The science and practice of Human Factors and Ergonomics is broad. It is successfully applied in many areas - from the design of baby car seats to the layout of ambulances and hospitals and the function of wheelchairs; and from the operation of control rooms, the design of hazardous processes, and the design of shift schedules; to product design, safe and effective work techniques for manual tasks, and the nature of our work environments (etc). Human factors/ergonomics professionals can be found working in the transport industry, in defence, in the energy industry, in design, in computer software/hardware and web usability design, in health and safety, in healthcare, and in a broad range of manufacturing and corporate environments (and everywhere in between). You may find us, or a need for our input, wherever humans work, and wherever systems, tasks, equipment and environments need to be designed well for safe and efficient task performance with excellent usability.
The unique skills of ergonomists and human factors professionals are built on knowledge from disciplines including anatomy, physiology, psychology and design, and taking a ‘systems approach’ to deliver design improvements. They understand the physical and cognitive capabilities of people; organisational and social factors, and how within a system people, products, technologies and physical workspaces interact. Human factors professionals/ergonomists work with system users at all stages of design and evaluation of designs, and may work as part of larger product and system design teams.
The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics as "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 in order to optimise human well-being and overall system performance."
The Human Connection’ is a 2016 document from the Chartered Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics (UK) that sets out a range of case studies exploring the contributions of ergonomics and human factors within many sectors. A variety of human factors/ergonomics goals, methods and approaches are outlined under the categories of ‘simplicity and effectiveness’, ‘comfort and performance’ and ‘efficiency and safety’. Case studies are from rail, transport, security, retail, healthcare, utilities, office, distribution, defence and manufacturing sectors. This resource highlights the value of human factors/ergonomics to industry, educators, policy makers and research funders. We thank our UK colleagues for their excellent work in producing The Human Connection.