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This paper was accepted for publication in the journal International Journal of the Digital Human and the definitive published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJDH.2016.077408. ; This paper aims to provide a retrospective of the use of a digital human modelling tool (SAMMIE) that was perhaps the first usable tool and is still active today. Relationships between digital human modelling and inclusive design, engineering design and ergonomics practice are discussed using examples from design studies using SAMMIE and government-funded research. Important issues such as accuracy of representation and handling multivariate rather than univariate evaluations are discussed together with methods of use in terms of defining end product users and tasks. Consideration is given to the use of the digital human modelling approach by non-ergonomists particularly with respect to understanding of the impact of human variability, jurisdiction and communication issues.

This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Applied Ergonomics and the definitive published version is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.10.013. ; The aim of the study is to understand the nature of blind spots in the vision of drivers of Large Goods Vehicles caused by vehicle design variables such as the driver eye height, and mirror designs. The study was informed by the processing of UK national accident data using cluster analysis to establish if vehicle blind spots contribute to accidents. In order to establish the cause and nature of blind spots six top selling trucks in the UK, with a range of sizes were digitized and imported into the SAMMIE Digital Human Modelling (DHM) system. A novel CAD based vision projection technique, which has been validated in a laboratory study, allowed multiple mirror and window aperture projections to be created, resulting in the identification and quantification of a key blind spot. The identified blind spot was demonstrated to have the potential to be associated with the scenarios that were identified in the accident data. The project led to the revision of UNECE Regulation 46 that defines mirror coverage in the European Union, with new vehicle registrations in Europe being required to meet the amended standard after June of 2015.

This paper was presented at the 6th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics AHFE 2015 and the Affiliated Conferences, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, USA and published in Procedia Manufacturing by Elsevier under a CC BY NC ND licence. ; Digital human modelling (DHM) has often focused on user populations that could be characterised as able-bodied and in the working age group. It is clear however that demographic changes are resulting in older populations in developed countries but this is also becoming increasingly true even in developing countries. The economic pressures of increased life expectancy are resulting in demands for workers to remain in employment well past what would previously have been considered a normal retirement age. In many countries legislation is increasing retirement ages for entitlement to state pensions, and enforceable retirement ages are being outlawed. As a consequence older working populations can be expected. Age in the workforce has many positive aspects including increased experience, wisdom, loyalty and motivation, but an inevitable consequence of ageing is negative effects such as the loss of capabilities in strength, mobility, vision and hearing. The challenge of including older workers is recognised as an important aspect of Inclusive Design and DHM is recognised as a potentially useful method for its implementation. Today's highly demanding and competitive working environments require the highest levels of productivity from individuals so that overall operational and business objectives can be achieved. DHM-based workplace risk assessment methods have successfully been used to improve working environments by conducting virtual posture based ergonomic risk analysis. Older workers are significantly different from younger workers in terms of their physical, physiological and cognitive capabilities and these capabilities directly or indirectly affect human work performance. This article suggests the use of human capability data in a virtual environment to explore the level of acceptability of a working strategy based on real capability data (joint mobility in this case) of older workers. A case study shows that the proposed DHM-based inclusive design method is useful recommending working strategies that are acceptable for older workers in terms of work productivity, well-being and safety.

This paper presents research into the area of public transport and accessibility, addressing the support of practitioners in achieving socially inclusive solutions to the mobility issues of diverse populations. For decades, social policy has been underpinned by a stereotyping of populations into simplified sub groups: old, young, disabled, etc. and thus solutions often fail to properly address the richness of human variability. These shortcomings are often 'managed' through the ability for people to adapt, however, this is not a sustainable way in which to build a socially inclusive transport infrastructure. A software design tool called HADRIAN is presented. This tool provides a means to evaluate designs for their physical inclusiveness through the use of a virtual user group. This virtual user group is the embodiment of over 100 people that can be used to assess an existing or proposed design and to gain an understanding of what may be done to improve its accommodation. A case study exploring the use of the tool is described together with work in exploring the correlation of the individuals within the HADRIAN system with data on the UK population as a whole and how the inclusion or exclusion of individuals with specific characteristics can be used to inform a more representative view of the inclusiveness of a design. (author's abstract)