Ergonomics and productive workplaces: human factors expert influences forklift design.

MOST OF THE WORK of Cornell ergonomist Alan Hedge, a professor of design and environmental analysis and director of Cornell's Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory, focuses on applying ergonomic design criteria to make workplaces more productive. Typical projects include redesigning computer stations, keyboards and mice, chairs, and lighting.

About 15 years ago, Hedge worked with industrial designers and a forklift truck company on a project to redesign new vehicles. He used what was then a novel, human-centered approach. He helped the team build the design for the new trucks around the operator's needs, with special attention paid to maximize comfort, minimize the risk of accidents, and maximize productivity. Hedge developed a strategy that systematically incorporated ergonomics information at every stage of the design process for forklifts and that substantially influenced future designs.

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His ergonomics strategy included a series of steps. He conducted a detailed photographic analysis of problematic ergonomic design features in forklifts. He analyzed the economic im-pact of any new desired functions and capabilities. He used focus groups with truck operators to evaluate truck models from other manufacturers and to design prototypes for new vehicles. He videotaped actual truck operations and analyzed postural risks, inefficient task sequences, and other ergonomic problems. He determined design requirements by reviewing articles and reports on truck safety. He developed a worksheet for an ergonomic audit. He determined the necessary information for designing vehicles to accommodate a wide range of operators, in terms of body size and strength and ease-of-use. And he paid careful attention to the ergonomic design of controls, displays, and compartments.

For that work, which has resulted in a new generation of ergonomically designed lift trucks that are now in worldwide operation, Hedge recently received the Alexander J. Williams Jr. Design Award from the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, which has an international membership of more than 5,200, most of whom are in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The award is given for outstanding human factors contributions to the design of a major operational system.