Abstract

The development of personnel deployment simulation started just before 1980. To the first, more production-logistics-oriented simulation procedures, macro-ergonomic features have been added, i.e., mainly solving capacity- and utilization-related problems. The current status is characterized by the integration into tools of the Digital Factory, which increasingly includes micro-ergonomic considerations. Above all, anthropometric and physiological questions of human operations predominate. In addition to these aspects aiming at the human work task itself, the focus is currently also placed on the work environment that the working person is exposed to. This is currently still the focus of research and development related to ergonomics and occupational health and safety. With regard to further steps, there is a particular need to better link discrete event simulation procedures with Digital Factory tools. Thereby, also strong demands on ergonomic research are made. This is shown, e.g., in the still unsolved problem that types of stress acting together on the working human cannot be assessed in common.