"Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors engineering or HFE) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems."
The study of how people interact with products, systems, and environments, with the goal of improving effectiveness, safety, efficiency, and satisfaction.
Anthropometry: The study of human body dimensions and physical characteristics to design products and equipment that fit the human body.
Biomechanics: The study of the mechanics of human movement to optimize comfort, safety, and performance.
Cognitive psychology: The study of mental processes to enhance human performance and reduce errors in design.
Perception and sensation: The study of how humans receive, interpret, and respond to sensory stimuli, including sound, vision, and touch.
Human-computer interaction: The study of how people interact with computer systems and interfaces to design systems that are easy to use and efficient.
Human error and reliability: The study of the causes of human error and methods for preventing or reducing its impact.
Workload and stress: The study of how workload and stress affect human performance and how to design work systems that minimize the impact of these factors.
Human decision-making: The study of how people make decisions and how to improve their decision-making skills through design.
Task analysis: The study of work tasks to identify opportunities for improvement in task design, organization, and execution.
Safety engineering: The study of how to design systems and products that minimize the risk of injury or harm to humans.
Environmental design: The study of the design of the physical and social environment to enhance human well-being and performance.
Human factors in transportation: The study of how human factors affect transportation systems and how to design transportation systems that optimize safety, efficiency, and user experience.
Usability testing: The study of how to evaluate the usability of products, systems, and software to improve user experience and performance.
Ethics and professionalism: The study of the ethical and professional considerations in the design of products and systems that affect human behavior and performance.
Physical ergonomics: This type of ergonomics is primarily concerned with the physical interaction between people and their environment. It involves examining and designing the physical workplace (e.g., chairs, desks, workstations, lighting, temperature) to minimize stress on the musculoskeletal system and prevent injury or musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs).
Cognitive ergonomics: This type of ergonomics focuses on mental processes, including attention, perception, memory, and decision-making. It concerns how people process information, learn, and make decisions in the context of their work. Cognitive ergonomics can be applied in various fields, such as user interface design and human-computer interaction.
Organizational ergonomics: This type of ergonomics is concerned with designing work systems that optimize productivity, reduce errors, and foster job satisfaction while minimizing stress and unnecessary physical or mental exertion. Organizational ergonomics considers factors like work schedules, job design, teamwork, communication, and leadership.
Environmental ergonomics: This type of ergonomics involves designing environments that enhance human performance and well-being. It includes considerations like lighting, noise levels, indoor air quality, and thermal conditions.
Macroergonomics: This type of ergonomics examines the interaction between systems, processes, and people at the organizational or societal level. It considers how to optimize large-scale systems to promote overall well-being and productivity, such as optimizing traffic flow in a city or designing a hospital to minimize infection risk and maximize caregiving efficiency.
Anthropometry: This is a branch of ergonomics that focuses on the measurement of the human body in order to design products and spaces that fit the range of human sizes, shapes, and abilities. It involves measuring various body dimensions, range of motion, strength, and sensory capabilities to create products, machines, and structures that are easy and comfortable to use.
Safety ergonomics: This type of ergonomics is focused on ensuring that work processes, equipment, and processes are designed to prevent accidents and reduce the risks of injury. Safety ergonomics considers factors like the likelihood of human error, the effects of fatigue and stress, and the need for training and labeling.
"The primary goals of human factors engineering are to reduce human error, increase productivity and system availability, and enhance safety, health and comfort with a specific focus on the interaction between the human and equipment."
"The field is a combination of numerous disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, engineering, biomechanics, industrial design, physiology, anthropometry, interaction design, visual design, user experience, and user interface design."
"Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design to optimize human well-being and overall system performance."
"Human factors engineering is relevant in the design of such things as safe furniture and easy-to-use interfaces to machines and equipment."
"Proper ergonomic design is necessary to prevent repetitive strain injuries and other musculoskeletal disorders, which can develop over time and can lead to long-term disability."
"Human factors and ergonomics are concerned with the 'fit' between the user, equipment, and environment or 'fitting a job to a person' or 'fitting the task to the man'."
"To assess the fit between a person and the used technology, human factors specialists or ergonomists consider the job (activity) being done and the demands on the user; the equipment used (its size, shape, and how appropriate it is for the task), and the information used (how it is presented, accessed, and changed)."
"Ergonomics draws on many disciplines in its study of humans and their environments, including anthropometry, biomechanics, mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, industrial design, information design, kinesiology, physiology, cognitive psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, and space psychology."
"Human factors research employs methods and approaches from these and other knowledge disciplines to study human behavior and generate data relevant to previously stated goals."