What is the Spanish Ergonomics Association?
The Spanish Ergonomics Association is a technical and scientific association that brings together professionals in ergonomics and applied psychosocial factors in Spain. It is a society with a technical and scientific focus, not a professional association or a public body: it has no regulatory, certifying, or sanctioning authority over ergonomic activity.
Its distinctive feature within the Spanish associative landscape of prevention is its federative structure: the AEE federates regional ergonomics associations, acting as a representative body for that group at the state and international level.
Purpose and scope of action
The Spanish Ergonomics Association (AEE) aims to improve the professional, academic, and recognition conditions of ergonomics specialists and to consolidate the discipline as a leading field in education, design, and research. Its area of operation is Spain, with an active international presence through its membership in European and global federations for the discipline.
Functions and main lines of work
The AEE’s activity is organized around several lines.
- International representation. It is the Spanish federated society in the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), the worldwide organization that brings together national ergonomics societies, and in the Federation of European Ergonomics Societies (FEES), its equivalent at European level.
- Federation of regional associations. It brings together and coordinates regional ergonomics associations in Spain, giving national exposure to their joint activity.
- Professional and academic advancement. Works for the recognition of ergonomics as its own discipline in the educational, research and design fields of products, processes and work environments.
- Technical exchange. Facilitates contact between Spanish ergonomics professionals and their counterparts from other countries through the IEA and FEES networks.
Ergonomics as a discipline and as a preventive specialty
It is important to distinguish between two levels that coexist under the same name. Ergonomics, as a scientific and technical discipline, studies the interaction between people and the systems, products, and environments with which they work, with a field of application ranging from the design of workstations to that of consumer products or digital interfaces; the activities of the AEE, the IEA, and the FEES operate within this level.
In Spain, ergonomics and applied psychosocial factors are among the preventive specialties recognized by the Regulations for Prevention Services for senior occupational risk prevention technicians, along with workplace safety, industrial hygiene, and occupational medicine. This regulatory recognition defines who can perform senior-level functions in this specialty within a prevention service, which is distinct from membership in a technical-scientific association such as the AEE, which does not in itself grant this qualification.
Contribution to safety and health at work
The AEE’s contribution to occupational safety and health is that of a technical and scientific society: it contributes to the development and dissemination of ergonomic knowledge and provides international visibility and recognition to Spanish professionals in this field. It does not offer prevention services or evaluate specific jobs; that function is the responsibility of ergonomics and applied psychosocial specialists working in occupational health and safety services.
Relationship with the ORP International Foundation
The Spanish Ergonomics Association joins the ORP International Foundation’s institutional advisory committee with a more specialized profile than other members: it represents a specific technical discipline, ergonomics and applied psychosociology, and also maintains its own membership in the International Ergonomics Association and the Federation of European Ergonomics Societies, networks distinct from the one that constitutes this committee.
Practical application
For a professional in ergonomics and applied psychosocial studies, the AEE (Spanish Association of Ergonomics and Psychosocial Studies) provides a link to the international scientific community in the field through the IEA (International Ergonomics Association) and FEES (Spanish Federation of Ergonomics and Psychosocial Studies), as well as to equivalent regional associations within Spain. For an organization, clearly distinguishing between ergonomics as a discipline and as a recognized preventive specialty avoids confusing a professional’s membership in a technical and scientific society with the regulatory authorization required by the Regulations for Prevention Services to perform higher-level functions in this area.
