In order to fulfill the mission of developing graduates that can make an impact in an organization from the day they start work has always been a challenge. Further, ensuring that such graduates have applicable skills and carry the appropriate tools in their toolbox is a continuous improvement process. One approach is to attempt to integrate the concepts of quality, ergonomics, human factors, and safety into classroom (and laboratory) experiences for undergraduate students that make the competitive in today's job market. Laboratory experiences often attempt to simulate tasks that have transference to the work environment. Such laboratory experiences might be to develop a quality program-sampling scheme, demonstrating lifting, carrying, pushing, and pulling tasks, using mockups of complex display and control integration stations, using mockups of complex display and control integration stations, and/or to giving students laboratory time to use noise monitoring, heat stress monitoring or data collection equipment. Another approach is to integrate industry into the classroom environment through projects that have real deliverables and a panel of mentors to assist the students in realizing a real-world meaningful project. This approach is used here and is described in detail.
Human Factors/Ergonomics/Safety engineering are often given brief mention in Industrial Engineering programs. Some programs may offer an "ergonomics" class, which actually collapses Ergonomics, Human Factors, and Safety into one course, such as the INDE 4337 class at the University of Houston. Further, some programs may actually list an undergraduate class in Safety Engineering, even though it has not been taught in many years.
Most undergraduate students are unaware of the existence of Human Factors Engineering or, if they are, equate it with Psychology. There are those who would argue that Human Factors belongs in the realm of Psychology, while other feel that Psychology is a component of Human Factors Engineering. It could also be argued that almost all Industrial Engineering courses feed off of Psychological concepts, whether they are recognized or not.
"Teaching human factors is consistent with the National Standards for the Teaching of High School Psychology (Shapiro, 2003)." However, Safety is not called out specifically for teaching in high school curriculums.
The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) has published a set of guidelines on standards for the accreditation of ergonomics education programs at the tertiary level (IEA, 2001). These guidelines are similar to those the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), supported by the ASSE (ASSE, 2005). Specifically, in February of 2005, the Society (ASSE) Board of Directors unanimously approved a motion regarding the Society's position on accreditation of institutions of higher learning.
Education ergonomics, as defined by Smith (umn.com, 1998) is the "field of human factors/ergonomic science concerned with the interaction of educational performance and education design." This was one called educational quality/educational reliability. This author further indicates that student performance to some substantial degree is specific to the educational context.
