Improving the ergonomics of British Coal's mining machinery

British Coal Corporation now require ergonomics evaluations to be undertaken on many major items of underground machinery before they are approved for use underground. Ergonomists must therefore be able to provide a service to the industry which is both consistent and reliable. It is especially important where an ergonomics evaluation could influence the purchasing decision on machines which can cost up to pound sterling 2m, that the ergonomist's conclusions/recommendations accurately reflect design issues which have both safety and performance implications. The conclusions must be consistent across assessors and over extended time periods. Ergonomists should also be able to provide designers with the detailed criteria on which their machines are assessed. The Bretby Operability Index was developed to achieve these requirements and it complements ergonomic design guidelines which have previously been developed to help ensure that ergonomics is also taken into consideration early in the design process.