President’s Newsletter No. 2
December 30, 2009

President

Andrew S. Imada
A. S. Imada & Associates
4910 Phelps Court
Carmichael, CA 95608 USA
Tel: +1-916-486-1635
Email: asimada@gmail.com

Dear IEA Council Members:

Secretary General

Eric Min-yang Wang
Department of Industrial Engineering andEngineering Management
National Tsing Hua University
101, Sec. 2, Guang Fu Road
Hsinchu 30013
Taiwan, ROC
Tel: +886-3-574-2649
Email: mywangeric@gmail.com

IEA Governance Ad Hoc Committee

Treasurer
Klaus J. Zink
Chair of Industrial Management andHuman Factors
Research Institute for Technology andWork e.V.
University of Kaiserslautern
P.O. Box 30 4967653 Kaiserslautern
GERMANY
Tel: +49 631 205 2027
Email: kjzink@wiwi.uni-kl.deAt the Beijing meeting, a proposal was made to restructure the IEA officers’ roles andresponsibilities. The council decided to undertake the issue more broadly by studying
restructuring alternatives in light of the IEA’s mission and goals. I have asked David
Caple to chair this committee and report the results to the IEA Council meeting inOctober 2010. I am extremely grateful for the committee’s willingness to take on thistask. Committee members include: Jan Dul, The Netherlands (Past DevelopmentChair); Pierre Falzon, France (Past President); Kentaro Kotani, Japan; Yair Lifshitz,Israel; Bill Marras, USA; Pieter Rookmaaker, The Netherlands (FEES Chair); Torunn
Sveinsdottir, Iceland; and Kan Zhang, China

Development and Promotion
Ralph Bruder
Institute of Ergonomics
Darmstadt University of Technology
Petersenstrasse 3064287 Darmstadt
GERMANY
Tel: +49-6151-162987
Email: bruder@iad.tu-darmstadt.deInternational Development

Barbara Silverstein
SHARP, Washington State Department ofLabor and Industries
PO Box 44330Olympia, WA 98504-4330 USA
silb235@lni.wa.gov

Science, Technology & PracticeThis committee will provide vital information toward making our organizational
structure and function meet its current needs. We have operated in essentially the sameway for the past 50 years and have managed to grow and achieve our objectives.
However, in light of our size and strategic plan, we need to consider options for
examining how the IEA should function in the future. I fully support this effort andlook forward to the committee’s recommendations.

Past President - Awards

WHO and ILO Meetings in Geneva

Verna Blewett
Occupational Health and Safety
CFSR – University of South Australia
Level 7 Playford Building – City EastCampus
GPO Box 2471 Adelaide SA 5001
AUSTRALIA
Email: verna.blewett@unisa.edu.au

David C. Caple
David C. Caple & Associates Pty Ltd
PO Box 2135
East Ivanhoe
Victoria 3079
AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61-3-9499-9011
Email: davidcaple@pacific.net.au

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Here is the latest news from the IEA as we close out the year. I think you will see thatseveral of our officers and leaders have been quite active with federated societies andother allied organizations.

All-Ukrainian Ergonomics
AssociationASEAN-ES
Asociación de Ergonomia
Argentina
Associação Brasileira deErgonomia
Asociación Ecuatoriana deErgonomia
Associação Portuguesa deErgonomia
Association of Canadian
Ergonomists
Belgian Ergonomics Society

In October, IEA Treasurer Klaus Zink attended the WHO meetings in Geneva where
he participated in two days of meetings on a variety of topics. As a WHO NGO, IEA
participates as a member of the Planning Committee for the Collaboration Centers.
The meeting focused on the activities of the 8th Network meeting. Professor Zinkexpressed IEA’s continued interest in partnerships with WHO, ILO, ICOH and IOHAand envisioned an enlarged contribution to the WHO Collaboration Networks.
Moreover, the WHO Collaboration Centres for Occupational Health have fiveobjectives and 14 priorities. We may be able to contribute most readily by developing••••
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Chilean Ergonomics Society
Chinese Ergonomics Society
Croatian Ergonomics Society
Czech Ergonomic Society
Ergonomics Society (U.K.)
Ergonomics Society of Korea
Ergonomics Society of Nigeria
Ergonomics Society of Serbia
Ergonomics Society ofSingapore
Ergonomics Society of SouthAfricaErgonomics Society of TaiwanErgonomics Society ofThailand•
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FEESGesellschaft fürArbeitswissenschaft
Hellenic Ergonomics Society
Hong Kong Ergonomics
Society
Human Ergology Society
Human Factors andErgonomics Society (U.S.A.)
Hungarian Ergonomics Society
Indian Society of Ergonomics
Inter-Regional Ergonomics
Association
Iranian Ergonomics Society

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Irish Ergonomics Society
Israel Ergonomics Society
Japan Ergonomics Society
Latvijas Ergonomikas Biedriba
Nederlandse Vereniging VoorErgonomie
New Zealand Ergonomics
Society
Nordic Ergonomics SocietyÖsterreichische
Arbeitsgemeinschaft fürErgonomie
Perhimpunan Ergonomi
Indonesia

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Philippines Ergonomics
Society
Polish Ergonomics Society
Slovak Ergonomics
Association
Sociedad Colombiana deErgonomia
Sociedad de Ergonomistas deMexico
Società Italiana di Ergonomia
Société d’Ergonomie deLangue FrançaiseThe IEA is registered as association at the Commercial Register of Kanton Zurich, Switzerland:Company-Nr. CH020.6.001.285-4

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Société Tunisienned'Ergonomie
Spanish Association ofErgonomics
Swiss Ergonomics Society
The Human Factors andErgonomics Society ofAustralia
Turkish Ergonomics Society
ULAERGOpractical tool kits for assessing and managing occupational health risks, with special focus on MSDs, andergonomic checkpoints. Many of these materials can be found under www.who.int/occupational_health.
Professor Zink also attended the ILO Better Work Program while he was in Geneva in October. This program
seeks to improve labor practices and competitiveness in global supply chains. With three current projects, Better
Work estimates that it directly affects 800,000 workers. Zink believes that this broader ODAM-like approachthat focuses on competitiveness in globalized markets will be more sustainable than simply focusing on
improving working conditions. This stakeholder-oriented approach that embraces ODAM and TQM offers great
promise to improving working conditions. IEA can support this important initiative through our federated
societies and relevant Technical Committees. We would encourage support on this approach. For more
information see: http://www.ilo.org/global/What_we_do/Projects/lang--en/WCMS_084616/index.htm
Indonesian Ergonomics Society 2009 Meeting
The Indonesian Ergonomics Society hosted their 2009 meeting at Semarang, on Java Island, during November
2009. David Caple was invited as the IEA representative at this conference and made a keynote presentation inrelation to global initiatives in ergonomics research and practice. This conference provided an excellent forum
for a diverse range of ergonomics research that is being undertaken across Indonesia. Professor Caple reported
that it was wonderful see the large number of students who had been sponsored by the conference by theirProfessors to interact with the broader scientific community and also with each other. More than 120 delegates
attended the conference. Attendees included ergonomists from research, education and practice, industry
representatives from large Indonesian companies, as well as invited keynote speakers from Singapore and The
Netherlands. In August 2010, Indonesia will host a conference that combines the Ergonomics Society with theHuman Computer Interaction Society meetings. This will take place in Bali, so look out for further information
early in 2010.
ICSID meeting in Singapore
In November, Pierre-Henri Dejean represented IEA as an observer at the ICSID general assembly, which washeld in Singapore in November. This builds upon his work first started in 2007. After several exchanges
between presidents David Caple and Carlos Hinrichsen, and later Ralph Bruder and Martin Darbyshire, IEA
was invited to be an observer at the ICSID general assembly. Our organizations have a common goal ofensuring that both ergonomics and design are in fact used when such a claim is made. Users will benefit if they
can differentiate proper ergonomics and design thinking from mere claims to these features. Dejean was able tomeet with ICSID presidents Carlos Hinrichsen and Mark Breitenberg to discuss possible collaborations andenlarging relationships between IEA and ICSID. He noted that the six priorities defined in the president’s
speech are compatible with ergonomics interests. Several potential collaborations were discussed andencouraged. These include: Advancing the EQUID project, further ErgoDesign Forum initiatives, joint events atICSID and IEA congresses, benchmarking organizational, lobbying and promotional events, and having
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All-Ukrainian Ergonomics
Association
Asociación Española De
Ergonomia
Asociación de Ergonomia
Argentina
Association of CanadianErgonomists
Belgian Ergonomics Society
Brazilian ErgonomicsAssociation••••••••Chinese Ergonomics Society
Croatian Ergonomics Society
Czech ergonomic Society
Ergonomics Society (U.K.)
Ergonomics Society ofAustralia
Ergonomics Society of Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia
Ergonomics Society of Korea
Ergonomics Society of SouthAfrica

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Ergonomics Society of Taiwan
FEES
Gesellschaft fürArbeitswissenschaft
Hellenic Ergonomics Society
Hong Kong Ergonomics
Society
Human Factors andErgonomics Society (U.S.A.)
Hungarian Ergonomics Society
Italian Society of Ergonomics

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Inter-Regional Ergonomics
Association
Iranian Ergonomics Society
Irish Ergonomics Society
Israeli Ergonomics Society
Japan Ergonomics Society
Nederlandse Vereniging VoorErgonomie
New Zealand Ergonomics
Society
Nordic Ergonomic Society••••••

Österreichischearbeitsgemeinschaft fürErgonomie
Polish Ergonomics Society
Associação Portuguesa deErgonomia
Slovak Ergonomics
Association
Sociedad Chilena deErgonomia
Sociedad Columbiana deErgonomia

The IEA is registered as association at the Commercial Register of Kanton Zurich, Switzerland:Company-Nr. CH020.6.001.285-4

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Sociedad de Ergonomistas deMexico
Società Italiana di Ergonomia
Société d’Ergonomie deLangue FrançaiseSouth East Asia Ergonomics
SocietySwiss Society for Ergonomics
Turkish Ergonomics Society
ULAERGOstudents interact on a common topic (e.g., agriculture, aging). This extends the good work begun over the past
few years and we will follow up and welcome further initiatives.
HWWE Conference in Calcutta
The Indian Society of Ergonomics has organized a series of International Ergonomics Conferences on
Humanizing Work and Work Environment (HWWE). Dr. Somnath Gangopadhyay and the University ofCalcutta organized the 2009 HWWE Conference that was held from December 17-19, and invited Secretary
General Eric Wang to present a talk entitled “Ergonomic challenges for an old and new society: Lessons fromdeveloped countries.” Other invited international presenters at this conference included: Kazutaka Kogi, VernaBlewett, Arun Garg, Wendy McDonald, Wen-Ruey Chang, and Biman Das. I’m sure that the Indian and invited
speakers contributed much to the conference theme of “Ergonomics for Everyone.” The conference opened
with a unique Indian ceremony, which included singing, festivities and opening speeches. There were about 200
participants; nine of these were international delegates at the conference. Most of the 176 papers were presentedin oral session on a wide range of topics on research, practice and learning from diverse sectors. At their annual
general meeting, the Indian Society of Ergonomics decided to make the HWWE an annual ISE conference. The
next conference will be held in Chennai in December 2010. Eric Wang reported that the conference was full ofenergy and a successful one. Congratulations!
IEA Awards Nominations
The IEA awards two professional recognitions annually and federated societies and individuals are encouraged
to nominate candidates for the Liberty Mutual Award and for IEA Fellow Award. You can get information
about these awards from the IEA website: http://www.iea.cc/browse.php?contID=awards. The IEA website willfeature these awards starting in January.
IEA/Liberty Mutual Award. The IEA/Liberty Mutual Award in Occupational Safety and Ergonomics wasinstituted in 1998. The award along with a cash prize of US$10,000 recognizes outstanding original researchleading to the reduction or mitigation of work-related injuries and/or to the advancement of theory,
understanding, and development of occupational safety research. Deadline for submitting applications for thisaward is 31 May 2010. This is the most prestigious award of its kind and we encourage you to seriously
consider deserving candidates.
IEA Fellow Award. The IEA Fellowship Award is given to recognize extraordinary or sustained, superior
accomplishments of an individual. To be considered for a fellowship two eligibility criteria must be satisfied. Inaddition, the candidate's distinction as an ergonomics professional must be demonstrated.

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All-Ukrainian Ergonomics
Association
Asociación Española DeErgonomia
Asociación de Ergonomia
Argentina
Association of Canadian
Ergonomists
Belgian Ergonomics Society
Brazilian Ergonomics
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Chinese Ergonomics Society
Croatian Ergonomics Society
Czech ergonomic SocietyErgonomics Society (U.K.)
Ergonomics Society ofAustralia
Ergonomics Society of Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia
Ergonomics Society of Korea
Ergonomics Society of SouthAfrica

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Ergonomics Society of Taiwan
FEES
Gesellschaft fürArbeitswissenschaft
Hellenic Ergonomics Society
Hong Kong Ergonomics
Society
Human Factors andErgonomics Society (U.S.A.)
Hungarian Ergonomics Society
Italian Society of Ergonomics

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Inter-Regional Ergonomics
AssociationIranian Ergonomics Society
Irish Ergonomics Society
Israeli Ergonomics Society
Japan Ergonomics Society
Nederlandse Vereniging VoorErgonomie
New Zealand Ergonomics
Society
Nordic Ergonomic Society

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Österreichischearbeitsgemeinschaft fürErgonomie
Polish Ergonomics Society
Associação Portuguesa deErgonomia
Slovak Ergonomics
AssociationSociedad Chilena deErgonomia
Sociedad Columbiana deErgonomia

The IEA is registered as association at the Commercial Register of Kanton Zurich, Switzerland:Company-Nr. CH020.6.001.285-4

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Sociedad de Ergonomistas deMexico
Società Italiana di Ergonomia
Société d’Ergonomie deLangue FrançaiseSouth East Asia Ergonomics
SocietySwiss Society for Ergonomics
Turkish Ergonomics SocietyULAERGOConcluding Note
You may have noted how much so many people have devoted to the IEA recently. Notably missing are thecontributions of your president. Unfortunately, I suffered a broken leg in a cycling accident shortly after the firstnewsletter. It is nothing serious, but the immobility has made me appreciate good health and the value of good
design in accessibility. It helps me to appreciate our contribution to improving health and safety in many facetsof our lives and what its absence can mean.
As we close the year, I want to thank the many active ergonomists who have contributed to advancing
ergonomics around the world. The news contained in this short note captures the work that has gone on in thepast two months. Thank you to all who were involved directly, and those of you, who supported these efforts
and were not named, and those individuals and organizations that support these activities indirectly.
Organizational and individual Sustaining Members, and ergonomists who contribute of their personal time andtreasure are good examples of how the IEA works. As we close out the year, I want to express my personal
thanks to all of you who have contributed to the IEA in the many ways that you do. This is how we advance as aprofession to improve the world in which we all live, work and play. Thank you and best wishes for the comingyear!
Upcoming Event•

KEER 2010
2-4 March 2010, Paris, France•

APCHI & Ergofuture 2010
3-5 August 2010, Bali, Indonesia•

2010 International Conference on Control Room DesignAutumn 2010, Paris, France•

PPCOE 2010 Pan-Pacific Conference on Occupational Ergonomics
7-10 November 2010, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC

Sincerely,

Andrew S. Imada••••••

All-Ukrainian Ergonomics
Association
Asociación Española DeErgonomia
Asociación de Ergonomia
Argentina
Association of Canadian
Ergonomists
Belgian Ergonomics Society
Brazilian Ergonomics
Association•
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Chinese Ergonomics Society
Croatian Ergonomics Society
Czech ergonomic Society
Ergonomics Society (U.K.)
Ergonomics Society ofAustralia
Ergonomics Society of Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia
Ergonomics Society of Korea
Ergonomics Society of SouthAfrica••
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Ergonomics Society of Taiwan
FEES
Gesellschaft fürArbeitswissenschaft
Hellenic Ergonomics Society
Hong Kong Ergonomics
Society
Human Factors andErgonomics Society (U.S.A.)
Hungarian Ergonomics Society
Italian Society of Ergonomics

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Inter-Regional Ergonomics
Association
Iranian Ergonomics Society
Irish Ergonomics Society
Israeli Ergonomics Society
Japan Ergonomics Society
Nederlandse Vereniging Voor
Ergonomie
New Zealand Ergonomics
Society
Nordic Ergonomic Society

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Österreichischearbeitsgemeinschaft fürErgonomie
Polish Ergonomics Society
Associação Portuguesa deErgonomia
Slovak ErgonomicsAssociation
Sociedad Chilena deErgonomia
Sociedad Columbiana deErgonomia

The IEA is registered as association at the Commercial Register of Kanton Zurich, Switzerland:Company-Nr. CH020.6.001.285-4

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Sociedad de Ergonomistas deMexico
Società Italiana di Ergonomia
Société d’Ergonomie deLangue FrançaiseSouth East Asia Ergonomics
SocietySwiss Society for Ergonomics
Turkish Ergonomics Society
ULAERGO