Apresentação

Apresentaçã

Intuition and wisdom in decision making

Paper aims This article discusses the importance of intuition and wisdom for timely andsuccessful decision making and highlights the features of intuitive leaders. Originality As engineers reach higher hierarchical levels, technical knowledge must be balanced with intuition, a matter that is not addressed in their education. Research method It is a theoretical essay illustrated by an example. Main findings Information is always incomplete and imperfect, and thus intuition plays a key role on effective decision making Implications for theory and practice It sheds light on the importance of intuition in decision making, which is not discussed in Engineering courses curricula. It also presents the example of Lynaldo Cavalcanti de Albuquerque, former President of the Federal University of Paraiba (UFPb) and the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), who can be a role model of a effective decision maker, and a visionary and intuitive leader

Investigation of the Brazilian academic production in Ergonomics, from 1987 to 2017

Paper aims: To shed light on the state of the art of the academic production in Ergonomics. Originality: There is no study on the Brazilian academic production in Ergonomics for the last 30 years. Research method: Based on the Capes database, the abstracts of 1471 theses/dissertations from 2007 to 2017 were classified by approach and focus. Main findings: 58.9% of the studies are diagnoses and only 1.4% presents complete projects for work optimization, what might indicate a difficulty of implementing ergonomic interventions in Brazilian companies. 52% of the publications are from national meeting proceedings and only 5.4% from international journals. Implications for theory and practice: The lack of clear objectives, main results and applications in the abstracts reduces the potential interest in the studies. This, and the low number of intellectual production (less than one publication/study) impact the dissemination of knowledge

Quando a sorte te solta um cisne na noite: Dijon de Moraes e seus Escritos de design

Ensaio sobre o livro Escritos de design, de Dijon de Moraes

Planejamento estratégico situacional

Apresenta-se a técnica de Planejamento Estratégico Situacional, em comparação com os métodos tradicionais de planejamento. Esse novo método de planejamento é aplicável a sistemas complexos, como as organizações sociais, sujeitos a diversos tipos de incertezas.<br>The technique of Situational Strategic Planning is presented in comparison with the traditional planning methods. This new method is applicable to complex systems, like social organizations, subjected to several types of uncertainties

Novas aborgagens em segurança do trabalho

Este artigo faz uma revisão crítica de alguns conceitos tradicionais em segurança do trabalho, entre os quais se incluem a teoria do "dominó" e a personalidade com predisposição para acidentes. Mostra as mudanças de abordagens que começaram a ocorrer a partir da década de 70, devidas principalmente ao melhor conhecimento sobre a natureza do erro humano, à mudança qualitativa ocorrida na natureza do trabalho humano e ao aumento potencial de prejuízos em acidentes graves, sem lalar na maior conscientização da população mundial para esses problemas. O assunto já não é tratado apenas no nível subalterno das empresas, passando a fazer parte da política geral de atuação das mesmas, no nível estratégico, a longo prazo.<br>This paper presents a critical review of some traditional work conditions concepts, emphasing the "domino" theory and the personality with accident predisposition. The paper also shows the changes on the work conditions studies approach that have beginned in the seventies, due mainly to the better knowledge about the character of human fails, to the increased losse caused by severe accidentes and to the great changes occuredin the nature of the human work. The subject - work conditions safety - raises nowadays to a theme treated at the strategic level of the companies, being present among the other subjects assigned to company administration responsability, and also present in companies long term politics formulation

Engenharia de usabilidade aplicada no desenvolvimento de um sistema interativo para soldagem robotizada Usability engineering applied in development of an interactive system for robotic welding

No campo da soldagem, a preocupação com fatores ergonômicos e de usabilidade deve-se à crescente incorporação de tecnologias computacionais e à conseqüente transformação das atividades executadas pelos soldadores. Sendo assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a usabilidade de um sistema interativo destinado à soldagem robotizada aplicando-se métodos e técnicas de engenharia de usabilidade. Assim, foram realizados, em laboratório, testes de interação com o equipamento em uma bancada especialmente construída para simular atividades típicas envolvendo a configuração de parâmetros e processos de soldagem. A amostra da pesquisa foi constituída por treze participantes envolvidos em atividades de pesquisa em soldagem. Para a coleta de dados foram utilizados questionários específicos para avaliar a satisfação dos participantes com a usabilidade do sistema. Ainda, para avaliar o desempenho dos participantes durante a realização das tarefas foram registrados os tempos e as taxas de conclusão. Dessa forma, verificou-se que o sistema interativo atendeu ou superou as expectativas dos usuários quanto à utilidade, facilidade de uso, facilidade de aprendizado e qualidade da interface. Por fim, a avaliação de usabilidade forneceu um diagnóstico dos fatores que representaram obstáculos para os usuários, e informações que poderão ser usadas no aprimoramento das próximas versões do equipamento.<br>In the field of welding, the concern with ergonomic and usability factors due to the increasing incorporation of computer technologies and the consequent transformation of the activities performed by welders. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the usability of an interactive system for the robotic welding by applying methods and techniques of usability engineering. So were performed in the laboratory tests of interaction with the equipment in a specially constructed bench to simulate typical activities involving the configuration parameters and welding processes. The survey sample consisted of thirteen participants involved in welding research. To collect data specific questionnaires were used to assess participants' satisfaction with the usability of the system. Yet, to evaluate the performance of participants during the tasks were recorded times and completion rates. Thus, it was found that the interactive system met or exceeded the expectations of users regarding the usefulness, ease of use, ease of learning and quality of the interface. Finally, the usability evaluation has provided a diagnosis of the factors that represent obstacles for users, and information that may be used in improving future versions of the equipment