Virtual reality and human-centred workplace design: practices of workers and ergonomists

To design a workplace in line with worker activities, it is essential to identify the tools necessary for a more effective evaluation of workplace needs during the design process. Virtual reality, which permits the simulation of activities, appears to be a relevant solution. We have conducted an experiment on industrial projects design in order to compare between workers and ergonomists the use of virtual reality to evaluate a design solution. Ergonomists evaluate single activities, using normative rules, whereas, workers simulate complete activity sequences and build their future activities. The results highlight the complementarity in virtual reality, between ergonomist's and workers' participation during design process.