ISO/TC 159/SC 1 - General ergonomics principles

This document is intended to be used within organizations that embrace and intend to implement the principles of human centredness outlined in ISO 27500. This document is intended to provide requirements and recommendations on the human factors and ergonomics approach to achieving a successful and sustainable human-centred organization. It outlines managers' responsibilities ranging from organizational strategy to development of procedures and processes enabling human centredness, and the implementation of those procedures and processes. This document provides requirements and recommendations for managers and the actions to be taken in order for an organization to achieve human centredness. This document can be used: a) by managers to understand and improve human-centred aspects of their activities; b) by managers to identify how their staff can improve human-centred aspects of their activities; c) to provide a basis for training managers how to be human-centred; d) to provide a basis for organizations to evaluate the performance of managers. It is not a management systems standard. Nor is it intended to prevent the development of standards that are more specific or more demanding.

ISO 10075-1:2017 defines terms in the field of mental workload, covering mental stress and mental strain, and short- and long-term, positive and negative consequences of mental strain. It also specifies the relations between these concepts involved. In this document, mental workload is regarded as an umbrella or generic term, referring to all the concepts and constructs mentioned in the document and does not have a specified or standardized meaning of its own within the document. This is consistent with the use of the term in ergonomics and its applications, where it can refer to mental stress, mental strain and their effects, i.e. both to the causes and the effects. In this document, the term mental workload will thus not be treated as a technical term but only as a reference to the domain of mental workload. NOTE Annex A gives additional explanations of terms and concepts. ISO 10075-1:2017 applies to the design of working conditions with respect to mental workload and is intended to promote a common usage of terminology between experts and practitioners in the field of ergonomics as well as in general. ISO 10075-1:2017 does not address methods of measurement and principles of task design, which are dealt with in ISO 10075‑2 and ISO 10075‑3.

ISO 6385:2016 establishes the fundamental principles of ergonomics as basic guidelines for the design of work systems and defines relevant basic terms. It describes an integrated approach to the design of work systems, where ergonomists will cooperate with others involved in the design, with attention to the human, the social and the technical requirements in a balanced manner during the design process. Users of this International Standard will include executives, managers, workers (and their representatives, when appropriate) and professionals, such as ergonomists, project managers and designers who are involved in the design or redesign of work systems. Those who use this International Standard can find a general knowledge of ergonomics (human factors), engineering, design, quality and project management helpful. The term "work system" in this International Standard is used to indicate a large variety of working situations, including permanent and flexible work places. The intention of this International Standard is to assist in the improvement, (re)design or change of work systems. Work systems involve combinations of workers and equipment, within a given space and environment, and the interactions between these components within a work organization. Work systems vary in complexity and characteristics, for example, the use of temporary work systems. Some examples of work systems in different areas are the following: - production, e.g. machine operator and machine, worker and assembly line; - transportation, e.g. driver and car or lorry, personnel in an airport; - support, e.g. maintenance technician with work equipment; - commercial, e.g. office worker with workstation, mobile worker with a tablet computer, cook in a restaurant kitchen; - other areas like health care, teaching and training. The observance of ergonomic principles applies to all phases throughout the life cycle of the work system from conception through development, realization and implementation, utilization, maintenance and support to decommissioning. The systems approach in this International Standard gives guidance to the users of this International Standard in existing and new situations. The definitions and ergonomic principles specified in this International Standard apply to the design of optimal working conditions with regard to human well-being, safety and health, including the development of existing skills and the acquisition of new ones, while taking into account technological and economic effectiveness and efficiency. The principles in this International Standard are applicable to many other human activities, e.g. in the design of products for domestic and leisure activities. A more general description of the principles in this International Standard can be found in ISO 26800.

ISO 27500:2016 is intended for executive board members and policy makers of all types of organizations (whether large or small) in the private, public and non-profit sectors. It describes the values and beliefs that make an organization human-centred, the significant business benefits that can be achieved, and explains the risks for the organization of not being human-centred. It provides recommendations for the policies that executive board members need to implement to achieve this. It sets out high-level human-centred principles for executive board members to endorse in order to optimize performance, minimize risks to organizations and individuals, maximize well-being in their organization, and enhance their relationships with the customers. The importance of organizational policy to address human-centredness is emphasized. ISO 27500:2016 is not a management system standard. It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or regulatory or contractual use. ISO 27500:2016 is not intended to prevent the development of national standards that are more specific or demanding.

ISO 26800:2011 presents the general ergonomics approach and specifies basic ergonomics principles and concepts. These are applicable to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, tools, equipment, systems, organizations, services, facilities and environments, in order to make them compatible with the characteristics, the needs and values, and the abilities and limitations of people. The provisions and guidance given by ISO 26800:2011 are intended to improve the safety, performance, effectiveness, efficiency, reliability, availability and maintainability of the design outcome throughout its life cycle, while safeguarding and enhancing the health, well-being and satisfaction of those involved or affected. The intended users of ISO 26800:2011 are designers, ergonomists and project managers, as well as managers, workers, consumers (or their representatives) and procurers. It also serves as a reference standard for standards developers dealing with ergonomics aspects.

ISO 20282-1:2006 provides requirements and recommendations for the design of easy-to-operate everyday products, where ease of operation addresses a subset of the concept of usability concerned with the user interface by taking account of the relevant user characteristics and the context of use. ISO 20282-1:2006 is intended to be used in the development of everyday products, for which it defines ease of operation, explains which aspects of the context of use are relevant, and describes the characteristics of the intended user population that may influence usability. The intended users of this part of ISO 20282-1:2006 are usability specialists, ergonomists, product designers, interaction designers, product manufacturers and others involved in the design and development of everyday products. ISO 20282-1:2006 is applicable to mechanical and/or electrical products with an interface that a user can operate directly or remotely to gain access to the functions provided. These products fall into at least one of the following categories: consumer products intended for some or all of the general public which are bought, rented or used, and which may be owned by individuals, public organizations, or private companies; consumer products intended to be acquired and used by an individual for personal rather than professional use (e.g. alarm clocks, electric kettles, telephones, electric drills); walk-up-and-use products that provide a service to the general public (such as ticket-vending machines, photocopying machines, fitness equipment); products used in a work environment, but not as part of professional activities (e.g. a coffee machine in an office); products including software that supports the main goals of use of the product (e.g. a CD player). This part of ISO 20282 is not applicable to the following: purely physical products without an interactive user interface (such as a jug or a hammer); products where appearance or fashion is the main goal (such as a watch with no markings); products requiring specialist training, specific skills and/or professional knowledge (such as a musical instrument or a car); standalone software products; products intended to be used for professional activities only.

ISO 10075-3:2004 establishes principles and requirements for the measurement and assessment of mental workload and specifies the requirements for measurement instruments. ISO 10075-3:2004 provides information for choosing appropriate methods and provides information on aspects of assessing and measuring mental workload to improve communication among the parties involved. ISO 10075-3:2004 is intended for use mainly by ergonomic experts, for example, psychologists, occupational health specialists, and/or physiologists, with appropriate training in the theoretical background and usage of such methods, as well as in the interpretation of the results. They will find the information needed when developing or evaluating methods of mental-workload assessment.

Gives guidance on the design of work systems, including task and equipment and design of the workplace, as well as working conditions. Relates to the adequate design of work and use of human capacities.

ISO 6385:2004 establishes the fundamental principles of ergonomics as basic guidelines for the design of work systems and defines relevant basic terms. It describes an integrated approach to the design of work systems, where ergonomists will cooperate with others involved in the design, with attention to the human, the social and the technical requirements in a balanced manner during the design process. While the principles in ISO 6385:2004 are oriented to the design of work systems, they are applicable to any field of human activity, e.g. in the design of products for domestic and leisure activities.

This Standard represents an extension of ISO 6385, Subclauses 3.7 to 3.9, describing terms and definitions in more detail. Annex A forms an integral part of this standard.