Ergonomics

The study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements, and its cognitive abilities is called ergonomics. 

The International Ergonomics Association said that ,“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.” 

Ergonomics studying about the ‘fit’ between computers and their technological robots and environments. It takes account of the user's capabilities and limitations in seeking to ensure that tasks, equipment, information and the environment suit each user. 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) to value the fit between a person and the used technology. Ergonomics using many disciplines in its study of humans and their environments like anthropometry, biomechanics, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, industrial design, kinesiology, physiology and psychology. 

The International Ergonomics Association said that, 

“Physical ergonomics is concerned with human anatomy, and some of the anthropometric, physiological and bio mechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity”. 

“Cognitive ergonomics is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system. (Relevant topics include mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-computer interaction, human reliability, work stress and training as these may relate to human-system and Human-Computer Interaction design.)” 

“Organizational ergonomics: is concerned with the optimization of socio technical systems, including their organizational structures, policies, and processes.(Relevant topics include communication, crew resource management, work design, design of working times, teamwork, participatory design, community ergonomics, cooperative work, new work programs, virtual organizations, telework, and quality management.)” 

Human and their relationship with system

History 

Study about ergonomics emerged from the context of the culture of Ancient Greece. The scientific proved that Greek civilization used ergonomics principles since 5th before centuries such as made tools, job, and workplaces. The proof of this can be found in the description Hippocrates gave of how a surgeon's workplace should be designed and how the tools he uses should be arranged. It is true that Egyptians Dynasties also made tools, household equipment, among others that illustrated ergonomic principles from archaeological records of the early. The term ergonomics derived from Greek ergon and nomos. Ergon meaning work and nomos meaning natural laws. Wojciech Jastrzębowski used the word ergonomics in his 1857 article Rys ergonomji czyli nauki o pracy, opartej na prawdach poczerpniętych z Nauki Przyrody in English version mean The Outline of Ergonomics in other word Science of Work, Based on the Truths Taken from the Natural Science, it’s the first time word ergonomics entered the modern lexicon. 

Later, in the 19th century, Frederick Winslow Taylor proposed a way to find the optimum method for carrying out a given task which is called the "Scientific Management" method. For example, he found that 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. In the early 1900s, Frank and Lillian Gilbreth expanded Taylor's methods to develop "Time and Motion Studies". This method is improved efficiency by eliminating unnecessary steps and actions. 

World War II prosecuted operators about new knowledge because of the development of new and complex machines and weaponry. The decision-making, attention, situational awareness and hand-eye coordination of the machine's operator was the key in the success or failure of a task. 

In the decades since the war, ergonomics has continued to grown well and vary. The Space Age created new human factors issues such as weightlessness and extreme g-forces. How far could environments in space be tolerated, and what the results would they have on the thought and body? The rise of the Information Age has resulted in the new ergonomics place of human-computer interaction (HCI). Also, increasing of demand for and competition among consumer goods and electronics has gave more companies including human factors in product design. 

At the 1949 meeting at the UK's Admiralty, the willingness of the term Ergonomics is widely attributed to British psychologist Hywel Murrell. He led to the foundation of The Ergonomics Society. He used it to encode the studies in which he had been worked during and after the II World War. 

Applications 

More than thirty engineers subcluster in 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, Health Care, IT, Product Design, Transportation, Training, Nuclear and Virtual Environments, and so on. Kim Vicente, a Professor in University of Toronto of Ergonomics, disagree that the nuclear accident in Chernobyl is can be connected to plant designers not paying enough attention to human factors. "The operators were trained but the complexity of the reactor and the control panels nevertheless outstripped their ability to grasp what they were seeing (during the prelude to the accident)." 

Physical Ergonomics is important in the world of medical, particularly to those diagnosed with physiological ailments or disorders such as arthritis (both chronic and temporary) or carpal tunnel syndrome. Pressure that is 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 appear in simple systems and consumer products as well. Some examples in handphone 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. 

Design of ergonomics experiments 

There is a specific series of steps that should be used in order to properly design an ergonomics experiment. First, one should select a problem that has practical impact. The problem should support or test a current theory. The user should select one or a few dependent variable(s) which usually measures safety, health, and/or physiological performance. Independent variable(s) should also be chosen at different levels. Normally, this involves paid participants, the existing environment, equipment, and/or software. When testing the users, one should give careful instructions describing the method or task and then get voluntary consent. The user should recognize all the possible combination's and interactions to notice the many differences that could occur. Multiple observations and trials should be conducted and compared to maximize the best results. Once completed, redesigning within and between subjects should be done to vary the data. It is often that permission is needed from the Institutional Review Board before an experiment can be done. A mathematical model should be used so that the data will be clear once the experiment is completed. 

The experiment starts with a pilot test. Make sure in advance that the subjects understand the test, the equipment works, and that the test is able to be finished within the given time. When the experiment actually begins, the subjects should be paid for their work. All times and other measurements should be carefully measured and recorded. Once all the data is compiled, it should be analyzed, reduced, and formatted in the right way. A report explaining the experiment should be written. It should often display statistics including an ANOVA table, plots, and means of central tendency. A final paper should be written and edited ,after numerous drafts to ensure an adequate report is the final product. 

Ergonomics in the workplace 

Ergonomics is generally used to refer to physical ergonomics as it relates to the workplace , for example ergonomic keyboard and chairs. Ergonomics in the workplace is very important for the safety of employees. Ergonomics can help to decrease the money paid out in workers’ compensation. For example, over five million workers sustain overextension injuries per year. with ergonomics, workplaces can be designed so that workers don’t have to overextend themselves and the manufacturing industry could save billions in workers’ compensation. 

Workplaces may either take the reactive or proactive approach when applying ergonomics practices. Reactive ergonomics is when something must be fixed, and corrective action is taken. Proactive ergonomics is the process in seeking areas that would be improved and fixing the issues before the problem become large. Problems may be fixed through task design, environmental design, or equipment design. the actual changed by equipment design, physical devices used by people. Task design changes what people do with the equipment. Environmental design changes the environment in which people work, but not the physical equipment they use. 

Fields of ergonomics 

Engineering psychology 

Engineering psychology is an interdisciplinary part of ergonomics and understanding the relationships of people to machines, with the intent of improving such relationships. 

Macroergonomics 

Macroergonomics is an approach to ergonomics that explain a broad system view of design, examining organizational environments, culture, history, and work goals. Macroergonomics studying the society/technology interface and their consequences for relationships, processes, and institutions and the optimization of the designs of organizational and work systems through the consideration of personnel, technological, and environmental variables and their interactions. The aim of macroergonomics is to complete the efficient work system at both the macro- and micro-ergonomic level which results in improved productivity, and employee satisfaction, health, safety, and commitment. It correct the whole system, finds how each element should be placed in the system, and considers all aspects for a fully efficient system. A misplaced element in the system can lead to total failure. 

History 

Macroergonomics or organizational design and management factors, deals with the overall design of work systems. This domain didn’t begin to receive recognition as a sub-discipline of ergonomics until the beginning of the 1980s. The idea and current perspective of the discipline was the work of the U.S. Human Factors Society Select Committee on the Future of Human Factors, 1980-2000. This committee was formed to correct trends in all aspects of life and to see at how they would impact ergonomics over the following 20 years. The developments they found include: 

Breakthroughs in technology that would change the nature of work, such as the desktop computer, 

1. The need for organizations to adapt to the expectations and needs of this more mature workforce, 

2. Differences between the post-World War II generation and the older generation regarding their 

3. Expectations the nature of the new workplace, 

4. The inability of solely microergonomics to achieve reductions in lost-time accidents and injuries and increases in productivity, 

5. Increasing workplace liability litigation based on safety design deficiencies. 

The predictions have become and continue to become reality. The macroergonomic intervention in the workplace has been particularly effective in establishing a work culture that promotes and sustains performance and safety improvements. 

Method 

· The method of cognitive walkthrough is a usability inspection method can apply the perspective of the evaluator in identifying a problem evaluaor also able to analyze work systems to identify how well these systems work and how well its workflow 

· Kansei method is a method that could change the way consumers view the new products in the design of this method can also translate the perspective of employees in the system changes in the work system design. 

· Integration of high technology, organization, and one is manually performed procedure step-by-step to implement technological changes to the environment or place someone in the works. it could be possible to make leaders become aware of human and organizational aspects of their plans and in mengefesiensikan technologically technologically. 

· Top modeler: the model is helpful in identifying manufacturing organisasi.hal change is necessary in consideration of a new product. 

· Integrated computer manufacturers, organizations and people can use to design is a method of evaluating computer integrated manufacturing, design organizations and people in knowledge systems sisitem 

· Anthropotechnology is a method that has assumptions about the analysis and design modifications to the system more efficient in a technology transfer between 1 and the other 

· Systems analysis is a useful tool to evaluate the trade-offs systematic nature of the work system interventions 

· Analysis macroergonomic system is a method that analyzes the structuring of the work system according to kompatabilitasnya with a unique aspect of sociotechnical 

· Analysis and design macrergonomic is a method that assesses the systems work by taking ten steps work. 

· Virtual manufacturing and metodoogi response surface is a method that uses a computer tool and a statistical analysis in the design of a workstation. 

Neonatal Ergonomics 

In generally, Neonatal ergonomics is field of ergonomics that studies about the newborn’s developments such as ill, premature, low birth weight, or healthy newborn in his/her environtment, either in hospital, puskesmas, incubator or in bed at their home. By this field, we hope the quality of life of the baby is enchanced by using the ergonomics principles principles and best practice by providing sound physical/musculoskeletal, physiological, neurological, and psychological/social/emotional development, and decreasing life threatening events that may be caused by poor habitat/environment, such as bradycardia/apnea of prematurity.Bottom of Form 

Seating Ergonomics 

Standing is one of the best ways to reduce pressure on the back, but sometimes you also need to sit down, sit down to reduce weight is transferred in a chair, floor, back rest, and armrests. Design a chair that is not good or area that is not right, sitting in a chaiir all day can cause back pain. 

The lumbar, needs to be supported to reduce the pressure of the disk by providing a chairleaning backand lumbar support to prevent excessive pressure. Backrest inclination of 120 degrees is the angle between the seat and backrest should be 120 degrees. Support lumbar 5 cm is support by sticking the lower back area. 

One solution to overcome the problem of weakness of creating an open body angle by moving the backrest to the rear is to use a kneeling chair. A kneeling chair proper angle to create an open body by lowering the angle of the lower body, keeping the spine inalignment and caregivers properly positioned for the task. Misconceptions about the perception of kneeling chair that bears the body weight and poor knee users can not use a chair, kneeling chairs lead generation trying to improve by providing tempet sit horizontally with additional knee pads but with the improvements it defeats the purpose of the chair. 

Balance recognized as a modern original kneeling chair that is made by Peter Opsvik, theoutstanding balance, some of the weight bearson the shin, not the knee, but the main functionof bone dry is to keep one and fell into the frontof the chair. Another way to keep the body fromfalling forward is with a saddle seat. Another key to reducing the pressure of the lumbar discis the use of arms kursi.yang help put the power of your body is not fully on the seat and backrest, but this puts some pressure on the armchair. Armrest to be adjusted in height toensure the shoulder is not depressed. 

Organizations 

One of the federation of ergonomics and human factors societies from around the world is International Ergonomics Association (IEA). In September 2008, the IEA has 46 federated societies and 2 affiliated societies. This organization have a mission 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.In addition, there are International Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), that is a professional organization for mobility engineering professionals in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle industries. This society is a standards development organization for the engineering of powered vehicles of all kinds, including cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and others. The Society of Automotive Engineers has established a number of standards used in the automotive industry and elsewhere. It encourages the design of vehicles in accordance with established Human Factors principles. It is one the most influential organizations with respect to Ergonomics work in Automotive design. This society regularly holds conferences which address topics spanning all aspects of Human Factors/Ergonomics. 

In England, professional ergonomics agency is The Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors and in USA it is the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. The professional sertification in Europe is managed by the Centre for Registration of European Ergonomists (CREE). If in USA the Board of Certification in Professional Ergonomics does this function. And if in Canada the professional body for ergonomists is the Association of Canadian Ergonomists.Meanwhile, the largest organization of professionals in the world, HFES (Human Factors and Ergonomics Society) devoted to the science of human factors and ergonomics. This society have a mission 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.The Institute of Occupational Medicine (IOM) is one of the organisation which has a long history of the practical application of ergonomics in England. This society is founded by the coal industry in 1969, from the outset the IOM employed ergonomics staff to apply ergonomics principles to the design of mining machinery and environments. And at present, IOM still continues ergonomics activities, especially in the fields of musculoskeletal disorders, heat stress and the ergonomics of personal protective equipment. And causation in many occupational ergonomics is the demands and requirements of an ageing England workforce are a growing concern and interest to IOM ergonomists.So the care of ergonomics field in the world must be promote in order to all people became good and better more.