INTRODUCTION TO ERGONOMICS

UNIT 1

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 Learning Outcomes

• Identify the key historical contributions to the field of ergonomics

• Explain the objectives and applications of ergonomics
• Explain the purpose and processes of fitting the job to the person
• Explain the basic model in ergonomics, known as the human-machine system
• Describe the major topic areas in ergonomics

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 What is Ergonomics?
• Ergonomics is an applied scientific discipline that is concerned with how humans
interact with the tools and equipment they use to perform tasks/activities.
• Interface e.g controls, displays, other operating equipment
• The term ergonomics originates from the Greek words “ergon” meaning work and
“nomos” meaning rules or laws.
• the study of work

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 What is Ergonomics?

• Ergonomist – professional focusing on ergonomics

• Term human factors is synonymous with ergonomics

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 What is Ergonomics?

• Primary interest: the activities that human perform while working

Most work activities

require a combination of
physical and cognitive
Pure Pure
physical cognitive

Requirements: Requirements:
• Muscle strength • Intelligence
and endurance • Concentration
• Physical • Knowledge
conditioning

Figure 1: Continuum of physical and cognitive demands that work

activities impose on humans (p. 340)

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 Historical Overview
• As a field of study, it can be traced back to around 1945
• Role of Taylorism (scientific movement) – emphasis on task planning, motion
and time study, and worker efficiency
• Early 1900s – considerable effort was placed on selecting workers for a given job
(FMJ) using psy testing
• 1920s: Hawthorne studies drew attention to the importance of social factors in the
workplace
• Beginning of human relations research

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 Historical Overview
• Another important influence: growth in the use
machinery and mechanisation between 1900 and 1945
• World War II forced nations to develop modern
productions technologies to meet the demand for
munitions
• Recognition of ergonomics as an emerging
discipline crystallised around the end of World
War II
• US – human factors
• Military as a catalyst in the growth of human
factors/ergonomics in the US – need to deal with
the new problem of human-machine systems
• Europe – ergonomics
• Emphasis was on industrial work systems,
including equipment and workspace design

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 Historical Overview

• Between 1980 and the present:

ergonomics/human factors
continued to grow motivated
by:
• Advances in computer and automation
technologies
• Disasters highlighting critical importance
of the human in human-machine systems

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 Objectives of Ergonomics

• Greater ease of interaction between user and machine

• Avoid errors and mistakes

• Greater comfort and satisfaction in use of the equipment

• Reduce stress and fatigue

• Greater efficiency and productivity

• Safer operation

• Avoid accidents and injuries

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 Ergonomics Application Areas

• Work system design

• Objectives: safety, accident avoidance,
improved functional performance
• Also includes environment such as
lighting and noise levels
• Product design
• Objectives: safety, comfort, user-
friendly, mistake proof, avoidance of
liability lawsuits

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 Ergonomists – What They Do

• Research on human capabilities and limitations

• Discover the characteristics of human performance, e.g., how much can an
average worker lift?
• Design and engineering applications
• Use the research findings to design better tools and work methods

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 Fitting the Person to the Job (FPJ)

• Considers worker’s physical and mental aptitudes in employment decisions

• For example, using worker size and strength as criteria for physical work
• Common philosophy prior to ergonomics
• FPJ is still important, e.g:
• Physical endurance requirements for fire fighters
• Educational requirements for technical positions

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 Fitting the Job to the Person (FJP)

• Opposite of FPJ
• Philosophy: design the job so that any member of the work force can perform it
• Why the FJP philosophy has evolved:
• Changes in worker skill requirements
• Demographic changes (e.g. more women in the workforce)
• Social and political changes (e.g. equal opportunity laws)

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 Human-Machine System

• System Components
− The human, the equipment & the environment

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 Human Components

• Human senses - to sense the operation

• Vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell
• Human brain - for information processing
• Thinking, planning, calculating, making decisions, solving problems
• Human effectors - to take action
• Fingers, hands, feet, and voice

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 Machine Components

• The process - function or operation performed

by human-machine system
• Displays - to observe the process
• Direct observation for simple processes
• Artificial displays for complex processes
• Controls - to actuate and regulate the process
• Steering wheel, computer keyboard

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 Environmental Components
• Physical environment
• Location and surrounding lighting, noise, temperature, and humidity
• Social environment
• Co-workers and colleagues at work
• Immediate supervisors
• Organisational culture
• Pace of work

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 Topic Areas in Ergonomics

• Physical ergonomics

• Cognitive ergonomics

• The physical work environment

• Occupational safety and health

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 Physical Ergonomics

• How the human body functions during physical exertion

• Physiology – vital processes carried out by living organisms and how their
constituent tissues and cells function
• How physical dimensions of the body affect capabilities of worker
• Anthropometry – physical dimensions of the human body

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 Cognitive Ergonomics

• Concerned with the capabilities of the human brain and sensory system while
performing information processing activities
• Human cognitive processes include:
• Sensing and perception
• Use of memory
• Response selection and execution

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 Physical Work Environment

• Visual environment
• Lighting levels and workplace design
• Auditory environment
• Intensity and duration of noise
• Climate
• Air temperature, humidity, air movement, and radiation

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 Occupational Safety and Health

• Occupational safety – concerned with the avoidance of industrial accidents

• One-time events that cause injury or fatality
• Occupational health – concerned with avoiding diseases and disorders caused by
exposure to hazardous materials or conditions
• Develop after prolonged periods of exposure
• May take years before symptoms reveal the onset of the malady

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THANK YOU

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