Interview with Harry L. Davis - Pioneer in Human Factors and Ergonomics

Harry L. Davis, Pioneer in Human Factors and Ergonomics

This interview with human factors / ergonomics pioneer, Harry Davis, tells his story from childhood through his success in getting Kodak to fund the founding of the first non-military, applied human factors group in American industry in 1960 and his later service to the profession as a mentor to many, as President of the Human Factors Society, and as Secretary General and President of the International Ergonomics Association. Growing up in a Pennsylvania coal-mining community, Harry developed empathy for people who work in difficult conditions. One day he was helping a family friend repair the porch. Crouching under the porch with the friend—an old coal miner—Harry remarked on the tough working conditions. The miner said that the conditions were good compared to coal seams where he had to lie flat and crawl with his pickaxe in hand. The Davis family got a new porch foundation, and Harry gained an early appreciation for difficult working conditions, a cornerstone of his later career.