Human-centred manufacturing is one of the researches and innovation priorities of the European Factories of the Future Research Association (EFFRA). The workplaces of the future will give much more importance to human knowledge, skills and cultural background, in particular through life-long learning and training.
Human-centred workplaces not only remain essential in the pursuit of reduced occupational and work-related diseases and injuries, and absenteeism, but they will also become increasingly critical to ensure the flexibility, agility, and competitiveness that will be imposed on future manufacturing operations.
The continuous intensification of interactions between technology and human operators raises complex safety and efficiency problems that, to a great extent remain unsuitably addressed. This is partly due to their highly context specific characteristics, which challenge many standard and well-established approaches. In this context, the cooperation between ergonomics practice and expertise, and all other relevant inputs to the design of work systems becomes increasingly critical.