Ergonomics

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Ergonomics: the science of designing user interaction with equipment and workplaces to
fit the user.
Ergonomics is the science of designing the workplace environment to fit the user. Proper
ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries, which can develop
over time and can lead to long-term disability.[1]
The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as follows:[2]
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.
Ergonomics is employed to fulfill the two goals of health and productivity. It is relevant
in the design of such things as safe furniture and easy-to-use interfaces to machines.

Contents
[hide]

1 Overview
2 History and etymology
3 Applications
o 3.1 Design of ergonomics experiments
o 3.2 Ergonomics in the workplace
4 Fields of ergonomics
o 4.1 Engineering psychology
o 4.2 Macroergonomics
o 4.3 Seating ergonomics
5 Organizations
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading

9 External links

[edit] Overview
Ergonomics is concerned with the fit between people and their technological tools and
environments. It takes account of the user's capabilities and limitations in seeking to
ensure that tasks, equipment, information and the environment suit each user.
To assess the fit between a person and the used technology, ergonomists consider the job
(activity) being done and the demands on the user; the equipment used (its size, shape,
and how appropriate it is for the task), and the information used (how it is presented,
accessed, and changed). Ergonomics draws on many disciplines in its study of humans
and their environments, including anthropometry, biomechanics, mechanical engineering,
industrial engineering, industrial design, kinesiology, physiology and psychology.
Typically, an ergonomist will have a BA or BS in Psychology, Industrial/Mechanical
Engineering or Industrial Design or Health Sciences, and usually an MA, MS or PhD in a
related discipline. Many universities offer Master of Science degrees in Ergonomics,
while some offer Master of Ergonomics or Master of Human Factors degrees. In the
2000s, occupational therapists have been moving into the field of ergonomics and the
field has been heralded as one of the top ten emerging practice areas.[3]
According to the International Ergonomics Association:[2]

Physical ergonomics: is concerned with human anatomical, and some of the

anthropometric, physiological and bio mechanical characteristics as they relate to
physical activity.

Cognitive ergonomics: is concerned with mental processes, such as perception,

memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among
humans and other elements of a system. (Relevant topics include mental
workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-computer interaction,
human reliability, work stress and training as these may relate to human-system
and Human-Computer Interaction design.)
Organizational ergonomics: is concerned with the optimization of socio technical
systems, including their organizational structures, policies, and processes.
(Relevant topics include communication, crew resource management, work
design, design of working times, teamwork, participatory design, community
ergonomics, cooperative work, new work programs, virtual organizations,
telework, and quality management.

[edit] History and etymology

The foundations of the science of ergonomics appear to have been laid within the context
of the culture of Ancient Greece. A good deal of evidence indicates that Hellenic
civilization in the 5th century BC used ergonomic principles in the design of their tools,
jobs, and workplaces. One outstanding example of this can be found in the description
Hippocrates gave of how a surgeon's workplace should be designed and how the tools he
uses should be arranged (see Marmaras, Poulakakis and Papakostopoulos, 1999).[4] It is
also true that archaeological records of the early Egyptians Dynasties made tools,
household equipment, among others that illustrated ergonomic principles. It is therefore
questionable whether the claim by Marmaras, et al., regarding the origin of ergonomics,
can be justified (I G Okorji, 2009).
The term ergonomics is derived from the Greek words ergon [work] and nomos [natural
laws] and first entered the modern lexicon when Wojciech Jastrzbowski used the word
in his 1857 article Rys ergonomji czyli nauki o pracy, opartej na prawdach
poczerpnitych z Nauki Przyrody (The Outline of Ergonomics, i.e. Science of Work,
Based on the Truths Taken from the Natural Science).
Later, in the 19th century, Frederick Winslow Taylor pioneered the "Scientific
Management" method, which proposed a way to find the optimum method for carrying
out a given task. Taylor found that he could, for example, triple the amount of coal that
workers were shoveling by incrementally reducing the size and weight of coal shovels
until the fastest shoveling rate was reached. Frank and Lillian Gilbreth expanded Taylor's
methods in the early 1900s to develop "Time and Motion Studies". They aimed to
improve efficiency by eliminating unnecessary steps and actions. By applying this
approach, the Gilbreths reduced the number of motions in bricklaying from 18 to 4.5,
allowing bricklayers to increase their productivity from 120 to 350 bricks per hour.
World War II marked the development of new and complex machines and weaponry, and
these made new demands on operators' cognition. The decision-making, attention,
situational awareness and hand-eye coordination of the machine's operator became key in
the success or failure of a task. It was observed that fully functional aircraft, flown by the

best-trained pilots, still crashed. In 1943, Alphonse Chapanis, a lieutenant in the U.S.
Army, showed that this so-called "pilot error" could be greatly reduced when more
logical and differentiable controls replaced confusing designs in airplane cockpits.
In the decades since the war, ergonomics has continued to flourish and diversify. The
Space Age created new human factors issues such as weightlessness and extreme gforces. How far could environments in space be tolerated, and what effects would they
have on the mind and body? The dawn of the Information Age has resulted in the new
ergonomics field of human-computer interaction (HCI). Likewise, the growing demand
for and competition among consumer goods and electronics has resulted in more
companies including human factors in product design.
The coining of the term Ergonomics, however, is now widely attributed to British
psychologist Hywel Murrell, at the 1949 meeting at the UK's Admiralty, which led to the
foundation of The Ergonomics Society. He used it to encompass the studies in which he
had been engaged during and after the Second World War.

[edit] Applications
More than twenty technical subgroups within the Human Factors and Ergonomics
Society [5] (HFES) indicate the range of applications for ergonomics. Human factors
engineering continues to be successfully applied in the fields of aerospace, aging, health
care, IT, product design, transportation, training, nuclear and virtual environments,
among others. Kim Vicente, a University of Toronto Professor of Ergonomics, argues that
the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl is attributable to plant designers not paying enough
attention to human factors. "The operators were trained but the complexity of the reactor
and the control panels nevertheless outstripped their ability to grasp what they were
seeing [during the prelude to the disaster]."
Physical ergonomics is important in the medical field, particularly to those diagnosed
with physiological ailments or disorders such as arthritis (both chronic and temporary) or
carpal tunnel syndrome. Pressure that is insignificant or imperceptible to those unaffected
by these disorders may be very painful, or render a device unusable, for those who are.
Many ergonomically designed products are also used or recommended to treat or prevent
such disorders, and to treat pressure-related chronic pain.
Human factors issues arise in simple systems and consumer products as well. Some
examples include cellular telephones and other hand held devices that continue to shrink
yet grow more complex (a phenomenon referred to as "creeping featurism"), millions of
VCRs blinking "12:00" across the world because very few people can figure out how to
program them, or alarm clocks that allow sleepy users to inadvertently turn off the alarm
when they mean to hit 'snooze'. A user-centered design (UCD), also known as a systems
approach or the usability engineering life cycle aims to improve the user-system.

[edit] Design of ergonomics experiments

There is a specific series of steps that should be used in order to properly design an
ergonomics experiment. First, one should select a problem that has practical impact. The
problem should support or test a current theory. The user should select one or a few
dependent variable(s) which usually measures safety, health, and/or physiological
performance. Independent variable(s) should also be chosen at different levels. Normally,
this involves paid participants, the existing environment, equipment, and/or software.
When testing the users, one should give careful instructions describing the method or task
and then get voluntary consent. The user should recognize all the possible combination's
and interactions to notice the many differences that could occur. Multiple observations
and trials should be conducted and compared to maximize the best results. Once
completed, redesigning within and between subjects should be done to vary the data. It is
often that permission is needed from the Institutional Review Board before an experiment
can be done. A mathematical model should be used so that the data will be clear once the
experiment is completed.
The experiment starts with a pilot test. Make sure in advance that the subjects understand
the test, the equipment works, and that the test is able to be finished within the given
time. When the experiment actually begins, the subjects should be paid for their work. All
times and other measurements should be carefully measured and recorded. Once all the
data is compiled, it should be analyzed, reduced, and formatted in the right way. A report
explaining the experiment should be written. It should often display statistics including
an ANOVA table, plots, and means of central tendency. A final paper should be written
and edited after numerous drafts to ensure an adequate report is the final product.

[edit] Ergonomics in the workplace

Fundamentals for the Flexible Workplace Variability and compatibility with desk
components, that flex from individual work activities to team settings. Workstations
provide supportive ergonomics for task-intensive environments.[6]
Outside of the discipline itself, the term 'ergonomics' is generally used to refer to physical
ergonomics as it relates to the workplace (as in for example ergonomic chairs and
keyboards). Ergonomics in the workplace has to do largely with the safety of employees,
both long and short-term. Ergonomics can help reduce costs by improving safety. This
would decrease the money paid out in workers compensation. For example, over five
million workers sustain overextension injuries per year. Through ergonomics, workplaces
can be designed so that workers do not have to overextend themselves and the
manufacturing industry could save billions in workers compensation.

Workplaces may either take the reactive or proactive approach when applying
ergonomics practices. Reactive ergonomics is when something needs to be fixed, and
corrective action is taken. Proactive ergonomics is the process of seeking areas that could
be improved and fixing the issues before they become a large problem. Problems may be
fixed through equipment design, task design, or environmental design. Equipment design
changes the actual, physical devices used by people. Task design changes what people do
with the equipment. Environmental design changes the environment in which people
work, but not the physical equipment they use.

[edit] Fields of ergonomics

[edit] Engineering psychology
Engineering psychology is an interdisciplinary part of ergonomics and studies the
relationships of people to machines, with the intent of improving such relationships. This
may involve redesigning equipment, changing the way people use machines, or changing
the location in which the work takes place. Often, the work of an engineering
psychologist is described as making the relationship more "user-friendly."
Engineering psychology is an applied field of psychology concerned with psychological
factors in the design and use of equipment. Human factors is broader than engineering
psychology, which is focused specifically on designing systems that accommodate the
information-processing capabilities of the brain.[7]

[edit] Macroergonomics
Macroergonomics is an approach to ergonomics that emphasizes a broad system view of
design, examining organizational environments, culture, history, and work goals. It deals
with the physical design of tools and the environment. It is the study of the
society/technology interface and their consequences for relationships, processes, and
institutions. It also deals with the optimization of the designs of organizational and work
systems through the consideration of personnel, technological, and environmental
variables and their interactions. The goal of macroergonomics is a completely efficient
work system at both the macro- and micro-ergonomic level which results in improved
productivity, and employee satisfaction, health, safety, and commitment. It analyzes the
whole system, finds how each element should be placed in the system, and considers all
aspects for a fully efficient system. A misplaced element in the system can lead to total
failure.
History
Macroergonomics, also known as organizational design and management factors, deals
with the overall design of work systems. This domain did not begin to receive recognition
as a sub-discipline of ergonomics until the beginning of the 1980s. The idea and current
perspective of the discipline was the work of the U.S. Human Factors Society Select
Committee on the Future of Human Factors, 1980-2000. This committee was formed to

analyze trends in all aspects of life and to look at how they would impact ergonomics
over the following 20 years. The developments they found include:
1. Breakthroughs in technology that would change the nature of work, such as the
desktop computer,
2. The need for organizations to adapt to the expectations and needs of this more
mature workforce,
3. Differences between the post-World War II generation and the older generation
regarding their expectations the nature of the new workplace,
4. The inability of solely microergonomics to achieve reductions in lost-time
accidents and injuries and increases in productivity,
5. Increasing workplace liability litigation based on safety design deficiencies.
These predictions have become and continue to become reality. The macroergonomic
intervention in the workplace has been particularly effective in establishing a work
culture that promotes and sustains performance and safety improvements.
Methods[8]
Cognitive Walkthrough Method: This method is a usability inspection method in
which the evaluators can apply user perspective to task scenarios to identify
design problems. As applied to macroergonomics, evaluators are able to analyze
the usability of work system designs to identify how well a work system is
organized and how well the workflow is integrated.

Kansei Method: This is a method that transforms consumers responses to new

products into design specifications. As applied to macroergonomics, this method
can translate employees responses to changes to a work system into design
specifications.

High Integration of Technology, Organization, and People (HITOP): This is a

manual procedure done step-by-step to apply technological change to the
workplace. It allows managers to be more aware of the human and organizational
aspects of their technology plans, allowing them to efficiently integrate
technology in these contexts.

Top Modeler: This model helps manufacturing companies identify the

organizational changes needed when new technologies are being considered for
their process.

Computer-integrated Manufacturing, Organization, and People System Design

(CIMOP): This model allows for evaluating computer-integrated manufacturing,
organization, and people system design based on knowledge of the system.

Anthropotechnology: This method considers analysis and design modification of

systems for the efficient transfer of technology from one culture to another.

Systems Analysis Tool (SAT): This is a method to conduct systematic trade-off

evaluations of work-system intervention alternatives.

Macroergonomic Analysis of Structure (MAS): This method analyzes the

structure of work systems according to their compatibility with unique
sociotechnical aspects.

Macroergonomic Analysis and Design (MEAD): This method assesses worksystem processes by using a ten-step process.

Virtual Manufacturing and Response Surface Methodology (VMRSM).[9]: This

method uses computerized tools and statistical analysis for workstation design.

[edit] Seating ergonomics

The best way to reduce pressure in the back is to be in a standing position. However,
there are times when you need to sit. When sitting, the main part of the body weight is
transferred to the seat. Some weight is also transferred to the floor, back rest, and
armrests. Where the weight is transferred is the key to a good seat design. When the
proper areas are not supported, sitting in a seat all day can put unwanted pressure on the
back causing pain.
The lumbar (bottom five vertebrate in the spine) needs to be supported to decrease disc
pressure. Providing both a seat back that inclines backwards and has a lumbar support is
critical to prevent excessive low back pressures. The combination which minimizes
pressure on the lower back is having a backrest inclination of 120 degrees and a lumbar
support of 5 cm. The 120 degrees inclination means the angle between the seat and the
backrest should be 120 degrees. The lumbar support of 5 cm means the chair backrest
supports the lumbar by sticking out 5 cm in the lower back area. One drawback to
creating an open body angle by moving the backrest backwards is that it takes ones body
away from the tasking position, which typically involves leaning inward towards a desk
or table. One solution to this problem can be found in the kneeling chair. A proper
kneeling chair creates the open body angle by lowering the angle of the lower body,
keeping the spine in alignment and the sitter properly positioned to task. The benefit of
this position is that if one leans inward, the body angle remains 90 degrees or wider. One
mis-perception regarding kneeling chairs is that the body's weight bears on the knees, and
thus users with poor knees cannot use the chair. This misperception has led to a
generation of kneeling chairs that attempt to correct this by providing a horizontal seating
surface with an ancillary knee pad. This design wholly defeats the purpose of the chair. In
a proper kneeling chair, some of the weight bears on the shins, not the knees, but the
primary function of the shin rests (knee rests) are to keep one from falling forward out of
the chair. Most of the weight remains on the buttocks. Another way to keep the body from
falling forward is with a saddle seat. This type of seat is generally seen in some sit stand
stools, which seek to emulate the riding or saddle position of a horseback rider, the first
"job" involving extended periods of sitting.

Another key to reducing lumbar disc pressure is the use of armrests. They help by putting
the force of your body not entirely on the seat and back rest, but putting some of this
pressure on the armrests. Armrest needs to be adjustable in height to assure shoulders are
not overstressed.

[edit] Organizations
The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) is a federation of ergonomics and
human factors societies from around the world. The mission of the IEA is to elaborate
and advance ergonomics science and practice, and to improve the quality of life by
expanding its scope of application and contribution to society. As of September 2008, the
International Ergonomics Association has 46 federated societies and 2 affiliated societies.
The International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is a professional organization
for mobility engineering professionals in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial
vehicle industries. The Society is a standards development organization for the
engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds, including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and
others. The Society of Automotive Engineers has established a number of standards used
in the automotive industry and elsewhere. It encourages the design of vehicles in
accordance with established Human Factors principles. It is one the most influential
organizations with respect to Ergonomics work in Automotive design. This society
regularly holds conferences which address topics spanning all aspects of Human
Factors/Ergonomics.[citation needed]
In the UK the professional body for ergonomists is The Institute of Ergonomics and
Human Factors and in the USA it is the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. In
Europe professional certification is managed by the Centre for Registration of European
Ergonomists (CREE). In the USA the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics
performs this function. In Canada the professional body for ergonomists is the
Association of Canadian Ergonomists.
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) is the world's largest organization
of professionals devoted to the science of human factors and ergonomics. The Society's
mission is to promote the discovery and exchange of knowledge concerning the
characteristics of human beings that are applicable to the design of systems and devices
of all kinds. [10]