The OERC is a 501c(6) non-profit, tax-exempt corporation. Each member organization has one vote and up to two members on our Board of Directors. The Board makes all funding and policy decisions at our business meetings. Additionally, the Board elects the OERC’s Officers. An Executive Committee composed of the OERC’s Officers is empowered to make certain decisions between meetings when necessary.
The OERC holds three meetings per year at either member sites, universities with related research activities, or in conjunction with major ergonomic conferences. Guest speakers at these meetings report on research and other subjects of interest. Research funding proposals are reviewed and other operational decisions are made at these meetings.
We have adopted an internal structure of empowered project teams to provide focus on specific areas of OERC investigation. A team is composed of OERC members who have a particular interest or expertise in a specific area. The team’s objective is to investigate the area and make recommendations to the full committee regarding what projects the OERC should sponsor. Project teams have looked at the effects of: vision and lighting; negative slope keyboard platforms; portable computing, ergonomic training; pointing devices; and end-user solutions. New teams are formed as the need arises. The OERC members participate on selected project teams and attend our meetings to help insure the relevance of our work to their interests