during a congress on ergonomics organized by the Dutch organization “Human Factors vereniging” in Amersfoort, NL in November 2016. This event was co-hosted by the Federation of European Ergonomics Societies and the Centre for Registration of European Ergonomists.
A round table discussion on Ergonomics and Design for All took place during a congress on ergonomics organized by the Dutch organization “Human Factors vereniging” in Amersfoort, NL in November 2016. This event was co-hosted by the Federation of European Ergonomics Societies and the Centre for Registration of European Ergonomists.
The round table discussion consisted of various expert talks on different aspects of the Design for All concept ranging from applications in the built environment to the health care sector. The goal was to introduce the concept, provide an overview of mandates and subsequent standardization approaches as well as delivering particular insights from research institutions. Both, speaker panel and the audience, consisted of individuals from various countries. The international participation and the active discussion during the round table have shown that the work of the IEA TC Ergonomics in Design for All is seen as an important and valuable activity. The IEA international round table was a huge success. There is broad support for the aim of the TC to establish “Design for All” as a generally accepted and applied methodology in the process of designing for products, services and processes.
- Introduction – Round Table Ergonomics in Design for All
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Alexander Rosemann: Ergonomics in lighting design for all
- Bernard Dugué: A “Design for all” needs a design with all
- Jan Doornbusch: CEN-CENELEC Guide no 6
- Harald Weber: Safeguarding accessibility of participatory tools and methods in design, development and evaluation – IEA Round Table „Ergonomics in design for all“
- Hidde van der Ploeg Sedentary Behaviour: Health Risks & Solutions
- Richard Goossens: Ergonomics in Design driven Innovation in Healthcare
Alexander Rosemann and Isabella Steffan chaired the discussion and conclusion which were centered around the question: How can Ergonomics give a contribution on Design for All/Universal Design approach? (download full paper here).
The congress on human factors and also the round table discussion on the topic “Design for All” has been considered a huge success With 70 participants, the round table discussion reached a good audience and also allowed for interesting exchange of thoughts and discussions. The participants came from many different countries which shows that the topic of Design for All is relevant to many within the IEA.
The round table provided design-related topics within a broad range of application domains ranging from the built environment via product design to the health sector. It does not only address products but also services and procedures. This issue has been recognized by international standardization organizations and found its way into recommendations such as the CEN-CENELEC Guide 6.
Having a standard in place has been an important and huge step towards to goal of implementing the principles of Design for All. But this step marked the beginning of a journey and not its end. There are many challenges lying ahead of us such as:
- Ensure the broad application of standards such as the CEN-CENELEC Guide 6 and related European mandates.
- Continue to provide guidance and direction to relevant stakeholders
- Identify further application domains for Design for All
- Collaboration in Public Private Partnerships to develop solutions following the Design for All approach
- Support knowledge generation and transfer.
Design for All is a concept in the field of ergonomics that support human centered design. As new technologies make it to the market faster than ever, it is even more important to implement them such that all can benefit from it. The range of topics and the active participation of the audience during the round table discussion on Design for All has shown that this topic has the attention it deserves. This left no doubt that the ultimate goal of the IEA TC EinDfA must be to establish “Design for All” as a generally accepted and applied methodology in the process of designing for products, services and processes.