Alessandra Re

Measuring the effects of visual demand on lateral deviation: a comparison among driver's performance indicators.

In this study we compare the efficacy of three drivers performance indicators based on lateral deviation in detecting significant on-road performance degradations while interacting with a secondary task: the High Frequency Component of steering wheel (HFC), and two indicators described in ISO/DIS 26022 (2007): the Normative and the Adapted Lane Change Test (LCT). Sixteen participants were asked to perform a simulated lane-change task while interacting, when required, with a visual search task with two levels of difficulty. According to predictions, results showed that the Adapted LCT indicator, taking into consideration individual practices in performing the LCT, succeeded in discriminating between single and dual task conditions. Furthermore, this indicator was also able to detect whether the driver was interacting with an easy or a difficult secondary task. Despite predictions, results did not confirm Normative LCT and HFC to be reliable indicators of performance degradation within the simulated LCT.

From cognitive reliability to competence? An evolving approach to human factors and safety

When reviewing the research path of an author, we are inevitably influenced by our own background and approach. Tracing back the converging and diverging assumptions of the authors with respect to Erik Hollnagel’s research path, the paper focuses on the evolution of cognitive psychology as resulting from an original distinction between two models of human cognition: the first one more in line with the behaviourist tradition and the latter with the cybernetic and ecological approach. The former, which becomes dominant in the development of cognitive psychology, marginalizes some aspects that prove crucial in the latter. The concepts of anticipation and of intentional behaviour, together with the notion of variability of normal performance, are traditionally part of the cybernetic and ecological approach to cognitive psychology. These concepts have also been central in the development of the ergonomic analysis of work activities. Throughout the Resilience Engineering perspective, the two models of human cognition are brought closer, while the concept of competence is sketched as a possible mediator to a “positive” approach to Human Factors and Safety.

Foot Digitalization to Enhance Shoe Comfort

E R G O N O M I C S I N D E S I G N • S P R I N G 2 0 0 8 C op yr ig ht 2 00 8 by H um an F ac to rs a nd E rg on om ic s So ci et y, In c. A ll ri gh ts r es er ve d. D O I 1 0. 15 18 /1 06 48 04 08 X 31 34 44 he Italian footwear industry is prestigious from both an economic and a fashion perspective, as evidenced by decades of renowned haute-couture and prêt-à-porter fashion brands. Until 2002, Italy was the world’s largest footwear exporter, but the emergence of industries in the Far East – above all, China – has changed the statistics. In 2005, the Italian footwear industry consisted of about 7,000 companies with more than 100,000 employees. Italy is now the fourth-largest exporter (298 million pair/year, vs. China’s 502 billion pair/ year, Hong Kong’s 743 million pair/year, and Vietnam’s 393 million pair/year). The commercial value of Italian footwear exports amounts to approximately 6 billion Euros (Osservatorio Calzaturiero Veronese, 2005). As a result of this shift in footware production centers to Far Eastern countries, although it has preserved its important position in the worldwide context, Italy has begun to develop new research and development initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of its footwear products in terms of materials, design, and usability. In this article, we describe a recent measurement campaign that was performed in Italy aimed at gathering and analyzing psychological and psychophysiological variables in order to improve the fit of shoes and, therefore, user satisfaction.

How to Integrate Languages on Safety: A Participatory Information System to Improve Risk Management

The chapter presents a participatory method to develop an information system on occupational risk. Sharp-end operators, who constantly deal with unplanned interactions occurring within the socio-technical work system, accumulate a specific experience, centred on risk scenarios rather than on risk factors.

Ergonomia e organizzazione: un connubio percepito dalle imprese?

By presenting the results of the project Models for Ergonomics Management and Safety in the Workplace on the ergonomics needs expressed by Piedmonts’ enterprises, the article retraces the development of Ergonomics in Italy, the domains of application and the open challenges in the organizational area. Ergonomics is characterized by strong interdisciplinary and a design-driven approach, aimed at the optimization of the human well-being and overall life and work systems performance. Due to a lacking tradition of ergonomic studies in Italy, the research documents how the perceived need, and therefore the demand, are essentially shaped by vigilance committees requirements, principally oriented to physical ergonomics measures, rather than a perception of the advantages offered by the discipline, in its different application areas. Nel presentare i risultati del progetto Modelli per la Gestione dell’Ergonomia per la Sicurezza sui Luoghi di Lavoro, l’articolo analizza il fabbisogno ergonomico espresso dalle imprese piemontesi e ripercorre lo sviluppo dell’Ergonomia in Italia, i campi di applicazione e le sfide ancora aperte in ambito organizzativo. L’Ergonomia e caratterizzata da una forte interdisciplinarita e progettualita finalizzata all’ottimizzazione del benessere umano e della performance globale dei sistemi di vita e di lavoro. Considerando la diffusione ancora limitata del sapere ergonomico in Italia, la ricerca documenta come il fabbisogno percepito, e quindi la domanda, risultino sollecitati piu dall’azione degli organi di vigilanza, prioritariamente attenti ad aspetti di ergonomia fisica, che dalla percezione dei vantaggi offerti dalla disciplina, nelle diverse aree di applicazione

The elicitation of common cognitive referents to leverage organizational change

This paper presents a method to work analysis able to leverage organizational change by the elicitation of a multi-prospective object, a common cognitive referent, shared by all the actors and functions operating in the work system. The focus of the action moves from the acquisition of reflexivity by a single operator, or within the same group of operators, to the study of the interfaces between groups in the work system of reference. Research approach -- The case study method was the research strategy used to collect in-depth data, support data convergence and findings analytical generalization. In the design, an embedded single-case study was applied, with the involvement of three different subunits of analysis. The case was a Hospital specialized in infectious diseases. Findings/Design -- The results proposed work systems analysis presented with infographics with evidence of the relations and interdependencies between sub-systems and the possible flaws that may affect the system performance. Originality/Value -- The research makes a contribution to the way to visualize leverages for change in complex socio-technical systems. Take away message -- A visual explanation of how a work system functions and where it can be improved will support the operators themselves to promote organizational change.

Sicurezza e gestione del rischio nel porto di Genova: un approccio ergonomico all’analisi del servizio di pilotaggio

La ricerca affronta il tema della sicurezza e della gestione dei fattori di rischio insiti nel servizio di pilotaggio svolto dalla Corporazione Piloti del porto di Genova. E stato condotto uno studio di caso, attraverso la raccolta di tre fonti di prova: analisi di documenti tecnici e procedurali, interviste strutturate sulla traccia della Critical Incident Technique; osservazione. Sono stati descritti 53 eventi critici, successivamente analizzati e categorizzati, secondo il modello SHELL, in rischi ambientali, procedurali, strumentali e relazionali. I risultati mettono in evidenza le piu rilevanti situazioni critiche presenti nell’attivita di pilotaggio e le strategie, formali e informali, di gestione dei fattori di rischio, insieme a possibili interventi migliorativi di immediata applicazione o a piu ampio respiro.