Ergonomics - Atlas Copco

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outside the production system, and efficient
networking is a growing trend.
Many new systems have a learning
organization in which employees are en-
couraged to participate by expanding their
personal skills. Active psychological in-
volvement of the workers in the production
system allows them to make major contribu-
tions to the improvement of productivity,
product quality and working conditions.
Working conditions –
an important factor
Working conditions are another important is-
sue in the improvement of work organization.
Nowadays, ergonomic principles are
used in work organization studies. In many
modern industries, correct distribution of
tasks between human beings and machines
has eliminated the need for heavy physical
work on the part of operators. In the new
production systems, varying an operator’s
tasks helps to eliminate disorders caused by
highly repetitive, monotonous work tasks.
The level of job satisfaction seems to be
much higher in many of the new production
systems.
The 21st Century has started with the
big Asian markets rapidly entering the
competition. There is growing demand for
Learning is a continuous process and an
interchange of ideas and knowledge.
decreased production costs in Europe and
the USA. This can be seen, for example, in
the trend to return to line production where
group assembly was earlier tried. This poses
a real challenge for the ergonomists. We
want to keep the benefits that have been
gained over the years in this new produc-
tion environment.