National Ergonomics Month

National Ergonomics Month Is Here!
By Raegan M. Hoeft, NEM Committee Chair

     October is here, and that means it's National Ergonomics Month (NEM)- now in its seventh year! Have you participated in NEM events in the past? If not, there's no time like the present to get started.

     For those of us who are truly passionate about HF/E, the field is like our child, and it's growing up right before our eyes. We are proud of its achievements, we learn from our collective mistakes, and we are molding it for a lifetime of success. NEM provides us with the opportunity to speak about HF/E to those who are not familiar with it and to exchange stories with others with similar experiences. So will you take the plunge?

     The slogan for NEM is "A Time for Teaching, Learning, Networking, Service, and Fun!" That encompasses quite a bit, but at the same time, it leaves the door wide open for you to plan any type of event, in any location, with any type of audience that you want to reach to spread the word about the human factors/ergonomics field. In fact, the event need not even be exclusively HF/E themed in order to promote the field.

     Over the last seven years there have been some unique and creative ideas for NEM activities:

• Ron Shapiro created a presentation called "Games to Explain Human Factors: Come Participate, Learn, and Have Fun!!!" which includes interactive games for students of all ages (available for use via the NEM Web site).
• Marc Resnick has used popular music as a means for teaching HF/E principles (Resnick, 2008).
• A number of researchers have employed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a means for teaching HF/E principles (see Coyle & Vaughn, 2008).
• Jennifer Dyck used designs of EXIT signs for teaching HF/E principles (Dyck, 2007).
• Tracey Wortham adapted common games, such as Pictionary and Jeopardy, into HF/E teaching tools (Wortham, 2006).

     Even prior to the inception of NEM, HFES had a panel session on how cartoons such as Dilbert and The Far Side demonstrate basic HF/E principles (Caird et al., 2001).

     In the coming months, these and other articles will be accessible via the NEM Web site's Related Articles page. Perhaps these ideas will inspire you for 2009 NEM and beyond!

Think You're Too Busy for NEM?

     We recognize that the fall is the busiest time of the year for many people, but we urge you to consider two important things related to NEM.

     First, NEM is simply the annual kickoff for outreach events. This means that outreach efforts can occur throughout the year. For example, this past July, the HFES University of Massachusetts - Lowell Student Chapter completed its "Community Charlas" activities, which focused on spreading occupational ergonomics awareness among Hispanic workers. This event won second place in the 2008 NEM Best Action Plan Contest.

     Second, no effort is too small when it comes to outreach events. To have an impact, you do not have to plan a huge, all-day event that will draw hundreds of people. Small-scale, inexpensive, easily organized activities can be used to promote HF/E, such as guest lectures in introductory psychology or engineering courses, a career-day session at a local middle or high school, or even a bad design or an HF/E-inspired cartoon outside your office or cubicle!

Upcoming Events

     The NEM Web site lists upcoming events for 2009. We encourage you to submit your upcoming events for posting on this list. The benefits to posting your upcoming events include public awareness, possible collaboration with those planning other events, and inspiration for others to conduct their own outreach events.

NEM at the 2009 Annual Meeting

     The HFES Annual Meeting is also an excellent place to participate in NEM activities. This year, Steven Casey, author of Set Phasers on Stun and The Atomic Chef and former chair of the HFES Public Relations Committee, will be speaking at the NEM Session on Monday, October 19, about his experiences over the years with outreach activities. His talk is entitled "'The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly' in the Promotion of Ergonomics ...With Sincere Apologies to Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood." Be sure to attend the NEM session on Monday from 4:45 to 6:15 p.m. to hear Steve's talk, find out the results of this year's NEM Best Action Plan and Implementation Plan contests, and participate in some interactive games.

     Remember, too, to consider all the components of the NEM slogan during your trip to San Antonio. Coming together with your HF/E colleagues affords you the opportunity to teach, to learn, to network, to volunteer your services, and to have fun. Outreach applies to our internal community as well as those outside the HF/E realm. There are unlimited opportunities to network during the Annual Meeting, in planned and impromptu networking sessions, business meetings, and even in hallways and elevators!

     Embrace all possible opportunities to promote HF/E, during NEM or anytime of the year. And, of course, have fun doing it!

References

Caird, J., Ward, N., Scallen, S., Davies, J., Hancock, P., & Woods, D. (2001). Why does Dilbert, the Far Side, and other cartoons convey essential truths about human factors and ergonomics? In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 45th Annual Meeting, (pp. 783-783).

Coyle, C., & Vaughn, H.(2008). Making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches: Do students from different disciplines approach this exercise differently? In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 52nd Annual Meeting, (pp. 624-628).

Dyck, J.(2007). Teaching human factors principles through design of an EXIT sign. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 51st Annual Meeting, (pp. 1168-1170).

Resnick, M. (2008). Teaching human factors through popular music: A series of human information processing demonstrations. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 52nd Annual Meeting, (pp. 629-633).

Wortham, T. (2006) Adapting common popular games to a human factors/ergonomics course. In Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 50th Annual Meeting, (pp. 2259-2263).

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