INDUSTRIAL ERGONOMICS

TUTORIALS

Prof. Dr. Ndoh Mbue

Department of Industrial Quality, Hygiene, Safety,
and Environment
University of Douala

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Part A
1. The basic definition of Ergonomics is?
A. Using relaxed posture
B. Fitting the employee to the workstation
C. Fitting the workstation to the employee
D. Either B or C
2. The concept of ergonomics was devised in the industrial boom of the 1980’s.
A. True
B. False
3. If you notice tingling, soreness or stiffness in your hands and wrists while typing you should:
A. Correct your typing technique.
B. Adjust your workstation.
C. Take frequent mini-breaks
D. All of the Above.
4. Which of the following can contribute to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?
A. Incorrect typing technique
B. Poor posture
C. Striking the keys too hard.
D. All of the Above
5. The keyboard and monitor should be placed off to the side of the workstation.
A. True
B. False
6. The mouse should be __________________ the keyboard.
A. Higher than
B. Lower than
C. Beneath
D. On the same level as
7. Frequent mini-breaks and stretching exercises can help to relieve stress and make you feel
better.
A. True
B. False

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8. How far should your monitor be from your eyes?
A. 20.32 cm to 60.96 cm
B. 45.72 cm-76.2cm
C. 76.2 cm –121.92 cm
D. At least 121.92 cm
9. Ergonomics only applies to personnel who operate desktop computers.
A. True
B. False
10. How often should you take breaks from keyboarding to stretch your hands and wrists?
A. Every 30 minutes
B. Every 4 hours
C. Once a day
D. Twice a day
11. Holding the phone between your head and shoulder can cause pain in discomfort in the neck
and shoulders.
A. True
B. False
12. What angle should your arms be bent to keyboard safely and comfortably?
A. 180 degrees
B. 90 Degrees
C. 45 Degrees
D. 0 Degrees
13. When typing, your wrists should remain _______________.
A. Twisted
B. Straight
C. Bent
D. Motionless

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Part B
1. As the discipline of Human Factors/Ergonomics evolved, the person-machine system
broadened and now comprises:
A. elements or people having direct control over machines or tools
B. interface elements between the humans and non-human elements
C. elements, people, or other sources having some control over machines or tools
D. elements or people having indirect control over hardware
2. System design is a complex process that proceeds over time in an atmosphere of uncertainty.
The systems process is influenced by many factors – behavioral, physical, technical, and
organizational. Which of the following affect design?
A. project team certifications, engineering specification, development constraints, and
post production timeline
B. project organization and management, environmental constraints, multidisciplinary
nature of the team, and nature of design problem
C. design problem constraints, strategies for solutions, hardware and software, and
profit margin
D. management interest in quantity, strategies for solutions, statistical analyses, and
availability of certified ergonomists
3. While the system design process is considered fundamental to ergonomics/human factors, what
other approaches focus on the system design process?
A. linear sequence of activities where input affects output
B. concept design, physical prototype, production, and evaluation
C. human-computer interface design, biomechanics, testing and evaluation, and cost
analysis (return on investment)
D. sociotechnical systems, participatory ergonomics, user-centered design, computer-
supported design, and ecological interface design
4. In designing an industrial sewing machine that will be sent to Cameroon for a female workforce
to use to manufacture dresses, what is the popliteal height to accommodate 95% of the
workforce? Use the following information and the table below.
[for Chinese females – mean=378mm; standard deviation=23mm]
Required Percentile z Value
0.5 - 2.58

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 2.5 - 1.96
5 - 1.64
95 +1.64
97.5 +1.96
99.5 +2.58
a. 340mm
b. 416mm
c. 339mm
d. 350mm
5. For vigilance tasks, ability to respond to an anomaly is high at the beginning, but drops
dramatically after a short period of time. What are other factors that affect vigilance performance?
A. varying signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio, and signal availability
B. break times, signal movement speed, and number of channels
C. use of coffee or other stimulants, false alarms, and work schedule
D. low signal strength, spatial or temporal uncertainty, and if only a few events happen
in the background
6. You are hired as an ergonomist to analyze and document workplace problems on a factory
floor for an assembly task. You identify high temperatures in the working environment. What
is the process called that the human body uses in controlling body temperature?
A. heat stress
B. acclimatization
C. heart rate
D. thermoregulation
7. You are hired as an ergonomist to assess workplace problems on a factory floor for an assembly
task. You identify poor interaction among the workers. What is the best approach to address
the poor worker interaction issues in that workplace?
A. participatory ergonomics
B. akamiso training
C. re-training with a focus on safety
D. organizational assessment
8. There are many definitions for task analysis. But, a simple interpretation is
A. the job and the people doing the job
B. what is the goal and who achieves it

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 C. who does what and why
D. the overall task broken into its subtasks and actions
9. What are the four reference postures for computer work stations according to the Human
Factors and Ergonomics Society?
A. reclined sitting, upright sitting, declined sitting, standing
B. reclined sitting, declined sitting, kneeling, standing on a fatigue mat
C. sitting on the floor, sitting on a chair, kneeling, standing
D. relaxed sitting, upright sitting, kneeling, standing on a fatigue mat
10. What are the major steps in cognitive task analysis?
A. use experts, conduct task analysis, interview experts, implement the results
B. use typical users, develop task-based scenarios, observe users, analyze the data
C. use typical users, develop task-based scenarios, select and implement knowledge
elicitation methods, implement the results
D. use experts, develop task-based scenarios, select and implement knowledge
elicitation methods, analyze the data
11. What are the elements of situation awareness?
A. perception, comprehension, projection, analysis
B. perception of elements in the environment within a volume of time and space,
comprehension of their meaning, projection of their status in the future
C. perception of elements in the environment within a volume of time and space,
comprehension of their meaning, projection of their status in the future,
interpretation of the results
D. sensing of the elements in the environment, perception of those elements, analysis
of consequences, projection of alternative outcomes, interpretation of the results
12. Why do ergonomists use task analysis?
A. to gain an understanding of what people do in the jobs they carry out
B. to identify job errors and improve job satisfaction
C. to make jobs more efficient
D. to discover interface issues
13. In macroergonomics, what is one of the criteria for selecting an effective work system design
method?

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 A. human-centered evaluation
B. humanized task approach
C. management control of the workplace
D. effective human performance measures
14. In applying the systems approach to the design of a roadway in an urban setting with an
automated in-vehicle informational system, what are the elements of the design problem that
should be considered?
A. driver’s age, speeding issues, roadway configuration, driver distractions, response
times, roadway lighting
B. vehicle design, demographics, road-rage, display visibility
C. roadway surface design, vehicle separation, tire design, audio displays
D. road capacity, vehicle density, innovative use of tail lighting system to warn
following drivers, reflectivity of the lane marking paint
15. Given the following situation, what is the appropriate response?
You are part of a small consulting team performing an ergonomics analysis for the design of a
railroad command center. Your team consists of hardware and software engineers, as well as, test
managers. Since you are the lead on the team, your boss tells you to put only your name on the
final report.
A. this is a common business practice
B. while this is a common business practice, you make sure your team colleagues
know you appreciate their inputs
C. you tell your boss that your colleagues need to have their contribution recognized
D. you don’t tell your boss because she has promised more work for you and your
colleagues
16. The revised (1991) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Lifting
Equation does not apply if the following occurs
A. lifting/lowering stable objects
B. lifting/lowering in an unrestricted workplace
C. lifting/lowering while carrying, pushing, or pulling
D. lifting/lowering in and environment where the temperature is 79º F (26º C) and
the relative humidity is 50%

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Description of Ergonomic Design
"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. "(According to the International Ergonomics Association)

OVERVIEW OF ERGONOMICS
➢ Physical ergonomics
➢ Cognitive ergonomics
➢ Organizational ergonomics

Physical Ergonomics
Physical Ergonomics are concerned with the interaction of the body with the equipment and the
tools, starting right from the chair to the computer. It also studies its effect on the body, for
example, repetitive disorder, workplace safety, health and layout, musculoskeletal disorder and
posture

Cognitive Ergonomics
Cognitive ergonomic emphasizes the ways of information processing by the mind and its
presentation. It is related to the motor function, workload, decision-making and memory-usage.
This helps in understanding the interaction and relation of the human mind with the data
presentation.

Organizational Ergonomics
Organizational ergonomic works on complete optimization of the workplace, right from quality
management to teamwork. It includes managing everything in the organization to make it a better
place to work.

FIELDS OF ERGONOMICS
➢ Engineering Psychology
➢ Macroergonomics

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 ➢ Seating Ergonomics
➢ Engineering Psychology

Engineering Psychology works on the relationship between human and machines and makes a
continuous effort to improve the relation. This might include changing the location of the
workplace, modifying the ways of using machine or redesigning of the equipment. In short, the
main work of engineering psychology is to make the machines 'user-friendly' for the workers.

Macro-Ergonomics
➢ A sub discipline of human factors or ergonomics that emphasizes a broad system view of
design and fitting the organization to the person or persons within that organization.
➢ An approach to ergonomics that emphasizes the examination of the interface between
person and the product, as opposed to other factors
➢ Basically, rather than a fitting the task to the man, Macroergonomics proposes to fit the
organization to the person or persons within that organization
➢ Macro-ergonomics works on a wider aspect and emphasizes more on the organizational
environment, history, goal, culture and design. It concentrates more on the physical design
and the surrounding environment. Its aim is to set an efficient work system and
consequently improve the employee satisfaction, safety, health and productivity in the
organization or workplace

Seating Ergonomics
Seating ergonomics can be defined as a comfortable working posture with a natural alignment of
all your joints from head to toes. Before discussing on how to set your computer workstation, let’s
have a look at the concept of ergonomic seating (neutral body positioning). This method of
Ergonomic Seating helps you reduce the stress and strain on the muscles, tendons, and skeletal
system thus reducing the risks of developing ergonomic problems.

BENEFITS OF ERGONOMICS
1. Decreased injury risk
2. Increased productivity

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 3. Decreased mistakes/rework
4. Increased efficiency
5. Decreased lost work days
6. Decreased turnover
7. Improved morale

APPLICATIONS OF ERGONOMICS
More than twenty technical subgroups within the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES)
indicate the range of applications for ergonomics. Human factors engineering continues to be
successfully applied in the fields of aerospace, aging, health care, product design, transportation,
training, nuclear and virtual environments, among others.

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.

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

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out in workers’ compensation. For example, over five million workers sustain overextension
injuries per year.

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.

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