Interactions between Environmental Design and Human Factors Specialists ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: Panel

Abstract

Most of the interactions between human factors specialists, such as ergonomists, and environmental specialists such as facility planners and architects  tend to be task specific and do not follow any accepted process. Consequently, the success of such interactions are usually a function of serendipity rather than informed expectation. It is anticipated that by gathering such specialists in an open discussion, relevant issues may be addressed and successful interaction procedures introduced and discussed. Such a forum is desirable for developing an understanding of the differences, educational and operational, between environmental design specialists, and human factors specialists, as well as for exploring the ways their communications can be enhanced. It is anticipated that by sharing their experiences with the attendees, the presenters will identify relevant on-going knowledge transfer activities, and also introduce and discuss practical problem-solving and communication methods that can be used with assurance by the attendees themselves when faced with similar problems in the future. This panel will focus on issues that arrive out of situations where human factors specialists and environmental design specialists are joined together in project development. The specialties represented include architecture, facility planning, environmental psychology, ergonomic research, industrial design and engineering, and equipment and furniture design and manufacturing.