subject: Scope Of Concerns In Ergonomics Presentation [print this page] Ergonomics deals with the human factors that affect the work efficiency of the employees and their quality of production. It is the scientific application of designing a workplace wherein the employees can interact safely with the workplaces equipment. Also called biotechnology or human engineering, ergonomics is designed to prevent injuries in the workplace and maintain comfort among employees.
Ergonomics aims to achieve two objectives: health maintenance and consistent productivity. In ergonomics, the design of the work area is tailored to how the pieces of equipment are to be used. The equipment, on the other hand, is designed in such a way that an employee can use it safely and comfortably. The ergonomic expert has to consider the users capabilities, limitations, and work routine to achieve the best fit between the equipment and the users.
Ergonomics is concerned with three major areas, namely physical, cognitive, and organizational aspects. In physical ergonomics, human anatomical factors are correlated to the physical activity needed to perform the job. The amount of strength needed to operate a machine is just one of the many biomechanical factors that ergonomists consider.
In an ergonomics presentation, cognitive factors are also considered. Cognitive factors include perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response. These areas are associated with mental workloads, decision-making skills, human-computer interaction design, and work stress factors. Ergonomists must be able to correlate a highly-motivational workplace setting to these cognitive factors.
When physical and cognitive factors of employees are already dealt with, the companys socio-technical systems are optimized. The organizational factors presented in an ergonomics presentation include company structure, policies, processes, and workflow. These comprise communication design, work design, teamwork, time management design, and virtual organization design. In organizational ergonomics, the participatory design and quality management help in new work programs. This helps employees deal with the workflow easier.
In a workplace ergonomics presentation, the employees are prevented from physical strains and stress factors. Workplace ergonomics can be reactive or proactive. Reactive ergonomics provide corrective measures to the problems, while proactive ergonomics provide a preventive setting. Either way, workplace ergonomics solves problems through equipment layout and design, task design, and environmental design.
