'Good engineering governance' - an issue for ergonomists

Engineering Governance can be summarised as two questions: 'Are we doing the right things?' and 'Are we doing those things right?'. It forms a part of Corporate Governance, and in the manufacturing domain it is the key to long-term survival amid changing commercial contexts. The paper will outline some of the ergonomics issues of importance in this topic; 'ownership' of goverrnance; implications for design, production and operation; and, perhaps most important for Ergonomists, the resulting implications for the design of jobs. These implications cover organisational discipline, the inclusion of suitable, 'effort-free' metrics in engineering processes, the allocation of responsibility and authority over resources, support for individuals, the need for trust and a culture of honesty and reliability, and the necessity for organisational follow-through.