International ergonomics conferences address method standard
Since Monday, the international ergonomics community has been coming together – virtually due to the pandemic – at the 24th edition of the Applied Ergonomics Conference (AEC), one of the largest ergonomics conferences in the world. Experts from the fields of ergonomics, healthcare, safety, human resources and risk management will present their strategies and initiatives around ergonomic work design and exchange ideas with industrial engineers, ergonomists, healthcare providers and professionals from related professions.
Ergo check simple and fast
Prof. Dr. Peter Kuhlang, Managing Director of MTM ASSOCIATION e. V., has also attended. On March 24, 2021, he presented participants and professional colleagues a simple and fast option for reliable ergonomics and time assessment: the cloud-based software solution MTM-Easy. The big advantage for users who have no experience with ergonomics assessment or systematic time management: MTM-Easy focuses on the individual workplace, the activity that an employee performs – and directly shows the impact of improvements in the workplace. A good 40 interested parties have registered for this session alone. More info on the conference at https://www.iise.org/AEC/
Ergonomics standards a must in Brazilian industry
When experts talk about ergonomics, they cannot avoid MTM, the method standard for designing productive and healthy work. This is also the case in Brazil, where the implementation of ergonomics standards is mandatory for companies. The ABERGO Congress, organized by the Brazilian Ergonomics Association (ABERGO), is the largest ergonomics conference in Latin America. As this conference could also only take place virtually, speakers from Portugal, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, USA, South Africa, Holland, Mexico, China, Russia, India and Germany also had the opportunity to contribute.
MTM planning tools "important tools for engineers and ergonomists"
The main theme of the conference was "Innovation, sustainability and interdisciplinarity in ergonomics". The focus was on new health and safety standards in the workplace, psychosocial aspects related to the pandemic, new teaching technologies, but also on topics such as Industry 4.0, Society 5.0, resilience engineering, usability and human-machine interaction.
Much attention was paid to the round table on "Application of Ergonomics in Lean Production", which was attended by experts Alfredo Link (MTM ASSOCIATION e. V.), Mauro José Feijó (MTM ASSOCIATION e. V.), Daniela Balsadi (ErgoLean) and Dr. Rodrigo Filus (Volkswagen Brazil). "For us, this event is an important milestone in establishing the MTM method standard in Latin America," emphasized Alfredo Link. His agenda included the internationally recognized ergonomics assessment tool EAWS (Ergonomic Assessment Worksheet) and new planning tools such as MTM-HWD (Human Work Design) and Prokon (Production-Oriented Design) EAWS. "Both will become important tools for engineers and ergonomists – I am convinced of that," Link said.
In the discussion, Dr. Rodrigo Filus and ergonomist Daniela Balsadi reported on their practical experience in applying the MTM-based assessment tool EAWS in lean production. Learn more about the application of EAWS in the recording of the ABERGO Roundtable onhttps://youtu.be/we52q3RL-CU
The interplay between ergonomics and lean will also be the subject of the MTM Summit 2021, the meeting place for the international MTM community – on October 20/21, 2021 (hopefully) on site in Hamburg and in any case 24/2 on the web.
