HWWE2005

The HWWE2005 event at IIT-Guwahati comprised of

• Pre-conference workshop, 9th December 2005
• The main conference HWWE2005, 10th - 12th December 2005
• IEA post-conference workshop, 13th -14th December 2005.

The conference experienced an overwhelming response, both in terms of participation and in terms of the number of papers presented. Totally 188 abstracts were selected. There were 183 participants, including 14 foreign delegates representing eight countries.
Dr. W Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, R&D, Defense Research & Development Organization (DRDO) inaugurated the conference along with Prof. Falzon, the President of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA).

(L to R) Prof. Falzon (President IEA), Dr. P. K. Nag (Vice Pres, ISE), Dr. D. Chakrabarti (Org. Secy.), Prof. G. Baruah (Director, IITG), Prof. Ramachandran (HOD, Design) and Dr. W. Selvamurthy (CC-R&D, DRDO)	A section of the audience at the inaugural function. In the first row (L to R) are Dr. L. P. Gite, Dr. C. K. Pradhan, Prof. Shrawan Kumar, and Dr. P. K. Banerjee

A total of 112 papers were presented, comprising 14 keynote addresses, 61 delegate papers and 37 student presentations. The presentations spanned 17 sessions, which included design, HCI, usability ergonomics; occupational stress, hazards, safety and health management; women at work, home and society; environmental ergonomics; anthropometry and workplace design; agricultural ergonomics; posture, gait and biomechanics; ergonomics issues in SSI and cottage industries: sports and work physiology; ergonomics analysis, assessment and evaluation; industrial ergonomics, cognitive ergonomics, leisure ergonomics.

A scientific session in progress	Cultural programme (Kathak performance)

Students' papers were presented in four parallel sessions and the best papers from each session were selected for awards.
Twelve agencies supported this conference. Special mention needs to be made about the support of the International Ergonomics Association, and the presence of the president of the IEA.

The discussions and deliberations at various levels throughout the congress have led to a consensus regarding the need for a road map for the growth and development of the discipline, in the context of national requirements and the changing global scenario. The road map will take the form of a National Ergonomics Agenda. An action plan will be evolved to implement the agenda. Dr.W.Selvamurthy suggested the preparation of a white paper on this topic, for submission (through him) to the Govt. of India.

The four objectives of the National Ergonomics Agenda are-
• Enhancement of awareness about ergonomics;
• Marketing of the applications of ergonomics;
• Development and strengthening of infrastructure for education and R&D in ergonomics; and
• The creation of a national ergonomics database.

Dr.David Caple speaking at the valedictory session	Dr. D. Chakrabarty, Org.Secy HWWE-2005 handing over the HWWE banner to Dr. L. P. Gite, the next HWWE Org. Secy	Inauguration of the Pre-Conference Workshop by Prof.G.G.Ray, Hon. General Secretary, ISE

The next HWWE venue will be the Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal.

There was a one day pre-conference workshop on ‘Ergonomics methodology' on 9th December 2005, comprising of four lecture-cum-demonstration sessions for young researchers towards assisting their research in ergonomics, which was followed by a panel discussion of experts discussing the current ergonomics scenario in India and development of a road-map for ergonomics.

Facilitators and participants at the post-conference workshop.	Dr. K. Kogi and Dr. David Caple interacting with a participant at the post-conference workshop

A post-conference workshop on "Application of Ergonomics Checkpoints in Indian Agriculture" was held on 13th and 14th December 2005, with invited participants (including 7 agricultural officers and 25 experts). The ILO Ergonomics Checkpoints for Agriculture were reviewed and suggestions were made regarding suitability to the Indian context. The workshop was conducted by Prof. K. Kogi and Dr. David Caple.