Ergonomics and Human Factors

LECTURE 1

HISTORY OF ERGONOMICS

In the early 1900’s, the production of industry was still largely dependent on human power/motion, and ergonomic concepts were developing to improve worker productivity. Scientific Management, a method that improved worker efficiency by improving the job process, became popular.

WORLD WAR II prompted greater interest in human-machine interaction as the efficiency of sophisticated military equipment (i.e. aeroplanes) could be compromised by bad or confusing design.

Design concepts of fitting the machine to the soldier and logical/understandable control buttons evolved.

World War II

After World War II,

The focus of concern expanded to include worker safety as well as productivity. Research began in a variety of areas such as: Muscle force required to perform manuel

tasks Compressive low back disk force when

lifting Cardiovascular response when performing

heavy labor Percieved maximum load that can be carried,

pushed or pulled.

Ergonomics (ergon=work nomoi= natural laws/study)

Ergonomics is the study of optimizing the interface between human beings and the designed objects and environments they interact with.

An ergonomically designed product implies that the device blends smoothly with a person’s body or actions.

It is also the science of people-machine relationships.

Ergonomics

Study of the relationship between people and the furniture, tools, and machinery they use at work.

The object is to improve work performance by removing sources of muscular stress and general fatigue, for example by presenting data and control panels in easy-to-view form, making office furniture comfortable, and creating a generally pleasant environment.

It is the applied science of equipment design as for workplace, intended to maximize productivity by reducing operator fatigue or discomfort. Also called biotechnology, human engineering, human factors engineering.

Ergonomics

Ergonomics (or Human Factors)

Is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.

PHYSICAL ERGONOMICS:

Deals with the human body’s responses to physical and physiological loads.

Relevant topics: Manual materials handling Workstation layout Job demands Risk factors such as repetition, vibration, etc.

COGNITIVE ERGONOMICS:

• Also known as engineering psychology concerns mental processes such as perception, attention, cognition, motor control, and memory storage and retrieval as they affect interactions.

• Relevant topics:– Mental workload– Decision-making– Human-computer interaction– training

ORGANIZATIONAL ERGONOMICS:

Also known as macroergonomics is concerned with the optimization of sociotechnical systems, including their organizational structures, policies and processes.

Relevant topics: Shift work Scheduling Job satisfaction Supervision Teamwork

Contribution of Ergonomics

Ergonomics contributes to the design and evaluation of: tasks, jobs, products, environments and, systems in order to make them compatible with the

needs, abilities and limitations of people (IEA, 2000).

Goals of Ergonomics:

Occupational injury and illness reduction

Worker’s compensation costs containment

Productivity improvement Work quality improvement Absenteeism reduction Government regulation compliance.

Methods of achieving the goals

Evaluation and control of work site risk factors

Identification and quantification of existing work site risk conditions

Recommendation of engineering and administrative controls to reduce the identified risk conditions

Education of management and workers to risk conditions.

Human Factors

Human Factors is a term mainly used in the United States. In Europe and the rest of the world, the term ergonomics is more prevalent.

Human Factors

It is the study of how humans behave physically and psychologically in relation to particular environments, products, or services.

The term usability is sometimes used as an alternative to ERGONOMY although human factors is really a larger area of study, including responses that are unrelated to usability, such as reactions and preferences in relation to visual and other sensory stimuli.

It is a field that involves research into human psychological, social, physical and biological characteristics, maintaining the information obtained from that research, and working to apply that information with respect to the design, operation or use of products or systems for optimizing human performance, health, safety and/or habibability.

Human Factors

Human Factors

Human factors is a set of structured methods and principles for identification, quantification and evaluation of the user’s needs and tasks for the development of systems, products, services and environments.

It is devoted to the effects of user interface design, job aiding, and personnel traing in the operation, maintenance, and installation of equipment.

The study of human factors can help identify operations susceptible to human error and improve working conditions to reduce fatigue and inattention.

Benefits gained by implementing Human Factors in a development and a modification project:

Increased safety Reduced possibility of human error Increased user value, satisfaction and user

friendliness Faster learning Lower rate of failure Improved stability Reduced probability of redesign Reduced costs in design and operation Improved communication between professions.