ergonomics (redirected from human factors engineering)

ergonomics, the engineering science concerned with the physical and psychological relationship between machines and the people who use them. The ergonomicist takes an empirical approach to the study of human-machine interactions. The objective is to improve the efficiency of operation by taking into account a typical person's size, strength, speed, visual acuity, and physiological stresses, such as fatigue, speed of decision making, and demands on memory and perception. Applications range from the design of work areas (including office furniture, automobile interiors, and aircraft cockpits) to the disposition of switches and gauges on the control panels of machinery to determining the size, shape, and layout of keys on computer terminals and character height, color, and clarity on video displays. The field of ergonomics is also sometimes called human or human-factors engineering, engineering psychology, and biotechnology.

Bibliography

See B. M. Pulat, Fundamentals of Industrial Ergonomics (1992); M. S. Sanders and E. J. McCormick, Human Factors in Engineering and Design (1993).

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ergonomics

 or human engineering or human factors engineering

Profession of designing machines, tools, and work environments to best accommodate human performance and behaviour. It aims to improve the practicality, efficiency, and safety of a person working with a single machine or device (e.g., using a telephone, driving a car, or operating a computer terminal). Taking the user into consideration has probably always been a part of tool design; for example, the scythe, one of the oldest and most efficient human implements, shows a remarkable degree of ergonomic engineering. Examples of common devices that are poorly designed ergonomically include the snow shovel and the computer or typewriter keyboard.

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The science of people-machine relationships. An ergonomically designed product implies that the device blends smoothly with a person's body or actions.

Ergonomics

Although ergonomically designed seats, keyboards and mice are important, perhaps the most beneficial aspect of ergonomics is teaching people to get up periodically and stretch. (Redrawn from original illustration courtesy of Hewlett-Packard Company.)

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ergonomics - The study of the design and arrangement of equipment so that people will interact with the equipment in healthy, comfortable, and efficient manner. As related to computer equipment, ergonomics is concerned with such factors as the physical design of the keyboard, screens, and related hardware, and the manner in which people interact with these hardware devices.