Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Faculty of Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Ergonomics. 2020 Aug;63(8):938-951. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2019.1682186. Epub 2019 Oct 30.
Contemporary ergonomics problems are increasing in scale, ambition, and complexity. Understanding and creating solutions for these multi-faceted, dynamic, and systemic problems challenges traditional methods. Computational modelling approaches can help address this methodological shortfall. We illustrate this potential by describing applications of computational modelling to: (1) teamworking within a multi-team engineering environment; (2) crowd behaviour in different transport terminals; and (3) performance of engineering supply chains. Our examples highlight the benefits and challenges for multi-disciplinary approaches to computational modelling, demonstrating the need for socio-technical design principles. Our experience highlights opportunities for ergonomists as designers and users of computational models, and the instrumental role that ergonomics can play in developing and enhancing complex socio-technical systems. Recognising the challenges inherent in designing computational models, we reflect on practical issues and lessons learned so that computational modelling and simulation can become a standard and valuable technique in the ergonomists' toolkit. This paper argues that computational modelling and simulation is currently underutilised in ergonomics research and practice. Through example applications illustrating the benefits, limitations, and opportunities of such approaches, this paper is a point of reference for researchers and practitioners using computational modelling to explore complex socio-technical systems.
当代工效学问题在规模、目标和复杂性方面不断增加。理解和为这些多方面、动态和系统的问题创造解决方案，挑战了传统方法。计算建模方法可以帮助解决这一方法上的不足。我们通过描述计算建模在以下方面的应用来说明这种潜力：(1) 多团队工程环境中的团队合作；(2) 不同交通枢纽的人群行为；和 (3) 工程供应链的绩效。我们的例子突出了多学科方法在计算建模方面的优势和挑战，展示了社会技术设计原则的必要性。我们的经验突出了工效学家作为计算模型的设计者和使用者的机会，以及工效学在开发和增强复杂社会技术系统方面可以发挥的工具作用。认识到设计计算模型所固有的挑战，我们反思了实际问题和经验教训，以便计算建模和模拟能够成为工效学家工具包中的一项标准和有价值的技术。本文认为，计算建模和模拟在工效学研究和实践中尚未得到充分利用。通过举例说明这些方法的优势、限制和机会，本文为使用计算建模来探索复杂社会技术系统的研究人员和从业者提供了一个参考点。
