What is Ergonomics? - How it is organised

Many countries have their national society, promoting research and application of ergonomics, e.g., by organising conferences, editing books and journals, and representing their discipline in governmental and standardisation committees. In Germany, e.g., it is the Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaft (GfA). Due to the interdisciplinary nature of ergonomics, their members come from a variety of professions and disciplines, ranging from physiology and psychology to design and engineering.

Several national ergonomics societies are members of supranational ‘umbrella’ organisations. In Europe this is the Federation of European Ergonomics Societies (FEES), in which currently 15 countries with about 4000 ergonomists are represented. The activities of such umbrella organisations are targeted in two directions – internally and externally.

Internally, the purpose is to stimulate and promote communication and cooperation to achieve synergies, both between the national societies and between their individual members. Externally, the purpose is to represent the discipline to supranational authorities and institutions. In case of FEES, this refers especially to the administration and the parliament of the European Union.

A corresponding concept follows the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), which is the world-wide umbrella organisation of the national societies. At present, 42 countries with approximately 18.000 ergonomists are represented by the IEA.