Ergonomics: Interactions amongst humans and the profession in order to design a way to

optimize human well-being and the system performance

Ergonomists: Contribute to design/evaluation of tasks in order to make them compatible with
the needs, abilities, and limitations of people.

Biomechanics is the research, and Ergonomics is the practice

Hippocrates: The Father of Medicine. He stated that a surgeon's workplace should have ideal
working posture, workplace design, and appropriate tools.

Bernardino Ramazzini: Founder of occupational medicine. Wrote “De Morbis Artificum

Diabtriba” which was the first piece on occupational diseases. Realized that a lot of diseases
were caused by prolonged irregular motions and postures.

Ergonomics in the Industrial Revolution: Advances in areas such as electricity, steam

engine, internal combustion engine, and petroleum led to advances in textile, printing press,
agriculture, and iron/steel. The improvement of working processes are the same motivation
behind erg.

Frederick Winslow Taylor: Pioneered “scientific management” which proposed ways to find
optimum carrying methods for given tasks. Reduced the size and weight of coal shovels until
the fastest rate was obtained.

Frank & Lillian Gilbreth: Expanded on Taylor’s and developed a study to improve efficiency by
eliminating unnecessary steps and actions. Wanted to find the “one best way”.

Henry Ford: Master of the Division of Labour. Utilized conveyer factories.

Second Industrial Revolution: Became dominated by “task oriented workplaces” that would fit
the person to the job.

Effect of WWI / WWII: Due to the demands of the war effort, there were more men sent to war
so there were more women sent to factories.
● Women of Steel: Women that were working in factories designed for the physical
capabilities of robust, young, men. Increase in over-exertion, cumulative trauma injuries,
and shiftwork.

Human Factors [Profession] is Born: 1945-1960

● US / Britain: First engineering psych labs
● Britain: First “Ergonomics Research Society” formed
● First book on human factors in eng
● First scientific journal on Erg (1957)
● International Ergonomics Society launched (1959)
Birth of Human Factors: 1960-1980
● Human factors started seeing usage beyond the military, partly fed by the “Race for
Space”. Expansion beyond both of these went to industry and workplace.

Workers Compensation and Unions: Eliminates lawsuits for injuries. Protect workers’ health
and safety. Right to refuse unsafe work.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH): 1970

● US Government Agency; Set establishing work guidelines; Still influential today in US
legislation

Knowledge Revolution: 90s, early 2000s

● Computers were in our home and palms of our hands. Accelerating pace of knowledge
work in the last decade. Shift to finding more efficient workplace design.

HFE: Science that studies the interactions between humans and systems surrounding them
● Looks at how humans interact with the tasks, tools, devices, processes, and
environment that surrounds them.
● What affects our behavior and decisions in the workplace. Maximize capabilities,
minimize limitations
● How we work both mentally and physically

Physical Interface: Ergonomics; anthropometrics; strength capability

Psychological Interface: Perception; decision-making; control actions; compatibility
expectations; visual acuity; acoustic sensitivity
Human Thought Processes: Basis for reaching decisions; ideal vs. actual behaviour;
information theory/memory resources/attention resources
Social Psychology: Relationships w/ others; Organizational behaviour

Ergonomics is an Applied Discipline:

● Sciences: Biomechanics; anatomy; physiology; eng (industrial/mechanical)
● Arts: Psychology (behavioural/industrial); organizational behaviour
● Commerce: Economics; management; accounting; info systems

Physical Ergonomics: Concerned w/ anatomical, anthropometric, physiological, and

biomechanical characteristics
● Designing Workstations (Airplane Cockpits, Office Environments, Factory Design, etc)

Cognitive Ergonomics: Concerned w/ mental processes like perception, memory, reasoning,

and motor response. Understanding stressors!
● Improving ATC, Ship Navigators, Car Drivers
Organizational Ergonomics: Concerned w/ optimization of sociotechnical systems, including
structures, policies, and processes.
● Communication, Work Systems, Teamwork, Participatory Design, Virtual Organization,
and Shared Office

Macro-Ergonomics Model:
● Organizational Factors
● People Factors
● Tech Factors

Where Do Erg Work?: Academia; Govern; Military; Major Industries; Self-Employed

Becoming Ergonomist:
● Meet standard of competencies in education and practice
● Degree in related field
● Minimum of 4-years in full time practice
● Devote work time to application, practice, teaching erg
● Maintain certification through continuance of certification process
In Ergonomics, one needs to consider the size of the person (anthropometrics) and how
strong the person is in xxx posture (biomechanics)

Anthropometry: Can reveal risks of the workplace, but does come from normative data and not
survey tools
● Mass; Stature; Size; Breadth; Segment Lengths; Segment Circumferences; Joint
Breadths; Specific Posture Measures; Body Composition

Anthropometry influences the design of workspaces, equipment, tools, and work clothing in
order to contribute to efficient work processes.

Kinanthropometry also influences design using consideration of reach, clearance, and

posture.

Design for the Individual: Fitting the task to the person. It can be hard to design a workstation
for one individual. It is the best approach but not always effective.

Design for the Average: There truly is no “average”. Very difficult to find a person who is
average in more than a few. Can lead to over-simplifcation.

Design for the Range: Follows the NORMAL distribution. Perhaps more cost effective. Utilizes
a 5-95th percentile.

Designing w/ Adjustments: Allow for adjustments in size, shape, position, intensity, and
duration to accommodate unexpected circumstances. Commonly uses 5th female and 95th
male.
● Psychophysics: Accurately perceive biomechanical and physiological loading. Design for
the strength capability of 75% of females and 99% of men.

Design for the Extreme: Try to accommodate the entire population group. Maximum and
minimum levels. Smallest female and the largest males.

Reach: Optimal when conditions are perfect. Can be constrained by balance, clothing, joint
mobility, blocked surfaces, and job requirements. Should be designed for the smallest people in
the working population (5th female percentile).
● Vertical Reach…
➔
➔
➔
➔
● Horizontal Reach…

Clearance: Space needed to allow free passage of a person or body segment. Clearances
should be designed for the largest people in the working population (95th percentile male).
Musculoskeletal Disorders: Injuries from work affecting the musculoskeletal system. Includes
muscles, tendons, nerves, and skeletal tissue.

The back is the primary source of injury, but the upper extremity follows behind it.

Overexertion… the most common body part injured is the back, and it is accounted by the
manual handling of materials.

Low Back Pain: This is the most common area for back injury.

High Impact Claims: MSDs contribute to 33% of all allowed lost time claims and 41% of all lost
time benefit payments.

Leading Injury Characteristics:

● Nature of Injury (39%): Principal physical characteristics of injury - Sprains/Strains (Oth.)
● Source (22%): What produced or inflicted the affliction - Structures
● Event (17%): Manner in which affliction was produced - Overexertion (Oth.)
● Part of Body (17%): Affected body part - Low Back (Oth.)

Risk of Injury is proportional to Demand v. Capacity

Application of Force: More force equals more effort and a longer time needed to recover in
between tasks. More force develops fatigue faster.
● Amount of force needed depends on weight of objects, tool placement, shape of tool,
condition of the tool, handling options, temperature

Acute (Excessive) Loading: Force applied for brief time produces macrotrauma, and failure
tolerance remains high.
Repetitive (Cumulative) Loading: Low levels of force applied produce microtrauma. This
results in reduced failure tolerance.
Extended Loading: Sustained low levels of force over extended time produces microtrauma
which results in reduced failure tolerance.

Types of Grip:
1. Power Grip; Palmar Grip; Finger Press; Press
2. Pinch Grasp; Pulp Grip; Precision Pinch; Lateral Precision Pinch

Effect of Posture: Awk (deviation from normal alignment) or sustained movements.

Effect of Repetitive Motions: Pace of work determines time available to recover in between
cycles of a task. Stress increases with little control over timing and speed of work. Higher stress
comes with muscle tension causing fatigue.
Optimal Loading Rate: Cyclic loading. Loading is necessary for optimal tissue health. When
loading and the degradation of tolerance are followed by rest, adaptive tissue response
increases tolerance.

Other MSD Risk Factors:

● Vibration; Loading Type (Compression/Tension/Shear/Bending/Torsion); Age; Sex;
Previous Injury; Job Experience; Morphological (Strength/Aerobic/Anthro); Nutrition
(Vitamin/Mineral Deficiency); Disease Processes (Arthritis/Diabetes/Renal
Dialysis/Thyroid Problems); Hormonal Factors (Diurnal Variations/Menstruation/Oral
Contraceptives/Preggo)

Psychology: Pain focus; pain amplification; attitude

Psychosocial: Perceptions of cognitive/emotional work environment
Sociology: Social pressure to make claims; cultural differences
Sociophysical: Human rights; work practices based on social pressure
Physiology: Tissue capacity variability; task performance variability
Psychophysical: Perceptions of physical work environment; stress-related change to tissue

High Impact Claims have unignorable costs. Lifetime cost can range from $33k-$52k. The total
cost from employers can be more than 5x higher due to extra damage, legal costs,
time/resources needed to investigate incidents, training for hires, damage to reputation and
morale.

People are also incredibly valuable. Loss or absence of an employee with special knowledge
and skills cannot be measured in only dollars.

Intervertebral Disc: Annular Tearing; Disc Migration; Herniation

Vertebral Body: Compression Fracture; Wedge Fracture; Burst Fracture
Ligaments/Muscles: Sprains; Strains

Combined Loading: Actual stresses by discs and joints are caused by a combination of weight
of body segments, weight of objects moved, push/pull forces, bending back, twisting back, and
back muscles (Erector Spinae)

Low Back Applied Forces:

● 3400N is considered the “safe limit”
● External Forces: Object weight, weight of body (both acting downwards)
● Internal Forces: Reaction muscle forces, moment from point of rotation to stay still

A stoop lift requires lower oxygen consumption than a squat lift, but stoop has more
compressive forces
Tendinitis: Overuse/angular movements; Unaccustomed repetitive work; Persistent strain;
Gripping, Jolting, Vibration; Direct local trauma

Epicondylitis: Grasping; Twisting; Vibration; Repeated supination/pronation or forceful wrist

extension; Unaccustomed movements

Raynaud’s Syndrome: Forceful gripping or vibrating tools; Complete close of digital arteries;
Cold vasospasm in fingers; Changes in microvasculature like arterial wall hypertrophy or blood
vessel fibrosis

De Quaervain’s Disease: Hand twisting and forceful gripping; Friction between two thumb
tendons and common sheath; o sheath becomes inflamed

Trigger Finger: Tendon locked in the sheath; On palm side of fingers w/ hard edged tools,
flexion/extension of digits against resistance, or pistol air tool

Application of Force - Upper Body MSDs:

1. Exceeds tissue tolerance (acute)
2. Progressively weakens tissue (chronic)
Determined by properties of object, effective weight, surface friction characteristics, inertial
effects

Effect of Posture - Upper Body MSDs:

1. Muscle/tendon overload
2. Uneven/asymmetrical joint loading
3. Static loading
Problems with shoulder (arms up; repeated reaching behind; throwing parts over shoulder),
elbow (rotation of forearm, extended arm extends muscles, mechanical disadvantage),
hand/wrist (radial deviation, flexion/extension, pinching, combinations), and finger/hand (power
grasp, high movement frequency, excessive force, precision grasp, friction on tendons)

Repetition & Duration: Quantification of # of movements in a given time. Relationship between

duration and rest (Low = 30s+/<50% of same movement; High = reverse). Acute fatigue is
relieved by rest and chronic fatigue occurs over prolonged periods of time.
Ideally, one wants to limit the demands and take advantage of one’s skills. Demands should not
outweigh the capacity of the person.

Most job tasks tend to have…

● Excessive physical loads: High intensity; excessive force; long duration
● Increased mental loads: Education/Job knowledge; distractions; type of task; time
pressure; confidence
● Poor job conditions: Postures; environment

Hazard Identification: Identity the task constraints

● Physical: Repetition; heavy loads; poor posture
● Psychological: Distraction; time pressures; uncertainty
● Organizational: Poor operating procedures; improper supervision; improper ppe
● Environmental: Noise; light; vibration; temperature

Mismatch Between Demands v. Capacity:

1. Worker Characteristics:
● Physical: General worker characteristics (i.e. age)
● Sensory: Measures of sensory processing capability (i.e. auditory)
● Motor: Measures of capability (i.e. strength)
● Psychomotor: Measures of mental/motor interaction (i.e. reaction time)
● Personality: Measures of values and attitudes (i.e. risk acceptance)
● Training/Experience: Amount of education to job (i.e. trade school)
● Health Status: General health (i.e. Substance abuse)
● Leisure Time Activities (i.e. sports)
2. Work/Task Characteristics:
● Load: Measurements
● Dimensions: Size of unit
● Distribution of Load: Relationship between load and worker (1-hand, 2-hand)
● Couplings: How easily load can be grasped (i.e. texture, handle size)
● Stability of Load: Measure of CM location consistency (i.e. solid v. liquid)
3. Workplace Characteristics:
● Workplace Geometry: Spatial properties of task
● Frequency/Duration/Place: Time dimensions of task
● Complexity: Factors that compound demands (i.e. precision tolerance)
● Environment: Consideration of deterioration of environment factors
4. Work Practices Characteristics:
● Individual: Measures of operating practices under individual control
● Organizational: Measures of work organization (i.e. safety guards)
● Administrative: Measures of administration of operating practices (i.e. safety
incentive)
Risk Assessment: Measure task risk factors. Choose the appropriate tools.
● Field Study: Most common for evaluating real world tasks
● Lab Study: Can be used with existing work tasks (bring measurements back from field
and create lab mock ups)
● Computer Simulations: More common in designing NEW work tasks (flexible,
development of mockups, usability testing, is iterative process)

Redesign Job to Fit Worker: Take appropriate action using hierarchy of controls
● Elimination: Physically remove hazard
● Substitution: Replace what produces hazard w/ something that does not
● Engineering Controls: Do not eliminate hazards but rather isolate people from them
● Administrative Controls: Do not remove hazards, but limit exposure to them
● PPE: Least effective means

Physical Demand Info Forms: Can be done by non-trained ergonomists. Assesses risk
factors. Shows interaction between worker and equipment. Identifies possible risk factors.
Compares risks before and after interventions.

Body Discomfort Maps: These provide subjective assessment of pain and discomfort.

BORG: Subjective rating of muscular discomfort and force increase as power function of stimuli

Epidemiological Research: Injury Statistics showing when MSDs lifted

● Heavy objects are high
● Load is wide
● Object is lifted from the floor
● Objections are frequently lifted

Biomechanical Research: L5/S1 greatest site of stress. Compressive force is essential

determinant.

Psychophysical Research: Ability to perceive capacity for biomechanical and physiological

loading.

Physiological Research: Capacity to do work for extended periods of time.

Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation - Most comprehensive (considers all research)

Snook Tables - Psychophysical
Garg - Physiological
Interpreting LI:
● LI <_ 1 (Very Low) - No recommended actions
● 1 < LI <_ 1.5 (Low) - Pay attentio+n to low frequency/high load conditions and to
extreme or static postures. Include all factors in redesigning tasks or workstations
● 1.5 < LI <_ 2 (Moderate) - Redesign tasks and workplaces accordingly to drop LI and
analyze it to prove effectiveness
● 2 < LI <_ 3 (High) - Changes to task should be high priority
● 3 < LI (Very High) - Changes to task should be done immediately

Sequential Lifting Index: Tasks w/ job rotation; order of tasks is considered in final LI
Cumulative Lifting Index: Tasks w/ varying lifting indexes and durations throughout shift
Variable Lifting Index: Assessing multiplying and varying; lifting tasks throughout workshift