Jan 23, 2023

Due to demographic change, it is becoming increasingly important to maintain the working capacity of ageing workforces. In a recent study, researchers from the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environments and Human Factors in Dortmund (IfADo) therefore investigated the relationship between changing lifestyle factors, cognitive functions and their influence on work ability. The results show that the ability to work is influenced by various factors in the course of working life.

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Dec 20, 2022

In the EU research project “Flexible Assembly Manufacturing with Human-Robot Collaboration and Digital Twin Models” (FELICE), IfADo and numerous European partners are researching, among other things, collaboration between humans and robots in the context of production. One focus of the work is on the physical and cognitive ergonomics of employees in production. The next steps consist of defining prerequisites and requirements for human-machine collaboration. For this, application scenarios are created in cooperation with the needs and experiences of assembly workers.

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Dec 19, 2022

The EU-funded research project sustAGE (smart environments for person-centred sustainable work and well-being) was successfully completed in 2022. Together with international project partners, IfADo addressed the question of how the cognitive, emotional and physical performance of older workers can be analysed and increased in everyday working life. The sustAGE system developed in the project was integrated in a Greek port and in Italian production plants of the automotive industry.

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Nov 28, 2022

Working memory, also called short-term memory, was long theorised to have the core task of actively storing information over a short period of time. Nowadays, working memory is considered more complex, because processes such as information selection and the planning of future actions run in parallel. In a recent study, a group of researchers at Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at TU Dortmund (IfADo) shed light on the prerequisites for the initiation of motor preparation processes in working memory. They come to the conclusion that the brain prepares options for action as early as possible to enable the best possible condition for the execution of an action.

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September 19, 2022

Many people know that heavy objects such as crates of drinks should be lifted close to the body “from the legs” and if possible not “from the back”. Especially in occupations that involve a lot of repetitive lifting and carrying, correct posture is particularly important to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. In this context, Matthias Jäger from the Leibniz Institute for Occupational Research at TU Dortmund University (IfADo) and seven international colleagues have revised an international standard and interpreted the load limits that can be derived from it with regard to the risk of disease. For updating this standard, they received the NIOSH Bullard-Sherwood Research-to-Practice Award.

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August 29, 2022

In everyday working life, people are often interrupted in their tasks. After the phone has rung, for example, it is difficult to concentrate on the original task again. The selection of working memory content is impaired after an interruption. Observations show that the performance deficit after such task interruptions is often bigger in older people. With the help of EEG evaluations, researchers from the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors in Dortmund (IfADo) have studied attentional selection during the resumption of primary tasks in younger and older persons in more detail.

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August 23, 2022

Women make up almost 50% of the workforce in the labor market. However, it is noteworthy that the labor force of women is not evenly distributed across all occupational groups. Certain professions and positions are still strongly gendered, especially STEM professions. The gender gap in STEM fields can already be observed in school, increasing at university and culminating during later careers. Moreover, structural factors and gender stereotypes are most significant reasons for the gender gap in STEM.

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August 4, 2022

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July 27, 2022

Modern living and working environments are increasingly characterised by the simultaneous execution of locomotion and sensory – mostly visual – processing. Also, many job profiles require the simultaneous processing of visual information while walking. For example, a worker in warehouse logistics has to go to the right aisle to pick up a package, while visual information about the next order is already presented to him via data glasses. Researchers at the Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environments and Human Factors in Dortmund (IfADo) have studied the interaction of human locomotion with increasing movement complexity and visual processing in more detail using EEG recordings.

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July 15, 2022

Each of us has at one time or another dealt with a question that concerns everyone. With “Ask Leibniz!” you can send us your question to science.

“How does the human brain adapt to the ever-increasing complexity of technical devices (example: corded telephone in the past and smartphone today)? At what stage of development (infant – child – adolescent – adult) does this happen?”

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