Ergonomics in the development and implementation of organisational strategy for sustainability

Abstract

This is the first phase of an ergonomics study of sustainability in a rail organisation, particularly environmental sustainability. The main emphasis has been on the use of a qualitative approach to carry out in-depth consultation with those in influential and policy setting roles in the organisation, collecting and analysing perceptions on sustainability policy and related business processes. The study identified factors affecting implementation of policy on sustainability and these have been developed to produce a list of requirements for implementing the policy. The findings are valuable in understanding the range of attitudes, aspirations and perceived constraints, from the perspective of those in senior roles in the company, and development of a sustainability strategy for a rail infrastructure owner. There is need for wider consultation, both within the organisation and externally, to validate and refine the understanding of barriers to the implementation of the policy. The role of ergonomics in supporting the work on sustainability is discussed.

Practitioner Summary: The study collects in-depth views from senior managers on the challenges of implementing a policy on sustainability in a rail organisation. Outputs include a list of factors affecting implementation of policy and requirements for better implementation of policy in this area. Potential contributions of ergonomics to sustainability in organisational contexts are discussed.

Keywords:

• transport ergonomics
• environmental sustainability
• systems ergonomics
• ergonomics tools and methods
• organisational change

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Network Rail for their funding of this project and we are grateful for the collaboration and support of members of the Environmental Policy Team during the work in the project. We would also like to thank all of the staff who gave their time and shared their views as part of this research.