Die Zeitschrift Ergonomics ist eine internationale Fachzeitschrift mit einer 60-jährigen Tradition in der Veröffentlichung hochwertiger Forschung. Die Inhalte der Zeitschrift bestehen Forschungsergebnissen zu den psychologischen, physiologischen, anatomischen und ingenieurwissenschaftlichen Gestaltungsaspekten des Menschen bei der Arbeit, wobei vor allem die Optimierung von Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstellen im Vordergrund steht. Wir freuen uns über die Annahme unseres Beitrages Get a Grip: Multi-Method Evaluation of Handles for Tablets on the Shop Floor und wünschen allen Interessierten viel Freude beim Lesen und Zitieren.

Abstract
Tablets on the shop floor need handles because user requirements for handling differ from tablet usage in leisure time. The ergonomics of such handles is under-researched, resulting in a lack of methods for their design and evaluation. In this paper, we present a multi-method evaluation of handles for a shop floor tablet. We combine and compare results of focus groups and the Comfort Questionnaire for Hand tools (CQH) with electromyography (EMG). With a field and a laboratory study, we evaluate four handles in order to identify i) the most ergonomically rated handle and ii) the most efficient evaluation method. Results consist of an evaluated prototype, and data that shows the comparability of results from focus groups and questionnaires to results from EMG measurements. Classifying handles as tangible human machine interfaces, we suggest that subjective evaluation with focus groups and CQH is efficient to evaluate their ergonomic quality.

Practitioner summary: A handle for a tablet used in production environment is evaluated with different methods. Results show that data from focus groups and questionnaires can be used for evaluation of usability in the future, rendering complex EMG measurements unnecessary and making usability evaluation more efficient.

DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2019.1681502