Augmented Ergonomics

‘Augmented Ergonomics’ is a synthesis of social sciences and engineering approaches. It enriches the field of human factors and ergonomics in both theory and practice. Human work is characterised by continuous changes in organisation and technology. The increasing pace of change in the working environment is modifying our workload in increasingly rapid succession. The interdependence between the physical, mental and social factors of humans’ workloads is becoming more and more complex. Therefore, approved empirical methods in human factors and ergonomics exhaust their capacities more frequently. ‘Augmented Ergonomics’ enables us to overcome these methodological limitations: on the one hand through a holistic systemic approach based on sociological and psychological theories and on the other hand by augmenting our access to empirical data by expanding the repertoire of empirical methods through digital technologies such as motion capturing and eye tracking. A sociologically and psychologically based systemic approach, which can be applied on all levels from the global to the micro level, forms the study’s theoretical framework for analysing all kinds of jobs.