الوقاية والأرغنوميا
Volume 8, Numéro 1, Pages 8-24
2014-11-15
Ergonomics Of Developing Countries: The State Of The Art And Future Prospects
Authors : Abeysekera John .
Abstract
It is estimated that ¾ of the world’s population live and work in Developing Countries which account for 134 countries in Africa, Latin America, Middle East and Asia (Shahnavaz. H, and Abeysekera JDA, 1991). But it is believed that only one quarter of the world’s economic resources are available to be used by developing countries. This is definitely an unfair distribution of world funding. The population explosion in Industrially Developing Countries (IDCs) have brought with it enormous problems to the inhabitants of IDCs. The rate of accidents is believed to be 10 times that of Industrialized Countries (ICs). Other specific problems in IDCs observed in studies conducted by human scientists have been high prevalence of occupational illnesses, high wastage and losses in industry, low quality of working life, low incomes, inefficiency and low productivity. A new science born in 1940s called Ergonomics and currently known as Human Factors and Ergonomics (HFE) which has been successfully used in technology development in ICs is believed to provide effective solutions to the specific problems confronted in IDCs today. In simple terms HFE is a science that fits the job and work environment to the characteristics of the human worker. The scope and approach of ergonomics do not differ between ICs and IDCs. But there are large differences in how ergonomics is applied in IDCs when compared to ICs. Unfortunately, the practice of HFE is still in its infancy in IDCs. Most people in IDCs are unaware of this new science due to the lack of educational facilities in schools and universities and the inadequate exposure of this new discipline in industry and among the general public. IDCs striving to leapfrog in development process are depending on ICs in adopting modern technology. Past studies have shown that IDCs have been confronted with many problems in the use of IC technology in its raw form. Therefore, it is recommended that the transferred technology including the ergonomic knowhow obtained from ICs has to be adapted to the conditions, environments and people of IDCs prior to use. This area needs to be adequately researched. ICs today depend very much on cheap labour, raw materials and marketing, on IDCs. Unless ICs also take a keen interest in introducing and promoting HFE in IDCs it is warned that problems in IDCs can boomerang on ICs development and hi-tech activity. However, a positive trend observed recently in IDCs is the great urge and interest to learn, practice and apply HFE in industry and in other diverse activities. A case study from Sri Lanka (a typical IDC) is described in this paper to illustrate the steps followed in the development process and in the application of HFE.
Keywords
IDCs, Human Factor Ergonomics, Technology transfer
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