Ukrainian's Ergonomics

Ukrainian's Ergonomics per se is a quite young from point of view of its formal existence. When the former USSR disintegrated and Ukraine declared its independence in 1991, national aspects of the ergonomics were viewed only historically. The most of theoretical and applied investigations were carried out in accordance with the All-Union government scientific-technical programs and Complex Programs of the scientific-technical progress of the Council for Mutual Economic Aid's member-countries.

The main activity was managed by work groups for particular directions, such as follows:

Professional interests of ergonomists were protected, to some extend, by the Soviet Ergonomics Association established in September 1989. 88 of its 500 members represented Ukraine. The USSR disintegration predetermined the necessity of the national consolidation of the Ukrainian ergonomists as well as creation and development of the national system of ergonomic maintenance for the national economic complex and, first of all, for industry. The political and social-economic cataclysms have aggravated the crisis state of ergonomics. Centralized (administrative and commanding) methods of management have lost their efficiency. The country needed to create a system for ergonomic maintenance of the industrial complex and life-support of population. Both these components were closely connected with each other, as far as the person should be supplied pursuant to international norms by all means of protection of his/her health and safety, participating in production of industrial goods and carrying out one third of the life on workplace and in working premise, being not only a manufacturer, but also consumer of industrial production.

With this purpose, the All-Ukrainian Ergonomics Association was established in November 1992 and consisted of representatives from 17 region departments. The status of the Association was legalized, it was started a new coordination of the research work held under the guidance of leading ergonomists in Ukraine - the members of the Association (Prof. Gerasimov B., Prof. Karpukhina A., Prof. Trofimov Yu., Ph.D. Voinenko V., Ph.D. Bondarovskaia V., Dr.Eng. Chachko A. - from Kiev; Prof. Kizimenko L. - Lvov; Prof. Marasanov V. - Kherson; Prof. Rotshteyn A. - Vinnitsa; Prof. Kosak Y. - Odessa; Prof. Chabanenko P. - Sevastopol; Prof. Gavrilov E., Prof. Asherov A., Kovalenko V. - Kharkov; etc.).

Dr.Vladlen Voinenko was elected the first president. The founder of the All-Ukrainian Ergonomics Association, he was a key person in Ukrainian ergonomics, a head of the Department of Ergonomics in the National Research Institute for Design since 1977, an author of several books on ergonomic principles and design, a member of TC159 and TC201 (USSR).