Carolina Souza da Conceição

Intermediary objects in the workspace design process: means of experience transfer in the offshore sector

The aim of this paper is to discuss the use of intermediary objects in the workspace design process of offshore accommodations module. The integration of ergonomics in the design process can lead to better work conditions, more effectiveness in the work process and less health and safety issues. Moreover, it is more efficient in terms of cost if ergonomics is considered from the initial phases of the project, as the potential costs of the redesign, the possible losses and the down-time in the operation of the platform would be more increased. The goal, then, is to discuss the integration of ergonomics and users involvement in the design process of accommodations modules, focusing on the transfer of information from reference situations by the use of intermediary objects during the process. In this paper we will present two tools developed to be used as intermediary object(s) aiming at transferring the experience from the use to the design in the specific field of offshore accommodations module.

A Framework of Participatory Ergonomics Simulation

The aim of this paper is to develop a framework of participatory ergonomics simulation (PES). The framework is targeting researchers and practitioners and offers a six-phase model for analyzing, planning and executing PES based intervention in architectural and engineering design projects. The framework was developed based on analyzing seven PES projects that all were aimed at integrating ergonomics into design projects. The proposed framework includes six phases: contextual knowledge, simulation aim, simulation design, prototyping, simulation session, and simulation outcome. In each phase a number of elements to consider are listed. Based on the framework a number of research needs are identified.

Simulation in Diagnosing and Redesigning Knowledge Transfer Systems in the Offshore Oil Industry

How can simulations help diagnosing and redesigning knowledge transfer (KT) systems? This paper addresses this research question and discusses how simulations carried out over a set of workshops helped diagnosing and redesigning KT from operations to engineering design in a study involving an offshore oil company. During three simulation activities, end-users participated in a multi-voiced diagnosis of KT challenges and in a cross-organizational development of new solutions for KT systems. The participatory and interactive approach on the workshops brought participants of different professional worlds together to discuss and negotiate the possible solutions for improving the existing KT from offshore rigs’ operation to onshore engineering design of new rigs. Participatory simulations helped (1) validating a conceptual model for KT from operations to engineering design and (2) developing a set of requirements for redesigning these KT systems. The outcome was a KT model based on the main challenges and presenting practical solutions to face them.

Workspace Lab: Planning Participatory Design

Can a participatory process help planning workspace participatory design? In this paper, we address this opportunity by presenting a toolkit developed with this purpose. This toolkit suggests creating a temporary and hypothetical environment called Workspace Lab, aiming at bringing up design dialogues into focus and giving insights on how to stage them, while bridging the gap of merging user involvement with the well-defined design work-practice. The Workspace Lab toolkit was gradually built during a research project, including three participatory workshops emphasizing joint exploration of both format and content by designers, who are the main intended users of this “laboratory” together with ergonomists, human factors specialists and other design stakeholders. The result was a flexible material that helps designers building a participatory process specifically for each project. The Workspace Lab toolkit contains not only suggestions of participatory methods that can be used during workspace design, but also brings in possibilities for planning the whole participatory process while discussing the different possibilities.