10702 Ergonomics

Credits: 4 intermediate credits in Industrial Engineering and Management

Prerequisites: none

Required: Introduction to Industrial Engineering and one of the following: Introduction to Statistics for Students of Social Sciences I, Introduction to Statistics and Probability for Science Students

Recommended: Fundamentals of Physics I, Statistical Inference

Ergonomics addresses topics related to worker's physiology for planning tasks and the workplace, acquisition of engineering knowledge for man-machine interface design, and analysis of work-related tasks. This course deals with the physiological and mental potential of the worker as a basis for the engineering design of systems that combine humans and machines (in and out of the workplace) to improve the ability and performance of the worker. It presents engineering knowledge for designing man-machine interfaces, thereby contributing to workplace design and to the design of tools and products. It provides tools for analysis of work-related tasks, and of environmental requirements related to the workers’ safety.

The course is based on videotaped lectures. Tutorials are laboratory sessions, at which attendance is mandatory.

Topics: Introduction to ergonomics and the development of ergonomic theory; The structure of the human body; Principles of muscle work and neuron control; Manual skills; Hard work; Anthropometrics; Work-station planning; Manual tools; Visual displays; Controls; Vision, illumination and attention; Ergonomics analysis; Hearing and noise; Human error and accidents.