Socio‐technical and ergonomic aspects of industrial technologies

The growing global market means that new technologies, and even new industries, are constantly being introduced to new geographic areas. Often, these new areas have different backgrounds, languages and cultures than the area from which the technology is imported. This can give rise to tensions, which can result in strong resistance to the introduction of the technology at one level, or simply less than optimal operation of the technology at another. In order to avoid such problems, it is important to understand the environment in which the technology must operate, and to ensure that its introduction is carried out with a sensitivity to local cultural values. This paper explores these socio‐technical factors, and describes how the application of ergonomics, in its broadest sense, can be used to identify and remove barriers to successful technology transfer.