Title: Workspace design: a case study applying participatory design principles of healthy workplaces in an industrial setting

Authors: Ole Broberg

Addresses: Department of Management Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Building 423, DK-2800 Lyngby, Denmark

Abstract: The Danish workspace design (WSD) research program is aimed to develop and trial a potential new concept for ergonomists and other workplace consultants who are to engage in socio-technical design processes. The objective of this paper is to report on the trial of the workspace design concept in a case involving the design and implementation of a new mixing technology in an industrial plant. The case showed how the WSD concept can contribute to an engineering design process. The WSD team took the role as workspace designer and by the participatory workshops achieved an impact on the technology project. In the role as workspace designer, it was important for the WSD team to make sure that the achievements in the workshops were |transmitted| to and sustained in the ordinary engineering design process. In this case, it turned out that the artefacts such as a layout game board and documents with compilations of ideas and requirements from use scenarios served as appropriate transmitter devices or inscriptions.

Keywords: technology politics; participatory design; workplace design; ergonomics; action research; healthy workplaces; occupational health; Denmark; human factors; sociotechnical design; industrial plant; engineering design.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTM.2010.033127

International Journal of Technology Management, 2010 Vol.51 No.1, pp.39 - 56

Published online: 06 Apr 2013 *

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