The impact of technical standards on the diffusion of anthropocentric production systems

Abstract

Technical standards of Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) interfaces, of hardware and software ergonomics, and of sociotechnical design criteria can affect the opportunities to realize human-centered CIM systems—either positively or negatively. If standards are more than mere technical specifications and have consequences for work organization, working conditions, and skills, they may be used as instruments for the promotion of anthropocentric production systems. Particularly within the European Community, recent legislation on machinery and visual display units leads to a increasing importance of standards, whose regulatory dimension has often been neglected in the past. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.