Midterm Flashcards
What is Ergonomics?
The study of the interaction between people and machines, and factors that affect the interaction
What is the purpose of ergonomics? What is the ultimate goal?
To improve system performance, Reduce worker injury
Who is the grandfather of ergonomics?
Fredrick Taylor
How can we design the user interface to make it more compatible with the task and the user?
-change the work enviornment to make it safer and more appropriate for the task
- change the task to make it more compatible with user characteristics
- change the way work is organized to accomodate people’s psychological and social needs
Explain “Taylorism”
- all jobs are worthy of study/improvement
- management is responsible for ensuring this is done in order to maximize returns
- methods broke down full tasks into simpler tasks = division of labour
- wanted tasks to be performed in the most efficient way possible = use “time and motion studies” to prove this
Explain the Bethlehem steel shovel experiments
- Employees moved piles of a variety of products
Manipulated certain factors - adjust size of shovel, measured how long it takes to move the piles
As the size of shovel increased, employees could move pile quicker
Point of diminishing returns: if shovel is too big, the load became too heavy and the employee could not move the shovel
Found sweet spot for variables and manipulated it to maximize performance
Get the largest amount of material and move it in the shortest period of time
What are some advantages of Taylorism?
most workers could learn multiple tasks
fewer skilled labourers were required (skill shortages were mitigated)
a precursor to mass-production of products, which made products cheaper to produce and subsequently, purchase
What are some disadvantages of Taylorism
led to the “de-skilling” of craftsmen and created mundane, repetitive jobs
hierarchy in the workplace
workers to the work, managers to thinking
dehumanization - worked looked at like machines
What is the major issue with Taylorism?
The psychological and social context of workers was not considered
What is physical ergonomics?
concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity
What related topics are included in physical ergonomics?
Working postures
Materials Handling
Repetitive-motions
Work-related msk disorders
Workplace layout and design
Safety and Health
What is cognitive ergonomics?
Concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning and motor response, with regard to interactions among humans and other elements of a system
What related topics are included in cognitive ergonomics?
mental workload
decision making
skilled performance
human-computer interaction
human reliability
stress
training
What are the organizational factors of ergonomics?
Concerned with the optimization of sociotechnical systems, including their organizational structures, policies and processes
What is the role of Ergonomists?
Investigates the demands for ergonomics to ensure appropriate interactions between work, product, and environment and human needs, capabilities and limitations
Documentation
Determines compatibility of human capabilities with planned or existing demands
Make and implement appropriate plans and recommendations for ergonomic changes
Evaluates the outcome of implementing ergonomics recommendations
