The Chilean Society of Ergonomics and Human Factors (SOCHERGO) is a non-profit organisation that represents HFE professionals in Chile. SOCHERGO became a federated society of the IEA in 2002 and later also became an associate member of The Latin American Union of Ergonomics (ULAERGO), which is a network of HFE societies in Latin American countries that collaborate and support each other in advancing HFE in the region.
Visit SOCHERGO’s website (www.sochergo.cl) to find out more about the society and to get updates on their upcoming events.
Overview of SOCHERGO activities
Being a developing country, it is not uncommon to find that HFE is at developmental stages in some sectors within Chile. As such, and as part of its mandate of improving the understanding of HFE and its adoption, SOCHERGO is working on introducing HFE training for selected political actors and decision makers. Linked to this, SOCHERGO is also meeting with newly elected deputies to discuss the possibility of introducing HFE in the national congress. In addition to this, the society continues to find effective ways to disseminate ergonomics information and knowledge at work. The advocacy and awareness raising work that is conducted by SOCHERGO also includes the following:
- Actively participating in the processes required by the constitutional convention that aims to draft the new political constitution of Chile.
- Developing a proposal to include health and safety at work as a fundamental right.
- Conducting different colloquia and running campaigns to disseminate HFE information, some of which can be found here: https://www.sochergo.cl/videos/
While a lot of work is invested in advancing HFE advocacy and awareness initiatives, SOCHERGO also recognises that there is a need to increase HFE capacity to meet current and future demands in different sectors within Chile. Consequently, part of SOCHERGO’s mandate is to improve the number of suitably competent HFE professionals in the country. SOCHERGO is thus also responsible for certifying HFE professionals within Chile. Details regarding SOCHERGO’s certification requirements and process can be found here: https://www.sochergo.cl/proceso-de-certificacion/
SOCHERGO Membership
Individuals that are interested in becoming members of SOCHERGO need to register can find registration details here: https://www.sochergo.cl/como-ser-miembro-de-la-sociedad-chilena-de-ergonomia/
Officers
Mauricio Santos Morales (President)
[email protected]
Marta Martinez Maldonado (Vice President)
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Francy Véliz Ramirez (Secretary)
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Rafael Rubilar Salamance (Treasurer)
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