Overview
EN ISO 9241-306:2018 - Ergonomics of human-system interaction - Part 306: Field assessment methods for electronic visual displays (ISO 9241-306:2018) defines on-site optical, geometrical and visual inspection methods for assessing electronic visual displays. Published by CEN as an adoption of ISO 9241-306:2018, this standard supports practical, real-world evaluation of displays in their actual contexts of use and aligns with the requirements of ISO 9241‑303.
Key topics and technical requirements
The standard provides structured, field-oriented methods and criteria for assessing display performance, including:
- Preparation for assessment
- Cleaning, physical set-up, display warm-up and control settings prior to measurement.
- Viewing conditions
- Design viewing distance and direction, gaze and head tilt angles, and assessment of virtual image displays.
- Luminance and lighting
- Measurement and evaluation of ambient illuminance, display luminance, luminance balance, glare and luminance adjustment capability.
- Special environments
- Considerations for vibration, wind/rain exposure and extreme temperatures that affect display performance in the field.
- Visual artefacts
- Identification and inspection of luminance, colour and contrast non-uniformity, geometric distortions, pixel faults, flicker, jitter, moiré and unwanted reflections.
- Legibility and readability
- Assessment of luminance contrast, image polarity, character height, stroke width, spacing (between characters, words, lines), text size constancy and overall readability.
- Information coding and graphics
- Legibility of luminance, blink and colour coding, geometry-based coding, and graphic object size/contrast considerations.
- Fidelity and performance
- Grey-scale/gamma behaviour, moving-image rendering, colour misconvergence, image formation time and spatial resolution.
- Other practical considerations
- Surface isotropy/anisotropy, viewing angle ranges, adjustability and controllability of the display system.
Applications and who uses it
EN ISO 9241-306 is intended for professionals who require reliable, repeatable on-site assessment of display ergonomics and visual performance:
- Ergonomists and human factors specialists
- Display and monitor manufacturers
- System integrators (control rooms, vehicle cockpits, medical devices)
- Quality assurance and test laboratories
- Procurement teams and regulatory bodies evaluating compliance
- UI/UX designers and software engineers working with embedded or industrial displays
Practical applications include site acceptance testing, incident investigations, usability validation in operational contexts, and compliance checks against ISO 9241‑303 requirements.
Related standards
- ISO 9241 series (ergonomics of human-system interaction), notably ISO 9241‑303 (requirements for electronic visual displays). Use EN ISO 9241-306 alongside ISO 9241-303 for complete specification and conformance workflows.
Keywords: ergonomics, human-system interaction, field assessment, electronic visual displays, ISO 9241-306, display assessment, luminance, legibility, visual artefacts, viewing conditions.
