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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(84) 677 final
Brussels, 4 December 1984
MEMORANDUM
ESTABLISHMENT OF A FIFTH E.C.S.C. PROGRAMME 
OF ERGONOMICS FOR THE STEEL AND COAL INDUSTRIES
COM(84) 677 final

Memorandum
Establishment of a Fifth E.C.S.C. Programme
of
Ergonomics for the Steel and Coal Industries 
Contents
I. Introduction
II. The Need for the Proposed Programme
III. The Programme
1. Community Ergonomics Action
1.1. Ergonomics and Technological Development
1.2. Production Plant and Equipment  
1.3· Specific Topics
1.3.1. Biomechanical Damage Risk
1.3.2. Hearing Conservation and Auditory Communication
1.3.3. Underground Illumination in Mining  
1.4. The Development of Results
2. Ergonomics Research
3. Selective Ergonomics Studies
IV. Co-ordination of the Work
V. Programme Results
VI. Financial Aspects and Duration of the Programme
VII. Conclusions

- 1 -
I. Introduction
The "IVth E.C.S.C. Programme on Ergonomics for the Steel and Coal  
Industries ( 198O-I984)", approved hy the Commission of the European  
Communities on 3rd September 1980 pursuant of Article 55 of the  
E.C.S.C. Treaty has come to its end. The 13 million ECUS made  
available for the programme and for the dissemination of the results  
have been committed.
This "Fourth Programme", building on the work of its predecessor,  
has had notable success in carrying through a Programme of Community  
Ergonomics Action in the two industries. The Action through:
- a series of studies to determine and evaluate ergonomics design  
parameters of various production and associated service systems,  
carried out by ergonomics groups within the industries with the  
participation of the workforce;
- the co-ordination and dissemination of the study results throughout  
the industries by the Community Ergonomics Action Bureau of  
Information and Co-ordination;
has allowed a significant ergonomics contribution to be made to many  
aspects of health and safety in the E.C.S.C. industries.
The programme has formally embraced the four member countries with  
coal industries and eight of those with steel industries.
In summary the topics dealt with in the programme have been
- automated systems
- heavy plant and equipment
- protective clothing and equipment
- underground illumination.

-  2 -
An example from each of these topics suggests the effectiveness
of the program®.
- The main resources of the programme have gone into the new systems,  
based on the micro-processor, being introduced into both industries*  
and have been concerned with optimising man's role in these systems  
as a function of his behavioural characteristics and capabilities.
The most complete example in this respect has been concerned
with new high technology continuous casting plants where Community  
Action projects, involving the Belgian, German and Italian steel  
industries, have seen ergonomics requirements studied and defined;  
passed to design and construction; and subsequently evaluated with  
positive results®
- The programme has seen the completion of the work to define the  
ergonomics design parameters for heavy underground mining equipment. 
The approach here has allowed recommendations and guidelines to be  
drawn-up which should be applicable to the whole range of such  
equipment in the foreseeable future. A similar programme of work  
has also produced the ergonomics design parameters for an extensive  
rang© of underground personnel transport systems*
- A Butch, Belgian and United Kingdom steel industries' co-ordinated  
group of projects have carried out further studies on molten-  
metal-eplash-px-ot active clothing which, among other things, has 
resulted in the specification of new material which, while lighter  
in weight than many used in current designs, offers increased  
protection.
- Work on underground illumination in mines was begun in this programme  
and the first fruits of joint French, German and United Kingdom  
studies has been the specification of ergonomics requirements
for face lighting and the resultant implementation at a number  
,  of faces6 The results of these studies will be brought to the  
notice of the various illumination standards committees*

-  3 -
Por, whereas previous laboratory studies have directed standards  
towards a value of between 40-50 lux for the face the Community  
Ergonomics Action studies carried out on site give values as low as  
5 lux as an adequate level of illumination for all tasks carried out at  
the face given uniform and non-glare conditions.
The complete results of this IVth Programme are currently being collated,  
evaluated and synthesised. They will be presented generally to the  
industries at a series of Information Pays planned for Spring 1985·  
However, as is stated later in this Memorandum, an intrinsic and  
explicit part of the Vth Community Ergonomics Action Programme will  
be to establish these results in the every-day practice of the industries.

- 4 -
II. The Need for the Proposed Programme
It has been possible at the end of the IVth E.C.S.C. Ergonomics  
Programme to terminate in success certain lines of Ergonomics Action.
An overview of the industries, nevertheless, makes it clear that  
the need for such Aotion continues in many of their operations.
The ever-changing and rapid exploitation of the potential of the  
micro-processor, in both the coal and the steel industries, precludes  
a final statement, at this point, on the ergonomics considerations  
of the new technology in these industries. Particularly, as the  
systems of software become more sophisticated, attention will need to  
be given to the ergonomics, in its broadest sense, of the system.
It must be ensured that the conceptual/organizational framework  
of the system generates tasks which can be accommodated by the  
capabilities of the normal, trained operator. The safety hazard, and,  
possibly to a lesser degree, the risk to health in contrary circumstances  
can only be a matter of conjecture.
Further there are many operations which will remain untouched by the  
new technology and which in the increasing general demand for an  
enhanced quality of working life, and greater productivity, will  
require the industries to improve working conditions and environment.  
Continued ergonomics action will assist these efforts.
There are, specifically, several major hazards which still affect the health  
of the workforce and which the application of ergonomics data and  
principles can, in part, reduce. ’ ’ Back problem^" which are now the  
biggest single source of sickness absence is an example.
The success of the IVth Programme in itself generates a need for  
further Action, If the programme is to have been truly economically  
viable, then its results, which are not ephemeral, must be integrated  
into the infrastructure of the industries for medium and long term use.

-  5 -
With these considerations in mind, a "Fifth Programme of Ergonomics"  
is proposed which will have the following objectives*
(iii) continued improvement of the general working and environmental  
conditions; and assisting the E.C.S.C. industries to meet
the demands for a better quality of working life;
(iv) undertaking Action which will exploit the results of the  
previous programme to the benefit of the foregoing aims  
in the long term.( 0 ensuring that ergonomics makes its full contribution to  
safety in the development and installation of new high  
technology systems in the E.C.S.C. industries;
(Ü)contribution to the alleviation of a major health problem  
in the E.C.S.C. industries;

-  6 -
III. The Programme
1. Community Ergonomics Action
The Community Ergonomics Action programme ia planned to cover three  
m»in activities with the following objectivess
- assuring that the ergonomics questions relevant to safety which  
arise with the technological development taking place in the  
E.C.S.C. industries receive the necessary and appropriate  
consideration;
- continuation of an ergonomics contribution to health and safety  
in the many areas of the E.C.S.C. industries which will remain  
relatively untouched by the new technologies;
- establishing the data built-up from previous E.C.-.C. ergonomics  
programmes in the every-day practice of the various health, safety  
and procurement functions of the industries and that of the designers  
and manufacturers of the industries'  equipment
The work will be carried out through a series of projects undertaken  
by the ergonomics groups and services established in the industries  
during the previous programmes; with the participation of the workforce;  
and in conjunction with the Community Ergonomics Action Bureau of  
Information and Co-ordination. Harnessing their collective expertise  
in a joint effort will be encouraged by giving priority to proposals  
calling for co-operative projects at the industry and Community level.
Specific aspects of the programme are as follows^
1.1. Ergonomics and Technological Development
Th© use of the "new technology” in the restructuring and the  
continuing development of steel production and coal winning is  
rapidly increasing the number of tasks in the E.C.S.C, industries  
where factors in design, construction, operation and maintenance of  
the system, and its auxiliary operations such as communications and  
•transport, can give a predisposition to "bvjnan-maehine incompatibility"  
-hi:’:  ;„:· inrn gives rise to major questions for the safety of personnels

- 7 -
While it is recognized that "human—machine incompatibility" may occur for  
a number of reasons, a critical factor in the frequency of its  
appearance in these new systems will be the flow of information  
to the operator, hiB means to evaluate this information, and  
the means available to him for necessary corrective action.
All of which must be compatible with his normal abilities  
to conceptualize a real physical situation, from a remote  
position, based on numerical, symbolic or pictorial displays.
Abilities which themselves are subject to variation as information  
load, operating period, physical environment and job  
organization vary.
To reduce the risks to safety inherent in "human-machine incompatibility"  
it is necessary to give ergonomics consideration during the four phases,  
design, construction, operation and maintenance, to
- the design of hardware and software systems to take  
account of
* human information processing and cognitive abilities,
* the principles of man computer interaction,
* operational decision aids;
- the influence of the physical work environment;
- the influence of work organization;
- the planning and evaluation of operator training.
The present programme will therefore support the study, development  
and evaluation of the above ergonomics requirements, singly and  
interactively, for E.C.S.C. production and auxiliary systems:  
thereby reducing the potential for a source of accident causation.

8 ~
1.2. Production Plant and Equipment
Despite the major reconstruction programmes which are  
introducing the microprocessor-based equipment into the steel  
and coal industries, in the medium term, many tasks in both  
industries will continue to be related to systems based on  
traditionally engineered plant and equipment. Tor example«
- charging of electric arc furnaces?
- equipping and salvaging faces;
- pushing coke ovens;
- surface mobile plant;
- manual surface treatment;
- loading and unloading ships.
In such operations, levels of vibration, noise, thermal stress  
and illumination, postural constraints and physiological load 
singly and interactively can potentially militate against an  
acceptable working environment, and in extreme cases can pose  
health and safety hazards.
The present programme will therefore support the study and  
evaluation of the ergonomics requirements of such operations  
with a view to ameliorating the associated working conditions.
1.3. Specific Topics
Within the general framework of ergonomics considerations of  
plant and equipment, three specific areas have been noted as of  
special importance with regard to improving health and safety  
in the E.C.S.C. industries. They are as follows.
1.3.1. Biomechanical Damage Risks
Lumbar and general muscular accidents and injury  
continus to be a significant cause of sickness absence in  
the E.C.S.C. industries.

- 9 -
During the IVth Ergonomics Programme, research was  
initiated to obtain data on human biomechanical  
capabilities with regard to posture, age etc, on the one  
hand, and the aspects of tasks in the industries which  
create lumbar, muscular or limb damage on the other.
These data will be to hand for the Vth Programme and will  
allow an ergonomics contribution to alleviating physical  
load and the reduction of "biomechanical damage risk  
through ergonomics considerations in the design of, for  
example,
- aids for physically arduous lifting and handling tasks;
- tools and equipment for work in restricted or unconven­
tional workplaces;
- tools for maintenance.
The present programme will therefore support the study,  
development and evaluation of the ergonomics requirements  
in the design of these and other equipment and tools as  
necessary with a view to reducing biomechanical damage  
risk.
1.3.2. Hearing Conservation and Auditory Communication
The ergonomics aspects of hearing loss as a result of  
prolonged exposure to high noise levels, and the  
requirements for hearing conservation axe now well  
established. Protection and conservation now lie  
ultimately in technical intervention to reduce noise at  
the source. As such, the solutions lie outside the scope  
of an ergonomics programme. However, it must be recognized  
that the results of such interventions will be seen in the  
medium rather than the short term.

-1 0 -
In the interim a significant degree of hearing  
conservation can he achieved through integrated programmes  
which
- aim to reduce noise exposure hy
* secondary noise reduction design, e.g· acoustic  
tiling, screening, etc.,
* personal protection, e.g. ear defenders, noise  
havens, etc.,
* job organization!
— carry through routine and frequent auditory screening  
and monitoring of the personnel's hearing acuity.
It must further he recognized that personal protection  
raises problems of communication and hence safety -  
particularly in mining.
The ergonomics aspects of these approaches have been  
considered in the IYth E.C.S.C. Programme with significant  
success and further work should allow the development of  
systems which will give hearing protection in noisy  
environment without hindrance to speech comprehension and  
auditory warning signals.
The present programme will therefore support the further  
study, development and evaluation of the ergonomics  
requirements in the design of hearing conservation and  
allied communication systems.
1.3.3. Underground Illumination in Mining
At Community level the illumination of underground work  
posts is still marked by its absence. It is, however,  
generally assumed that iacross lag illuminât ion in mines  
is a désirable feature both srith rofspsci to safety and' the  
general amelioration of working conditions.

- 11 -
This is currently being demonstrated in the increase  
of machine mounted lighting, the development of new  
designs of personal cap lamps and the installation  
of illumination at transfer/junction points and face-  
ends. It is important that such developments go ahead  
with the benefit of ergonomics considerations, and in  
the IVth Programme a successful start was made with  
respect to face illumination.
The present programme will therefore continue this line  
of work and will support studies directed at defining the  
requirements of ergonomics_standards for the design of  
underground lighting in mines.
1.4· The Developments of Results
Community Ergonomics Action and Researoh in the Illrd and IVth
Programmes have built up a considerable body of knowledge
concerning the ergonomics requirements of
- coal winning machinery
- underground transport systems for mining
- underground illumination in mines
- human thermal environment regulatory equipment
- control stations in steel production
- continuous casting as an integrated system
- socio-technical aspects of the "new technology" systems
- the automization of various processes in steel manufacture
- protective clothing for both the steel and coal industries
- methodologies for carrying out ergonomics action.

-  12 -
To complete this lotion effectively it is now necessary  
to
- evaluate and synthesise this information and data,?
- make the syntheses available to the social partners in the  
industries at Community, industry and plant level?
- elaborate an effective means of communication with the  
appropriate manufacturers to ensure the application of  
ergonomics data in their products?
- develop standards, codes of practice and guidelines wherever  
possible from the data.
The present programme will therefore, through the medium of  
the Community Ergonomics Action Bureau of Information and  
Co-ordination, support the necessary activities to ensure  
the dissemination, at all levels, of relevant ergonomics data  
from previous programmes and the general ergonomics literature s  
and further, carrying out the necessary transmutation of its  
form, to ensure its utilization in design, manufacture,  standards,  
codes of practice and guidelines.
2. Ergonomics Research
The purpose of this section of the programme will be to sustain the  
data needs of the Community Ergonomics Aotion Programme where basic  
knowledge on human performance or behaviour is required but is
currently not available within the general pool of ergonomics  
data.

- 13 -
As it is required that this research programme provides a quick  
and pertinent response to current project development needs, and as  
previous experience has shown that a pre-structured programme of  
"basic research does not adequately meet these needs, it is not  
thought viable to define precise topics other than that they will  
be contained within areas directly related to the Community  
Ergonomics Action given above.
Rather it is proposed that research topics be formulated "by the  
industries throu^i the Programme Committee of Experts, on the basis  
of priority needs for the data and common interest, as each  
Sub-programme of Community Ergonomics Action projects is established.
3. Selective Studies into Special Aspects of the Ergonomics Contribution  
to Safety and Health in the Steel and Coal Industries
Relatively small, but often important and interesting, problems  
in ergonomics or its application are raised in the course of the  
work of industrial medical officers, safety officers, training  
officers and others associated with ergonomics action. Where the  
solutionscf such problems are of interest to furthering the aims of  
ergonomics action or research, the programme will support and, if  
necessary, initiate small selective studies.

- 14 -
IV. Co-ordination of the Work
The Commission will he advised on the s ci ent i f i c/t echni cal aspects  
of the promotion of all individual projects by a "Vth E.C.S.C,  
Ergonomics Programme Committee of Scientific Experts" which will  
incorporate representatives of all the national ergonomics teams  
of the steel and coal industries which themselves draw on the expertise  
of both the social partners and appropriate specialists. Subsequently  
it will be advised on the views of the social partners concerning these  
projects by the Committee of Producers and Workers for Industrial  
Safety and Medicine, primarily through the Sub-Committee of this group.  
For the Research Programme the Commission will be further advised on  
individual projects by a Committee of Government Experts whose  
members are suitably qualified.
Giving due regard to the fact that the relevance of projects within  
the Action Programme is generally limited to the E.C.SoC· industries  
and the need for a rapid implementation of projects in the Action  
Programme, this pattern of consultative procedures has been found  
to be the most effective in previous programmes.
During the IVth Ergonomics Programme, the national ergonomics teams,  
established throughout the member-countries in the two industries,  
consolidated and developped their activitiess among them being  
co-ordination of the Community Ergonomics Action projects within  
their national industry? and, with the assistance of a central Bureau  
for Co-ordination and Information Dissimenation, co-ordination and  
liaison with other national teams and the Programme Committee of  
Scientific Experts at the Community level.
Through this network, the Committee of Scientific Experts have  
successfully co-ordinated the promotion and development of Community  
Ergonomics Action projects within the IVth Programme. It is proposed  
that a similar network be available for the Vth Programme.

- 15 -
The Vth E.C.S.C. Ergonomics Programme Committee of Scientific  
Experts will also undertake the co-ordination of the Research  
Programme through working parties on the themes of the programme,  
on the "basis of information available from the semestriel  
technical reports submitted to the Commission as a condition  
of contract, and from direct contact with the researchers at  
meetings convened in Luxembourg or at the Research Centres as  
necessary.

-  16 -
V. Programme Results
The network of ergonomics teams, The Community Ergonomics Action  
Bureau of Information and Co-ordination and the Programme Committee  
of Scientific Experts mentioned in Section IV has proved an  
efficacious channel for quickly disseminating important findings  
and current progress and developments in the Action and  
Research Programmes to the appropriate sectors of  
the industries, "by means of a semestrial Information Bulletin,  
special reports and information meetings for team representatives.
It is envisaged that the same information flow system would he used  
in the current programme.
Outline final reports of the projects and, where necessary, synthesis 
of groups of projects will he drawn up and disseminated to the  
relevant sectors of the industries and the Commission.
For a wider public, information on the initiation and final results  
of projects will he presented in "Euro-Abstracts".
The complete final reports will he available on request from the  
Commission to interested organizations and individuals.
In a significant number of cases information on the results will he  
available in the open scientific/technical literature.
At the conclusion of the programme the results will he presented to  
the steel and coal industries during a series of Information Days.

- 17 -
VI. Financial Aspects and Duration of the Programme
The Fourth Ergonomics Programme ran for five years. This has  
proved sufficient for positive results to he drawn from the  
projects. It is proposed that this Fifth Programme will therefore  
also run for five years.
The funds to be allocated for the programme include not only the  
financial aid for the projects but also the related costs of  
implementing the programme and disseminating the results, as well  
as the costs of publication, translation, typing, distribution  
media, etc.
In assessing the funds required, account has been taken of the cost  
of previous projects, average cost increases, the annual budget for  
social research in the coal and steel sector, and the equipment  
required by institutions and individuals for the satisfactory  
organization of the programme.
In view of the above and the fact that Community financial aid does  
not usually exceed 60 % of the direct costs of the projects, the  
remainder being met by the beneficiary, it is felt that to implement  
a satisfactory programme which will make an effective ergonomics  
contribution towards improving industrial safety and health in the  
E.G.S.C. industries, it is necessary to allocate funds amounting  
to 15 million ECUS, spread over 5 years from 1985* these being  
required as follows:
Community Ergonomics Action 11 million ECUS  
Ergonomics Research 3 million ECUS  
Selective Ergonomics Studies .5 million ECUS  
Operating Costs .5 million ECUS

-  18  -
VII. Conclusions
The Commission of the European Communities
- considering the need to encourage ergonomics action in  
the E.C.S.C. industries, and to promote ergonomics  
research appropriate to this action, for the improvement  
of health and safety in these industries!
- taking into account the favourable opinions and agreement  
expressed by expert, industrial and government  
consultative committees;
- having regard to Article 55 of "the Treaty establishing  
the European Coal and Steel Industry;
proposes to launch "A Fifth Programme on Ergonomics for the  
Steel and Coal Industries” for which the total cost is  
estimated at 15 millions ECUS over a period of 5 years  
beginning in 1985·