Even organizations can be ergonomically designed

SANTA MONICA, CA: The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society is proud to announce publication of Macroergonomics: Introduction to Work System Design by Hal W. Hendrick and Brian M. Kleiner. Macroergonomics, a subdiscipline of human factors/ergonomics (HF/E), arose out of the realization by HF/E professionals that "it was entirely possible to do an outstanding job of ergonomically designing a system's components, modules, and subsystems but fail to reach relevant systems effectiveness goals because of inattention to the macro-ergonomic design of the overall work system." Tragic examples that might be attributed to this kind of failure include the disasters at the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl nuclear power plants and the Bhopal chemical plant.

This book describes the historical development and description of macroergonomics, its major theoretical constructs, the most commonly used methods and tools, some illustrative laboratory research, case studies that provide validation of its constructs, and some work-in- progress and developmental trends.

Hal W. Hendrick, emeritus professor of human factors at the University of Southern California and principal of Hendrick and Associates, conceptualized and initiated the subdiscipline of macroergonomics. Brian M. Kleiner, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at Virginia Tech and director of its Macroergonomics and Group Decision Systems Laboratory and the Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics Center, is an active researcher, teacher, and scholar in the area of macroergonomics.

To obtain a review copy, contact Lois Smith at 310-394-1811.

HFES is a multidisciplinary professional organization of 5000 persons in the United States and throughout the world. Members include psychologists, engineers, designers, and scientists, all of whom have a common interest in designing systems, tools, consumer products, and equipment to be safe and effective for the people who operate and maintain them.