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Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department

Course: IE 464 (Human Factors Engineering) Medterm exam.

Semester: Fall 2018 Date: 15 / 11 /2018
Instructor: Ahmad Altaboli Time allowed: 1.5 hours

Student name:_____________________________________________ Student no:__________________

1- Show whether each of the following statements is true or false. (15*2=30 points)

T F 1. The main goal of human factors is to decrease performance and increase human well-
being.
T F 2. HFE can only be involved in the stages of planning and design of systems.

T F 3. Only anthropometric aspects must be considered when designing or analyzing

a workplace or a physical task.
T F 4. Slant surfaces for reading require more bending of the neck, and cause more worker
fatigue and discomfort
T F 5. Occupational causes of CTDs include pressure of tools or sharp edges on soft tissues.

T F 6. Individuals with higher levels of VO2max would be able to perform physical work for
longer durations without feeling fatigued.

T F 7. The whole range of the electromagnetic spectrum is visible to the eye.

T F 8. In poorly illuminated viewing conditions, we can’t see colors because the eye’s cone
cells, which can sense color, have low light sensitivity.

T F 9. Spatial frequencies close to ten cycles per degree should give optimum contrast
sensitivity.
T F 10. A bottom-up influence on serial visual search may occur when certain targets are so
conspicuous.
T F 11. A sound pressure of 20 N/m2 is equivalent to a decibel level of 120 dB.

T F 12. Low-pitch sounds mask high-pitch sounds more than the converse.

T F 13. Standardization of communications procedures can help in reducing communication

difficulties in noisy workplaces.

T F 14. Alarms don’t have to signal to the listener the nature of the emergency and the
appropriate action to take.

T F 15. The proprioceptive channel is responsible for our sense of which way is up and which
way is down.

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2- The designers of a new ship wish to specify the minimum deck height to allow sufficient headroom for
the crew. The ship will be built in 2 years’ time and will be in service for 30 years. Assume that the
crew population has a mean stature of 170 cm with a standard deviation of 5 cm and a stature increase
due to the secular trend of 0.10 cm/year.

a. Calculate the 95th percentile of the stature.

b. Recommend an appropriate deck height. Show each of the following in your answer:
• If the dimension is an upper limit or a lower limit.
• The percentile value.
• Allowances.
(10+15= 25 points)

3- Certain items arrive at a packaging station by a conveyer that is 40 cm high. Each item weighs 7 kg,
and the horizontal distance of the handles is 35 cm from worker's ankles. The station is staffed by a
worker, lifting the items from the conveyer and placing them into cardboard boxes that are located on
an 76-cm-high counter with a rate of 2 boxes per minute over an 8-h shift. The worker twists his body
about 180o to pick up the item. Assume good coupling quality.
a. Calculate the load index (LI) for this activity and comment on the result.
b. How much the twist angle should be adjusted for the activity to be safe for the worker?

(10+10= 20 points)

4- The energy-expenditure rate of a physical work is 3.55 kcal/min. The nature of the work requires that it
be performed continuously for 8 hours with no more than 30 minutes of rest. Should a female worker
or a male worker perform this work? Justify your answer.

(15 points)

5- Use the step method to estimate VO2max for an individual with the following test results.

Measurement Value
Gender male
Individual’s weight in Kg 52
Individual’s age in years 23
Step height (cm) 10
Average frequency of stepping (steps/min) during steady state 24
Individual's average heart rate (bmp) during steady state 111

(10 points)

End of Questions … Good Luck!

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