Ergonomics

Ergonomics is the scientific, interdisciplinary study of individuals and their physical relationship to their environment. Ergonomics can be further defined as "the design of the workplace, equipment, machine, tool, product, environment, and system, taking into consideration human's physical, physiological, biomechanical, and psychological capabilities. Ergonomic design is the application of this body of knowledge to the design of tools, machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for safe, comfortable and effective human use. The term ergonomics is derived from the Greek word ergos meaning "work" and nomos meaning "natural laws of" or "study of." In the United States, the term 'human factors engineering' is often used.

Ergonomics is a relatively new branch of science, which was established around 1949, and it relies on research that was carried out in many other older established scientific areas, such as engineering, physiology and psychology. The association between occupations and injuries of body muscles and bones was documented centuries ago. Bernardino Ramazinni (1633-1714) wrote about work-related complaints that he saw in his medical practice in the 1713 supplement to his 1700 publication, "De Morbis Artificum" (Diseases of Workers). Wojciech Jastrzebowski created the word ergonomics in 1857 in a philosophical narrative, "based upon the truths drawn from the Science of Nature". In the early 1900's, the production of industry was still largely dependent on human power/motion and ergonomic concepts were developing to improve worker productivity. Ergonomics developed into a recognized field during the Second World War, when for the first time, technology and the human sciences were systematically applied in a coordinated manner. Physiologists, psychologists, anthropologists, medical doctors, work scientists and engineers, together addressed the problems arising from the operation of complex military equipment. The results of this interdisciplinary approach appeared so promising that the co-operation was pursued after the war, in industry. Interest in the new approach grew rapidly, especially in Europe and the United States, leading to the foundation in the UK of the first ever national ergonomics society in 1949, which is when the term ergonomics' was adopted. This was followed in 1961 by the creation of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), which at present represents ergonomics societies which are active in over 40 countries or regions, with a total membership of over 15 000 people. Research began in a variety of areas such as: muscle force required to perform manual tasks, compressive low back disk force when lifting, cardiovascular response when performing heavy labor, and perceived maximum load that can be carried, pushed or pulled. Areas of knowledge that involved human behavior and attributes (i.e., decision making process, organization design, and human perception relative to design) became known as cognitive ergonomics or human factors. Areas of knowledge that involved physical aspects of the workplace and human abilities such as force required to lift, vibration and reaches became known as industrial ergonomics or ergonomics. Once it became clear that businesses needed to take into account the human environment factors that faced their employees, it resulted in the discipline of ergonomics.

There are many different things in the workplace that add the stress and injuries and they range from heavy lifting to repetitive typing. The world has been faced with an explosion of computer technology. As more and more work, education and recreation involves computers, people need to be aware of the hazards of Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), also referred to as Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD) to the hands and arms resulting from the use of computer keyboards and mice. This can be a serious and very painful condition that is far easier to prevent than to cure once contracted. It can occur even in young physically fit individuals. Most CTD's are preventable and curable if caught early. The key is to notice trouble when it starts, and do something about it. Early signs may include persistent pain, tingling, numbness, burning, or aching. The signs may be constant or may occur mostly after certain activities. The drastic cures, such as surgery, are not always reliable and should be a last resort. Nevertheless, a health professional should be consulted when you are concerned about possible early signs. It is not uncommon for people to have to leave computer-dependent careers as a result, or even to be permanently disabled and unable to perform tasks such as driving or dressing themselves. As computer use has increased, workers who spend long hours at terminals began to show signs of physical strain that had never before been acknowledged with deskwork. Some complaints were headaches, backaches, neck and shoulder tension, wrist and hand injuries, eyestrain, and general irritability. These complaints led to the emergence of new scientist, called ergonomists, to concentrate on these new complaints and find ways of improving health. Ergonomists use information about people, for example, their size (height, weight etc.), their ability to handle information and make decisions, their ability to see and hear and their ability to work in extremes of temperature. An ergonomist studies the way that these things vary in a group of people. With this information, the ergonomists, working with designers and engineers, ensures that a product or service will be able to be used comfortably, efficiently and safely. This must be so not only for 'average' people, but also for the whole range of people who use the product - including perhaps, children, the elderly and the disabled. An ergonomists can also assess existing products and services, showing where they fail to 'fit' the user (in every sense of the word) and suggesting how this fit may be improved.

Ergonomists have helped many businesses improve working conditions and employee health issues related to computer and office work. In many cases, most employers are responsible for any health issues that may arise from their employees due to work hazards. Work hazards may be caused by many different factors in the environment. In the average computer workstation, employees are prone to over a dozen hazards. There exist two factors that can prevent this: forming good work habits and ergonomically designed computer workstations. These work hazards can cause several different injuries such as, Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI), Cumulative Trauma Disorder (CTD), and Repetitive Motion Disorder (RMD). They are described as painful conditions of the hands, arms, neck, and back that develop over days, weeks or years. Epidemiological research has determined that if these biomechanical conditions