Ergonomics Essay example -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

ErgonomicsErgonomics, as defined by the Board of credentials for Professional Ergonomists (BCPE), is a consistency of knowledge about merciful abilities, benevolent limitations and human characteristics that are relevant to design. Ergonomic design is the application of this torso of knowledge to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for safe, comfortable and effective human use. The edge ergonomics is derived from the Greek word ergos meaning work and nomos meaning inbred laws of or study of. The profession has two major branches with considerable overlap. genius discipline, sometimes referred to as industrial ergonomics, or occupational biomechanics, concentrates on the animal(prenominal) aspects of work and human capabilities such as force, posture, and repetition. A second branch, sometimes referred to as human factors, is oriented to the mental aspects of work such as mental loading and decision-making. The profession is comprised of pra cticing and academic engineers, safety professionals, industrial hygienists, somatogenic therapists, occupational therapists, nurse practitioners, chiropractors, and occupational medicine physicians. History of Ergonomics.Christensen, an expert in the said field, points out that the importance of a good fit betwixt humans and tools was probably realized early in the development of the species. thus cavemen are known to have selected stone tools and made scoops from antelope bones in a clear display of selecting/creating objects to make tasks easier to accomplish. In the work environment, the excerption and creation of tools, machines, and work processes continued. Over centuries, the effectiveness of hammers, axes and plows improved. With the Industrial Revolution, machines such as the spinning jenny (a machine that produced yarn to make cloth) and rolling mill around (a method of flattening iron ore into flat sheets) were developed to improve work processes. This is the resem bling motivation behind much of ergonomics today. The association between occupations and injuries of body muscles and bones were documented centuries ago. Bernardino Ramazinni (1633-1714) wrote about work-related complaints (that he saw in his medical checkup practice) in the 1713 supplement to his 1700 publication, De Morbis Artificum (Diseases of Workers). Wojciech Jastrzebowski created the word ergonomics in 1857 ... ...ngineering Controls) Pullout steps, immaterial handles and multilevel shelving have been installed in delivery trucks to make access to drink cases easier. Counterbalancing devices have been added to improve hand truck stability. Beverage cartons have been redesigned for easier handling. The total weight was decreased by substituting plastic for some starter containers. Ergonomic Solution (Benefits) Reduced risk factor exposure. Employee satisfaction. Improved carnal and psychological comfort. Ergonomic Solution (Method Which Verified Effectiveness) Quanti tative tests of heart rate, straining/fatigue levels and discomfort reports showed statistically significant improvements in physical and psychological comfort, providing scientific justification for the changes. ReferencesR.S. Bridger. (1995) Introduction to Ergonomics. McGraw-Hill International EditionsK.H.E. Kroemer & E. Grandjean. (1999) Fitting the task to the human Taylor & Francis PublishingsThe Human factors section, Health, Safety & Human factors laboratory, Eastman Kodak Company. (1983)Ergonomic design for people at work Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York www.ergoweb.com