Announcement

IEA2006 First announcement

From 10-14 July 2006 the 16th congress of the International Ergonomics Association will be held in Maastricht, the Netherlands. We invite all ergonomists and other who are interested to join the congress:

Meeting diversity in ergonomics

The combination of diversity and ergonomics expresses what the organizing committee would like to emphasize during the Congress. In general it stresses the broad scope of our field of interest and the variety in ergonomics and ergonomists and the global differences. For example regarding:

" ergonomics in itself is diverse:
o as an engineering activity or a product development cycle (design for all)
o ergonomics in itself is diverse:
o as an engineering activity or a product development cycle (design for all)
o driven by optimization (prevention combined with performance) versus driven by legislation and standardization (corrective/curative).

" ergonomists or human factors specialists are diverse as they are:
o scientific researchers: in-depth research in one or several topics
o professionals in applying scientific results in ergonomic design projects
o practitioners, who may be full time ergonomists, versus specialists in other fields applying ergonomic knowledge.

There are diversities in the ergonomic fields of interest, areas of application, and of course in mankind.

" people (anthropometrics, capacities/limitations)
" topics to be addressed: physical workload, mental workload, environmental factors, organizational design and management (ODAM), etc.
" area£r of application, such as: manufacturing, process industry, office, rehabilitation, hospital, agriculture, the built environment
" methodology: research methodology, engineering practices, project ergonomics
" cultural differences worldwide: modern industrial countries versus industrially developing countries.

The challenge for ergonomists?research and consultancy is to meet the diversity in the target group.

Finally, there are many ways to meet the diversity of ergonomists and to communicate knowledge and experiences. We envisage several different congress formats, such as:

" traditional keynotes and oral presentations
" a speakers corner on a market place
" interactive sessions
" hands-on workshops
" professional visits
" interactive poster sessions.

And be sure: there will be ample opportunities to meet many ergonomists in the wonderful town of Maastricht.