Applied Ergonomics 1q72, 3.2, 92-96

The application of ergonomics to developing countries Dennis Thompson

Institute for Consumer Ergonomics, and Deoartment of Ergonomics and Cybernetics, University of Technology. Loughborough, Leicestershire

Ergonomics is a science that can be applied throughout the technological continuum. Although the ergonomist has usually been involved in identifying and solving problems introduced by technological advances in industrial societies, a vast field for his specialist skills also exists in developing countries. Current literature on ergonomics and its application to developing countries is reviewed. areas where help can be given are identified, and means by which this can be brought about are proposed.

To date, the major efforts of ergonomists and human factors specialists have been directed towards aerospace, military and industrial topics and man's place in the increasingly complex designs of modern technology. A no less rewarding tield of study at the opposite end of the techno- logical continuum, though one that has not received the same attention to any depth by ergonomists, is that of the developing countries.

It is perhaps natural that ergonomists are to be found intimately connected with rapidly advancing technology: tt is an area of exciting challenge and one perhaps best fitted for the traditionally trained ergonomist. The fall.~)ut of knowledge is of considerable value as is its associated hardware; for example, one can instance the reduction in the size of transducers brought about by space research. However, the problems of the under-developed countries are no less challenging and the field no less wide. Whereas research requires intensive specialisatlon within narrow fields, an;,' but a cursory survey of developing countries will reveal a need to extend the ergonomist's disciplines. As Lippert (1968) states, "it will require a broadening of our traditional horizons to include an awareness of the cultural, social and economic contexts m which man performs work".

Whether this will provide a separate sub-class for ergo. nomists or whether, through its study, the~, come to reallse the importance of hitherto ignored environmental parameters remains to be seen.

Approach to the problem of aid - general considerations

(;lven that many countries are under-developed and have a multitude of factors militating against progress. how can help best beglven? ls there a simple answer that can be apphed universally and therefore indicates the need to~ centralised research, or is the problem more diverse °

Van Coil and Spector (I t,~68)writing on the need tot achievement sa~, "The impact of contact by non-

mdustrtahsed nauons with mdustrmhsed nations has created an awareness that it is possible to live differently. This reali~tion Ires aroused a profound desire by great masses of people to change the pattern of their existence to seek the material benefits that come from an industria- lised economy" . The desire for material prosperity is sell evident. The means by which it can be brought about by Government are not, and their difficulty can be most appreciated if one considers the historic background that all too often is common to under-developed countries.

Traditionally many of these countries have exported their raw materials directly to the industritdit~d nations; local labour being trained and utilised to the level required for the manual tasks involved in extraction. Technological advances, instead of increasing the need for local labour have de- creased it, as the unskilled and semi-skilled element has been replaced by machinery. However, as the skills needed It) operate complex apparatus have also increased; to achieve the maximum economical utilisation, labour to perform these tasks is often recruited externally, thus further depressing the training facilities and oplx~rtunities for k~cal lab~)ur. Unless the country is to remain solel3, a supplier of raw materials, its future prospenty lies in the training and utilization of its manp~wer. Therefore. before any long term planning can be undertaken, the availa- bilit> and state of training t)f the local labour force must be investigated, and their level of skill development anti suitability for retraining ascertained. However, before an~ development programme ts instituted it is ttn~)rtant tq, consider the underlying factors associated with change. as frequently these may be the determinant of succes,;

Change and its implications Since labour retraining may become an i.qlpottatH pa~:

of any development programme, tt ts important that the resultant technical and social restructuring envisaged be studied lit depth. When all the constituent elements Jtc considered, it may be [eahsed that change pet so. especially, of the sweeping variety, may m fact achieve

92 Applied Ergonomics June 1977

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can be demorlstrated to tile learner that the new habit is more rewarding. Stated m the terms of the psychologist by Vail Colt and Spector (op.cit .) : "A proposi t ion underlying human learning is that the learner must be motivated to learn to change his behav|our" .

Another prerequisite to social change is information. A problem of considerable importance arises therefore m tile selection of the types of information and tile media for its dissemination to individuals and non-industrial communities, together with the measurement of ~ts efficacy: a further field for ergononl|C research.

Fig 1 The traditional methodot transporting loads

the opposite iesults f r om those planned. It Is therefore, lnlportant to construct a profit and loss account tot each i|ew plopos.al, that Is, who will gain and who wdl lose by tile change. To take a simple example: in a road expansion scheme certain footpaths arc to be converted to Jeep tracks. On tile surface this might be accepted as a sHnple change b| |nging with it the numerous advantages of improved communicat ions to tile areas they will serve. llowever, in the past all loads were man-handled by c,lrr|ers from local villages ( Fig 1 ) and therefore, as tilt." villagers lack the necessary capital and skdls to operate road transport , lhe~, v.ill lose one of their few opportunit ies loi earning hard currency. I(ven in cases where a group is small and ot low prestige, ii iS unwise to ignore it : such gloups will be dlSpltvileged and will folnl a snlall, even if ;it present ineflectual, island of disaffection in tile society.

hl /lIl} ptograrnrl le , therefore, it is as well It) search Col tile elements that will resist change: iecognltlon of their case and steps to alleviate their situation will m tile long run produce a n|ore healthy adaptlon of tile societ}.

t:xamples like tile one given are usually simple to deal ~,t.lth b i l l . ,IS arl} o n e developlnent schenle may c o n t a i n

llUlllerous hulnan ielatlons problems of varying complexlt}, it is essential tOl the elgonolnlst to include social tactofs in his planning Sltld\

Education as an agent of change Whole ,:h;lng¢ affects a hlfye pa|l oI the population.

cdt,c;itlOi|al programmes must t'w2 designed to Ieach the p~>pulaIloll bt~th directly and Ir:dtlectl',. Ill this connectlOfl Wt= Calll1Ol ~.'\I"W~'~ ;Ill old .,'tlS[Cqll l,,'t be Stl["lpl;,lllled t l l l ]eSs it

Development through i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n

hldustrialisation ts seen by many superficial reviewers as the main need for developing countries, l lowever, this brings in its train many problems revolving a mult | tude ol factors, all of which must be taken into account before any final plan can be executed. Many of these problems offer research fields for the ergonomist.

Economic and .social factors Tile industrial development of an emerging country

generally begins around,i ts large cities, especially around tile ports It" tile country has an existing trade of exporting raw m;lterials. As a result, rural areas with txmr communi- cations tend to lose their work force as it moves to the city to seek employment . Of course, there are never enough jobs even in the big clues, and so the number of people coming to tile eli} to ~,ork far exceeds those who can be gainfully enlplo) ed. Tile result is usually a slum, as a disproport ionate percentage of tile populatmn struggle tot a hying. Examples are all too common in an;" develop- lng country. Solutions to this problem should involve the ergonomlSt : in both tile following examples t'us skills are needed.

Choice of industrial method W e s t e r n t e c h l l o l o g 3 is c o n c e r n e d w i t h ina x l n l U m e c o -

n o m i c ol.11put : t h i s o f t e n i n v o l v e s i n t e n s i v e a u t o m a t i o n t o

optmllse a minimum labour force or use of labour. Tile very opposite IS required m developing countries with severe unemployment arid under-employment , where it is <teslr,ible to use the maximum anlount of labour and still make tile lndust U econom|cally viable. A Slnlple example troln the budding |ndust |y will serve to illustrate tills point: should one b u y a mechanfca lconcre temlxer o~ use hand labour? ~ l t h only efficiency in mind. tile tormet would be the obvious choice, bnven adequate skilled labour and ma|ntenance facilities. }lowever. Col maximum enlploy. ment the latter tmght be chosen.

The same basic pllncfple can be ;lpphed tll toughout fndustlial of:,eratmns with an addit |o | lal factor of desl |ed output also being considered.

T h e i n a l l l l t a c l u f e o f c e n l e l l t c a n provide a l l e x a n l p l e o f

I hc edOllOll l lCS I l l ; i t leM.llI l r o l n d lUdlcI tHlS design ; l i d

choice ot scale, l 'rankel ( I q6~ i shows that. Iol :.1 small fnalket, the oldeu type ot (,ernl,ln ,,ett=cal-stack kllu| ['~lOdllCft,t',I/ m e t h o d IS p r e l e r a b l e t o tilt" large! l r l o r c I n o t l e r n

A l l l e r l c a l l i o t a l ' v k l l l l [~ De t:,l c e m C l l l l l l a l l u t a c l t l l c , which iches oli c;islJ 3 access=iqc Illalkels tt~ acdtllllllltldalc fhe hl~l otll pli!.

Applied Ergonomics June 1972 93

Industrial development in rural areas One way of preventing population drift is to promote

rural industrialisation, which will provide opportunities for employment of the people in the region and at the same time provide a means of generating surplus capital so that the procedure can be continued. Frankel (op. cit.) gives details of the work of interdisciplinary teams from American universities making feasibility studies and later introducing industry to rural areas in South America.

it is perhaps as well to take note of political influences in rural programmes, where government is elected on a tribal or racial majority, the areas in which first development is allowed to take place will be the area containing the majority of its supporters, a factor often militating against the maximum utility of natural resources which may be m other areas.

Natural r e s o u r c e s a s a bas i s of industrialimtion We have seen that in the past developing countries have

exported their natural resources, minerals, timber etc, directly to industrial countries, carrying on little of the pro- cessing of the raw material themselves, local labour being used only in the extraction processes. Where ownership of the local material is in the hands of relatively few, its direct export, though influencing the economic statistics and GDP of a country, does not always accurately reflect the distribution of the attendant wealth.

Choice of location When one considers the relative merits of centrali-

sation and decentralisation of industry, there are many arguments to show why highly centralised industries are better augmenters of national wealth than widely distributed small industries (Frankel, op. cir.). On the other hand, if one considers the cost of running a slum and it one also includes the economics of the under-developed regions, it may turn out that from a broader view indus- trial development has to be balanced between rural and urban programmes. When the social costs of a slum are considered, including the risks to health of others and the adverse publicity attracted, it will often turn out cheaper for governments simply to set up development programmes m rural areas to hold the people there.

The ergonomi~'= role in choice of manufacturing technology and labour t ra in ing

Sufficient background has now been given to realise that the introduction of industrialisation to a developing country ts not simply a matter of importing plant from western tech- nology with little or no modification. It is in the projected design and modification of equipment to meet local requirements and man-power outputs that the ergonomist can play a vital role. With his professional knowledge, together with an acquired awareness of local conditions, he should be able to forecast likely areas of difficulty in man- machine, social and environmental interaction m proposed operations.

Where local skills already exast, it may be possible to adjust production techniques to incorporate these whilst gradual retraining takes place by more sophisticated methods. Variations in workplace layout should also be

studied. Tichauer (1963)ci tes the variations between Indo- nesian and Australian workers engaged on similar packing tasks. Indian workers will often rather squat or sit cross- legged than stand or sit, and have been observed squatting on seats and even on a lathe saddle whilst the machine cuts (Corlett, 1968 .see Fig 2). But, as can be observed, the squatting position enables the worker to use his feet lot holding a chisel or gripping and turning a piece of wood during the work operation; therefore, to change his working position may negate his skill. The ergonomist wdl therefore be faced with the decision whether to retrain the worker or redesign the imported equipment.

Design and servicing of imported equipment h is an extremely rare occurrence to find a mechamcal

product obtained from western industrial nations that is designed specifically for, or which can be equipped and supplied with maker's modifications, to suit conditions found in developmg countries. This would appear to reflect a lack of awareness on the part of the manufacturing nations of the type of conditions commonly met in developing countries. A few simple examples will illustrate this point.

In a tropical country, car travel can be uncomfortable because of the heat. One of the simplest ways of keeping the interior of the car cool is to open the front quarter windows until they deflect air into the car. Yet cars are still exported that have either quarte~ windows that ,ire fixed, or whose range of movement ts inadequate to allow them to serve as deflectors.

Again, In a tropical country a Ilacl~r worker needs st~me protection from the sun. BMC recently introduced a mini- tractor with many desirable features, such as simplicity and cheapness, but the,," failed to make any provision for a sun roof or canopy Iot the driver.

Still further examples may be see, it one considers the anthropometr~c design of equipment. There are often great variations in body measurements, not only between but also within developing countries where several racial groups may be present. In all these cases the ergonomist

Fig 2 Low seating position adopted by worker carrying out a weaving task. The feet are used to control tension of the warp

94 Applied Ergonomi~ June 197. 9

can help, lirstly by collecting anthropometnc data and secondly by providing feedback, based on local knowledge. to manufacturing sources. This type of data could also be collated and analysed by a central world body and the results, fed mto design stages, should enable equipment to be produced that is satisfactory for populations having differing anthropometric parameters.

Mechanisation of agriculture Most of the agric.ultural work in under-developed coun-

tries Is done by manual labour augmented by animal power. As life expectancy is increased and. m tact, mortahty decreased bv modern health programmes, food production to meet the requirements ot the increasing tx}pulation becomes of great importance. "llleretore, larger tracts of land have to be opened for production and mechanisation introduced to provide increased output.

Mecham~tion does not necesmrily imply the use of tractors: one can envisage certain conditions where type of terrain, lack of skilled manl'x)wer and purchasing capital form tile initial lirmting control. Therefore, a new concept of man-machme-anmlal systems will need to be formulated especially H new hardw-are is to be designed and used In this tri-elemental system man has to control two systems, one mechanical and one animal, the latter being far from con- s,stent m output behavmur. As ,Saran (1968) states: 'Thus tile mq'u~rtance of man rather than decreasing, increases. because he controls two elements instead of one. with one of tile controlled dements being inconsistent ,n behaviour, perhaps raising the questmn of animal psychology. It is no hmger a matter of merely controlling a few knobs, buttons or levers, whose behavtour is predetermined.'

"llle mtroductmn of man-powered or paced operations laises the whole question of not only psychological effects of change, but also the physiological suitability of the interlace. Therefore, tn addition to what Meister (1~67) terms 'hard' inputs, such as the operator's reach distance or tile amount of force he carl exert, directly affecting the hardware design and the nature of controls and displays, there are the 'soft" inputs, which describe the characteristics of the equipment operators, particularly the amount of work they can handle, how long they can work and with what load, and will provide a further field for human factor studies.

Further tmphcations for design will result f~om a study of htelacy of the workers. In nlany countries illiteracy will be prevalent amongst tile work force. "Illerefore, such instructions as 'Return for service after 500 mile's', or 'Stop the engine H the oil pressure falls below ,10 Ib psi" will be meanmdess, and schedules based m environmental occur. ret~ces and warning systems with buill in alarms may have t~ be substituted. Makers" handbooks may frequently have It) be ie-v.'rlttell, ;.is ,.,.'ell as translated into a simpler form of language, t)r incorporate non-verbal displays.

It ma~, be thought that the viewpoint taken so fat is r, omewhat broad and deals with issues unlikel) to be present- ed to am el~t lnomi%t . Yet these :ire the essential social and crP,'lrtmrnenta] elements Ihat make the ditterence between success arid Iaililre ill ally, ',;cherlle.

Conclusion

Ilavmg detaded sore,: ot tile wa).s in which ergonomics can hcl0 developing counlries. Hlere rema,ns the choice o'.

method to be adopted of raising interest in the subject and getting practitioners into the field.

Shackel (1963) outhned the aims of ergonomics to the UN conference on the 'application of science and tech- nology for the benefit of the less developed areas'. ~veral useful suggestions are made in connection with training overseas enpneers and adminstrators m ergonomic principles. and the setting up of operational evaluation departments.

IJppert (1967) proposed that interested existing graduates, engineers, life scientists, sociologists and anthro- pologists study ergonomics in a variety of institutions out- side their parent country, lollowmg this with work experience. On their return such a group could provide a core for ergononncs work, both teaching and m practice. [Jppert was speaking specifically about Israel in this context; few other developing countries are likely to be so rich in graduate talent to spare them from their established duties.

Singleton and Whitfield (1968)conducted an appreciation course in ergonomics for delegates from overseas countries. Again, though of some value, much of what has been said about Llppert's suggestion also applies.

What is needed is the establishment of ergonomics re- search establishments m developing counties, so that problems can be studied in relation to their total environ- ment. If human effort is to be utihsed effectively at all levels aud in the broadest possible .sense, it should be as appropriate to have an ergonomics advisor m a developing country as a team of agricultural experts.

The way m which this can be brought about can be cons,deled at three levels: independent organLs,ations, le umversltJes: national, help provided by national governments, and finally, centralised aid through the international organisat,ons.

Universit ies Such all establishment mt,ght initially be formed as an

extension of a western umversity, with overseas students receiving their formal training in the basic disciplines at the university and their practical training at the research establishment. In this way the university could take over the tole of the central contrcd ~)dy with the research estab- lishment fulfilling not only tile lunctlonal need o f a

particular area, but also providing tile real feedback which is tile essential background tot any s).iblect having practical implications.

l lus approach Is, of course, of value it ollly to establish elgononucs as a viable science that is capable of solving problems associated with development at all levels.

National VVllere diplomatic relations are established with a devel-

oping country. It is ct)mm()n i)tactlce to include commercial aides m the chancellery, whose mare function is to promote alld advise on trade between tile two ct.)untrles, lllerelore. the inclusion of an elgonOtll lCS advisor tn the establishnlent is also worthy of consideration. It has already been said that tile commercial viability of tile developing countr!) v..dl be based on its m a n p ( ' ) w e l , a n d therefore, any professional advice and guidance concerning its use will be of value. .National ;,lid iF.,. t) l C(.)I.IISC, sublect to variations Ill political

Applied Ergonomics June 1972 95

climate and long term projects can suffer serious disrupuons. and therefore ultimately the greatest aid can be given by international bodies who are politically independent.

International aid Having placed advisors in the field a central body such as

the World Health Organisation could collect and collate the data obtained, thus avoiding the fragmentation and duplication of work that might otherwise occur if research is conducted by independent bodies.

This information could then be analysed and used to serve as a focal indicator of areas where ergonomics can make a substantial contribution.

It seems that a multi-dimensional analysis could usefully be made of political, social, economic and cultural patterns to discover where complementary areas of ergonomic interest exist. Comparison of well-conducted studies might indicate where solutions successful in one country might be transfered to another. Centralised information might also serve to indicate areas of priority. However, before any such source of information may be formed, validated studies which include the multi-dimensional environmental para- meters peculiar to each area must be collected. It is, there- fore, in this area that the ergonomist, equipped with his cross-disciplinary training, may be of greatest value and should first direct his efforts.

Much has been said of the practical value that the ergono- mist can be in developing country situations, but there is also the question; what can the developing country do tor ergonomics? It is all too simple for the western scientist to work in sociological isolation; in fact because of the narrowness of disciplinary study, this is even encouraged. Later divergence will often be viewed with not only suspicion, but also as so much wasted Specialist time. Without due care, this is a mistaken idea that could also be accepted by the ergonomtst. Work in a developing country will rapidly dispel this api~roach. Practically any ergonomic problem will have direct social implications, and indeed by definition tt should have, and so place emphasis on the wider implications of ergonorruc design.

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Q l)ennisThompsm 1972

96 Applied Ergonomics June 1972