Ergonomic Analysis of Work Activity and Training: Basic Paradigm, Evolutions and Challenges

The use of ergonomic analysis of work activity (EAWA) has constantly evolved during the last 15 years. For researchers adopting the ergonomic approach, “object training” has also greatly evolved, raising epistemological, ethical and pragmatic questions. The reflections concluding the Symposium “Ergonomic Analysis of Work Activity and Training” of the IEA2006 Congress were prompted, in most cases, by the mid-term and long-term effects of ergonomics-related interventions in the context of technical and organizational changes. The focus is on how to accomplish transforming actions, how to merge description with intervention. From this perspective, training is a constitutive element of the ergonomic analysis of work activity, both directly and indirectly, mainly thanks to workers’ participation in the research process. EAWA is one of the few methods that never leave the research subject anonymous; on the contrary, it postulates an active and controlled relationship, on a methodological level, between the “research object” and the subject. These evolutions justify a collective reflection about the theoretical frameworks and methodological perspectives assumed in the papers presented at the Symposium. Moreover, some questions concerning evaluation should not be underestimated.