NEWS

·  FPE-IEA partnership assists the Iranian Ergonomics Society

·  Panel on Professionalism at HFES

FPE/IEA partnership assists the Iranian Ergonomics Society

The Iranian Ergonomics Society received help through the partnership to offer joint FPE/IEA consultant services to Industrially Developing Countries’ (IDCs) ergonomics societies.  The society received help on two matters.  One was for source documents and contacts on a technical topic; the other was for recommended internationally prominent speakers on specified topics to keynote or serve as plenary speakers at an IEA sponsored international professional conference in Iran, IranErgo 2007. 

The FPE provides consultants to IDC ergonomics societies at no cost other than expense reimbursement.  Future efforts of this joint FPE-IEA arrangement might include professional society development; professional educational program development guidance; recommending an expert ergonomist for some advice requested by an ergonomists of an IDC, or identifying potential expert ergonomist(s) who would speak or provide a seminar on a certain topic.

Panel on Ergonomics Professionalism well received at 2007 HFES meeting in Baltimore 

Foundation for Professionalism in Ergonomics board members, Valerie Rice and Jerry Duncan, chaired a lively panel discussion on what it means to be an ergonomics professional on Thursday, October 4^th, 2007, at the HFES annual meeting in Baltimore. 

Four internationally recognized leaders within the Human Factors & Ergonomics community (Barry H. Beith, HumanCentric Technologies; Hal W. Hendrick, Hendrick & Assoc.; Y. Ian Noy, Liberty Mutual Research Inst. for Safety, Standards, R&D; and Dan Fisk, Georgia Institute of Technology) presented their views on the criteria for professionalism in ergonomics. 

They answered questions such as: 1) Is professionalization of ergonomics needed?  How should it be achieved?  If not needed, is there a perceived need within the HF&E community and how should that be addressed? 2) Are criteria identified in the literature applicable to ergonomics? 3) How do the criteria for achieving professional status impact the HFES strategic plan and code of ethics (or do they)?  4) Is human factors/ergonomics already a “profession”? and 5) How is the professionalism of an occupation different from the “professional” status of an individual?  How are the two related?

Foundation for Professional Ergonomics
  P.O. Box 2176
  Bellingham, WA 98227

info@ergofoundation.org

Last modified 02/07/08