Large-scale regional economic development: Macroergonomics in theory and practice

Ergonomics has traditionally focused on improving such indices as productiv ity, health and safety, and quality of work life. Such improvements are nec essary to individuals and organizations, but may not be sufficient, as emph asized by the recent focus on community ergonomics and other "macrosystem" concerns. Ergonomists have begun to apply their technologies to go beyond t raditional measures to impact regional economic development. A model for er gonomics in regional economic development was developed from a successful 1 0-year intervention in New York State. After presenting this model in terms of organizational design and core processes, two industrial cases are summ arized to help validate the approach. Two large plants and industrial emplo yers were threatened with closure. Macroergonomic assessment, research, and intervention led to significant job retention, facilities expansion, and j ob creation. Within 5 years, the approach was credited with several turnaro unds, retaining and expanding thousands of jobs and transforming the region al economy. (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.