ABSTRACT
The example of stakeholder participation in ergonomics standardization presented here is based on a case study performed at the Dutch national standardization body, NEN. The subject of the case study is the revision of the Dutch national standard, NEN 1824:1995, on the requirements for the space of office workplaces. The composition of the working group that revised the standard is analyzed to find out whether the working group was a well-balanced representation of all the stakeholders. This will offer the possibility to answer the question: “Was the established working group for the revision of NEN 1824:1995 a well-balanced representation of all of the stakeholders?” In the following sections, this question is answered. First, a brief description of the development of the standard and its content is given. This is followed by an illustration of the methods used to analyze the (im)balance of stakeholder representation. The subsequent section describes the results of the stakeholder analysis: which stakeholders were actively involved, and who were not. This answers the research question of the case study. In addition, the situation concerning ergonomics standardization on Dutch national and international levels—in general—is considered to provide a first impulse to a discussion concerning stakeholder participation in ergonomics standardization.
