Ergonomics and human factors

What is Human Factors and Ergonomics?
Eric F. Shaver, Ph.D. & Curt C. Braun, Ph.D. www.benchmarkrs.com Human factors and ergonomics focuses on designing the world to better accommodate people.
As a unique scientific discipline, human factors and ergonomics systematically applies the knowledge of human abilities and limitations to the design of systems with the goal of optimizing the interaction between people and other system elements to enhance safety, performance, and satisfaction. Human factors are relevant anywhere people work with systems, whether they are social or technical in nature. The breadth of these sociotechnical systems include situations and circumstances where people interact with other system elements including:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Artifacts (e.g., tools, machines, products, software, etc.)
Tasks
Environments
Teams
Organizations
Legal (e.g., regulations, enforcement, etc.) and political

To learn more about each of these elements, the interested reader should consult the writings of
Carayon (2006), Carayon and Smith (2000), Karwowski (2000), Moray (2000), and Wilson (2000).
Within the last 100 years, a broad spectrum of industries have benefitted by deliberately focusing on how people interact with systems. These industries include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Aerospace
Automotive
Chemical
Computer
Consumer products
Construction
Defense
Forestry

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Healthcare
Manufacturing
Mining
Nuclear
Petroleum
Telecommunications
Textile

The gamut of work human factors and ergonomics practitioners perform is great and has been discussed in greater detail by Karwowski (2005; 2006) and Salvendy (2006).

What is Human Factors and Ergonomics?

2

A Brief History of HF and E
Born of necessity and collaboration
In the United States, the discipline of human factors and ergonomics, is generally considered to have originated during World War II (Wickens & Hollands, 2000), although advances that

References: Brewer, J.D., & Hsiang, S.M. (2002). The ‘ergonomics paradigm’: Foundations, challenges and future directions Cacciabue, P.C. (2008). Role and challenges of ergonomics in modern societal contexts. Ergonomics, 51, 42-48. Carayon, P. (2006). Human factors of complex sociotechnical systems. Applied Ergonomics, 37, 525535. Carayon, P., & Smith, M.J. (2000). Work organization and ergonomics. Applied Ergonomics, 31, 649662. Casey, S. (1998). Set phasers on stun: And other true tales of design, technology, and human error (2nd ed). Fitts, P.M., & Jones, R.E. (1947a). Analysis of factors contributing to 460 “pilot error” experiences in operating aircraft controls (Report No Fitts, P.M., & Jones, R.E. (1947b). Psychological aspects of instrument display. Analysis of 270 “pilot-error” experiences in reading and interpreting aircraft instruments (Report No Forbes, T.W. (1939). The normal automobile driver as a traffic problem. The Journal of General Psychology Gilbreth, L.M. (1914). The psychology of management: The function of the mind in determining, teaching and installing methods of least waste Gilbreth, F.B., & Gilbreth, L.M. (1917). Applied motion study: A collection of papers on the efficient method of industrial preparedness Hancock, P.A., & Diaz, D.D. (2002). Ergonomics as a foundation for a science of purpose. Karwowski, W. (2000). Symvatology: The science of an artifact-human compatibility. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 1, 76-91. Karwowski, W. (2005). Ergonomics and human factors: the paradigms for science, engineering, design, technology and management of human-compatibility systems Karwowski, W. (2006). The discipline of ergonomics and human factors. In G. Salvendy (Ed.), Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 3rd ed Meister, D. (1999). The history of human factors and ergonomics. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Moray, N. (2000). Culture, politics and ergonomics. Ergonomics, 43, 858-868. Norman, D. A. (1988). The design of everyday things. New York, NY: Doubleday. Norman, D.A. (2007). The design of future things. New York, NY: Basic Books. Rasmussen, J. (2000). Human factors in a dynamic information society: Where are we heading? Ergonomics, 43, 869-879. Salvendy, G. (2006). Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (3rd ed). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Taylor, F.W. (1911). The principles of scientific management. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers Publishers. Vicente, K.J. (2003). The human factor. New York, NY: Routledge. Vicente, K.J. (2008). Human factors engineering that makes a difference: Leveraging a science of societal change Wickens, C.D., & Hollands, J.G. (2000). Engineering psychology and human performance (3rd ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Wilson, J.R. (2000). Fundamentals of ergonomics in theory and practice. Applied Ergonomics, 31, 557-567.