The International Ergonomics Association: its first 30 years

Abstract

The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) was founded in 1959 as a product of the European Productivity Agency, a branch of the Organization for European Economic Cooperation. Its original objectives were to study human work and to apply those findings in industry. Since then ergonomics has enjoyed impressive growth. Two technological events that have contributed greatly to the development of ergonomics have been our entry into the space age and the computer revolution. Ergonomic literature during the last 30 years has grown from a trickle to a flood. We have also seen a crystallization of our objectives and the translation of our research findings into guidelines and standards for design. A comparison of the proceedings of the first with those of the 10th International Ergonomic Congress shows that ergonomics has greatly expanded its field of interest to include the full range of human activities, for people everywhere on the Earth, wherever those activities interact with any of the products of our technological civilization and the environments in which we live.

Keywords:

• International Ergonomics Association
• Space flight
• Computers
• Work.