Ergonomics
Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability.
To assess the fit between a person and the used technology, human factors specialists or 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).
The term ergonomics (from the Greek ἔργον, meaning "work", and νόμος, meaning "natural law") first entered the modern lexicon when Polish scientist Wojciech Jastrzębowski used the word in his 1857 article Rys ergonomji czyli nauki o pracy, opartej na prawdach poczerpniętych z Nauki Przyrody (The Outline of Ergonomics; i.e. Science of Work, Based on the Truths Taken from the Natural Science).
The introduction of the term to the English lexicon is 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.
[9] The expression human factors is a predominantly North American[10] term which has been adopted to emphasize the application of the same methods to non-work-related situations.
Some specializations may cut across these domains: Environmental ergonomics is concerned with human interaction with the environment as characterized by climate, temperature, pressure, vibration, light.
[5] Physical ergonomic principles have been widely used in the design of both consumer and industrial products for optimizing performance and preventing/treating work-related disorders by reducing the mechanisms behind mechanically-induced acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries/disorders.
[15] Physical ergonomics is important to those diagnosed with physiological ailments or disorders such as arthritis (both chronic and temporary) or carpal tunnel syndrome.
[18] Certain jobs or work conditions cause a higher rate of worker complaints of undue strain, localized fatigue, discomfort, or pain that does not go away after overnight rest.
These types of jobs are often those involving activities such as repetitive and forceful exertions; frequent, heavy, or overhead lifts; awkward work positions; or use of vibrating equipment.
[19] The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has found substantial evidence that ergonomics programs can cut workers' compensation costs, increase productivity and decrease employee turnover.
[23] With the emergence of collaborative robots and smart systems in manufacturing environments, the artificial agents can be used to improve physical ergonomics of human co-workers.
[26] Cognitive ergonomics is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, emotion, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system.
[5][27] Relevant topics include mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human reliability, work stress and training as these may relate to human–system and human–computer interaction design.
A good deal of evidence indicates that Greek civilization in the 5th century BC used ergonomic principles in the design of their tools, jobs, and workplaces.
[31] The archaeological record also shows that the early Egyptian dynasties made tools and household equipment that illustrated ergonomic principles.
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.
"[35] In the initial 20 years after the World War II, most activities were done by the "founding fathers": Alphonse Chapanis, Paul Fitts, and Small.
Likewise, the growing demand for and competition among consumer goods and electronics has resulted in more companies and industries including human factors in their product design.
Using advanced technologies in human kinetics, body-mapping, movement patterns and heat zones, companies are able to manufacture purpose-specific garments, including full body suits, jerseys, shorts, shoes, and even underwear.
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.
[38] It was originally named the Human Factors Association of Canada (HFAC), with ACE (in French) added in 1984, and the consistent, bilingual title adopted in 1999.
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.
The Human Factors Transforming Healthcare (HFTH) is an international network of HF practitioners who are embedded within hospitals and health systems.
The Society is a standards development organization for the engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds, including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and others.
[49] Sedentary behavior, such as spending long periods of time in seated positions poses a serious threat for injuries and additional health risks.
[51] A study published by the Iranian Journal of Public Health examined socioeconomic factors and sedentary lifestyle effects for individuals in a working community.
The evidence above helps establish the importance of ergonomics in a sedentary workplace, yet missing information from this problem is enforcement and policy implementation.
This is becoming easier with the amount of research around ergonomic tools saving companies money by limiting the number of days missed from work and workers' compensation cases.
[54] Until recently, methods used to evaluate human factors and ergonomics ranged from simple questionnaires to more complex and expensive usability labs.
