Think all ergonomists are alike? Think again.
Like most professionals, ergonomists have specializations, too. In the U.S., the BCPE (Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics) acts as the general certifying board for ergonomists and human factors professionals, and the Oxford Research Institute offers certification options as well. Unlike other professions, for example doctors who may specialize in pediatrics or orthopedics or a tax or estate planning attorney, there currently is no additional specialty certification for ergonomists that is overseen by an impartial qualifying board. If you’re considering an ergonomist to review a lifting procedure or website usability, it’s often easy to tell if the ergonomist is board certified (based on the abbreviations after his or her name
This article originally appeared in The Ergonomics Report™ on 2004-02-01.