IMPORTANCE OF ERGONOMICS

Ergonomics: - An applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and
things interact most efficiently and safely. It is also called biotechnology, human engineering, human factors.

Human factors and ergonomics is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the design of
products, processes, and systems. The goal of ergonomics is to reduce human error, increase productivity, and
enhance safety and comfort with a specific focus on the interaction between the human and the products. It is not
simply changes or amendments to the work environment but encompasses theory, methods, data and principles all
applied in the field of ergonomics.

The field is a combination of numerous disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, engineering, biomechanics,
physiology, anthropometry, interaction design, visual design and user experience.

The goal of ergonomics is to reduce your exposure to work hazards. A hazard is defined as a physical factor within
your work environment that can harm your body. Ergonomic hazards include working in awkward or
uncomfortable postures and using excessive force or high repetition to complete a task.

Ergonomics is important because when you're doing a job and your body is stressed by an awkward posture,
extreme temperature, or repeated movement your musculoskeletal system is affected.

Bernardino Ramazzini was one of the first people to systematically study the illness that resulted from work
earning himself the nickname “father of occupational medicine”. In the late 1600s and early 1700s Ramazzini
visited many worksites where he documented the movements of laborers and spoke to them about their ailments.

In the 19th century, Frederick Winslow Taylor pioneered the "scientific management" method, which proposed a
way to find the optimum method of 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 the "time and motion study".

The major workplace ergonomic risk factors to consider are:

 High Task Repetition
 Forceful Exertions
 Repetitive/Sustained Awkward Postures

There are 10 fundamental principles of ergonomics which are:

 Work in neutral postures
 Reduce excessive force
 Keep everything in reach
 Work at proper height
 Reduce excessive motions
 Minimize fatigue and static load
 Minimize pressure points
 Provide clearance

Advantages: -
 Ergonomics improves productivity
 Ergonomics improves quality
 Ergonomics improves employee engagement
 Ergonomics creates a better safety culture
There are three different types of ergonomics – physiological, cognitive, and emotional. They all deal with
product/user fit, each in a different aspect of the user’s experience.
 Physiological Ergonomics
Physiological Ergonomics is the “original” ergonomics, and often considered (mistakenly) as the only kind.
It’s concerned with product/body fit, and so it is responsible for designing products that best fit the user’s
body in terms of human anatomy, body’s actions, and anthropometrics.
Physiological-Ergonomics is mostly used for products with strong integrations with the user’s body such as
chairs, medical devices, and working environments.

 Cognitive Ergonomics
Cognitive Ergonomics is concerned with product/intellect fit. It’s responsible for designing products that
users can easily comprehend, and so it deals with user’s mental processes – perception, learning, memory,
reasoning, and more.
It’s mostly used for complex products with a variety of usage and operation options such as computers,
professional devices, and machinery.

 Emotional Ergonomics
Emotional Ergonomics is concerned with product/emotions fit. It’s responsible for designing products that
users can emotionally connect to, and so it deals with the user’s emotional perceptions and reactions.
It’s mostly used for products with high emotional involvement, the kind of products that represent one’s
personality and taste such as mobile phones, kitchen appliances, cars, and furniture.

Conclusion
Product design and ergonomics goes hand in hand. Every meaningful product (in terms of users’
engagement and usage) has to be ergonomically designed to fit its users in the best possible ways. It
depends on the product and its category which of the three ergonomics types should be considered. At the
beginning of a product design project, the product design manager should ask herself how important is the
product/user fit in terms of the user’s body, brain, and heart – the answer will tell which kind of
ergonomics should be used.