Ergonomics – Explained

What is Erognomics?

Ergonom…what? You may not be able to correctly pronounce it, but you probably have heard about it. There is sure to be someone you know or maybe even yourself, who has been personally effected by it. It is everywhere and in everything we do.

It is an applied science concerned with creating and setting up things people use so they both will interact safely and efficiently. In other words, they try to design the most comfortable and practical way for people to use or do things. The “things” can be environment, systems, or objects.

Ergonomics contribute to the creation and evaluation of systems, tasks, environment, jobs and products so they can be made more compatible with the users abilities, limitations, and needs. Ergonomics is in everything that includes people. Health and safety, work systems, and sports and leisure should all have ergonomics principles if designed well.

The Three Domains of Ergonomics

The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) divides ergonomics into three different domains as follows:

• Physical Ergonomics involves the responses of the human body to physiological and physical loads.

Some of the topics are: job demands, manual materials handling, workstation layout, and risk factors like awkward/static, repetition, force, and vibration posture as they relate to musculoskeletal disorders.

• Cognitive Ergonomics is also known as engineering psychology, includes mental processes like memory retrieval, perception, memory storage, attention, motor control, and cognition as they affect interactions of humans and other system elements.

Some of the topics are: training, mental workload, human-computer interaction, vigilance, human error, decision making, and skilled performance.

• Organizational Ergonomics, sometimes called macro ergonomics deals with the optimization of socio-technical systems with their processes, organizational structures, and policies.

Some of the topics are: ethics shift work, tele-work, scheduling, teamwork, job satisfaction, supervision, and motivational theory.

History of Ergonomics

Ergonomics comes from the Greek words “ergon”, meaning “work” and “nomos”, meaning “natural laws”. Wojciech Jastrzebowski first used it in 1857 in an article.

In the nineteenth century, Frederick Taylor began the “Scientific Management: method, which offered a way to find the best method for doing a given task. Frank and Lilian Gilbreth expanded on these methods in the early part of the century developing the
Time and Motion Studies”. Their goal was to get rid of unneeded actions and steps to improve efficiency.

During World War II there were many developments in complex and new weaponry and machines, which put new demands on operators mental processes. The hand-eye coordination, decision-making, attention, and situational awareness of the operator of the machine were key in the completion or failure of a task.

The Space Age brought more human factors issues like extreme G-forces and weightlessness. The Information Age has created a completely new ergonomics field known as the human-computer interaction (HCI). Companies today are including human factors when creating products. This was from a larger demand for and competition from electronics and consumer goods.

More on Ergonomics

Ergonomics brings in many disciplines in its study of humans and their environments, including psychology, anthropometry, physiology, biomechanics, kinesiology, and engineering.

Ergonomist are the people who deal with ergonomics and usually have a BS or BS in Health Sciences, Psychology, or Industrial/Mechanical Engineering, and also a MA, MS, or PhD in a discipline that is related. There are several universities that have a Master of Science degree in Ergonomics, while others have a Master of Human Factors or Master of Ergonomics degrees.

Occupational therapist have recently been moving into the ergonomics field. It has been one of the top ten emerging areas of practice to watch in occupational therapy.

You may not have realized how ergonomics affects your life and others around you, but it is for the good of everyone. There are new advancements being made all the time from Ergonomony to make every ones life a bit easier and safer. So the next time you sit at your desk, drive in your car, or walk down the street – look around cause you are surrounded by “ergonomics” – you just didn’t realize it!

Also see Ergonomics Explained

Safe Computing Practises - Ergonomics

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