Working conditions and effects of ISO 9000 in six furniture-making companies: implementation and processes

Assessment of atherosclerotic risk factors and endothelial function in children and young adults with pediatric‐onset systemic lupus erythematosus

“…As stressed earlier in text, there are not many empirical articles that have analyzed the impact of the adoption of ISO 9001 on the quality of working life or in other similar concepts from a (macro)ergonomics perspective. In their pioneering study, Karltun et al (1998) concluded that ISO 9001 implementation only led to delimited improvements of ergonomics in the companies studied, and that improved ergonomics was not considered important among managers. More specifically, Karltun et al (1998) aimed to assess influences on the working conditions and other desirable outcomes, following the implementation of the ISO 9001 quality system in six small and medium‐sized furniture‐making companies that implemented the standard during 1991 through 1994.…”

“…In their pioneering study, Karltun et al (1998) concluded that ISO 9001 implementation only led to delimited improvements of ergonomics in the companies studied, and that improved ergonomics was not considered important among managers. More specifically, Karltun et al (1998) aimed to assess influences on the working conditions and other desirable outcomes, following the implementation of the ISO 9001 quality system in six small and medium‐sized furniture‐making companies that implemented the standard during 1991 through 1994. The authors evidenced that the influence on working conditions was limited, but included better order and housekeeping, more positive attitudes toward discussing quality shortcomings, a few workplace improvements, work enrichment caused by additional tasks within the quality system, and a better understanding of external customer demands.…”

Guide and documentation system to support digital human modeling applications

“…This could be explained by the subjects' comments on rather extensive documentation, and that some found it difficult to fill in the requested information. This corresponds to the negative attitude among users of quality management systems (Karltun et al, 1998;Chaudhuri and Acharya, 2000), where the system has increased bureaucracy with unclear benefits for those who fill in information. However, attitudes are likely to become more positive through the removal of redundant information and improved graphical layout, as recommended by the interface experts.…”

Visualization of ergonomic guidelines — A comparison of two computer aided systems to support vehicle design

“…However, these do not correspond to some company's requirements for easily understandable and accessible information. The extensive documentation of quality management systems can appear meaningless and timeconsuming to the users (Edwards and Gibson, 1997;Karltun et al, 1998;Chaudhuri and Acharya, 2000). Furthermore, studies focusing on ergonomic knowledge available in guidelines and documents have shown that these are often hard to acquire, are incomplete or inadequately suited to the previously mentioned processes (Simpson and Mason, 1983;Woodcock and Flyte, 1998 regarding several aspects such as dimensions, location, and visibility for push buttons in an instrument panel.…”

“…A participatory approach is recommended to successfully integrate users' needs when designing future workplaces and quality systems (Karltun et al, 1998;Eklund, 2000). Wilson and Haines (1997) define participation in the context of ergonomics management programs at work as, ''The involvement of people in planning and controlling a significant amount of their own work activities, with sufficient knowledge and power to influence both processes and outcomes in order to achieve desirable goals.''…”