When ergonomists & usability experts work in a broader context than one workplace, one client, or one product they often end up discovering major patterns in human behaviour and limitations. Sometimes this arises from field research, while other times it requires extensive physiological and psychological research.
These insights pass between collaborating organizations until they eventually become industry standards. Sometimes if a government hones in on the research, legal requirements can be drafted. In Canada the Occupational Health and Safety act enforces laws that evolve from just such human factors research