ABSTRACT
Teams, crews, or other groups of people perform many operations in manufacturing or service industries. Examples include aircrews in an airline, control operators in chemical plants and nuclear reactors, and work groups in direct assembly-machining operations. This chapter reviews some of the studies that have been done on crews, teams, and other groups that are relevant to industry or the service sector. Several of these studies address product design. Ergonomics specialists and engineers are expected to play important roles in design teams, and need to be aware of ergonomic issues that arise in such settings. Accordingly, one objective of this chapter is to introduce readers to some of the problems and challenges of teams and crews as they first form, mature, and eventually dissolve. The chapter also introduces readers to computer simulation as a technique for studying teams in those settings, and discusses some issues that come up when measuring team or crew proficiency.
