NOTES

2.5 PHYSIOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY

1. Introduction

- Ergonomics, derived from the Greek words "ergo" (work) and "nomos" (law), translates to "the law of work".

- ERGONOMICS relationship between man and his occupation, equipment and environment, and particularly
the application of anatomical, physiological and psychological knowledge to problems arising there from

AGENDA

✓Technological Aspects: Technological design, Workspace design, Environmental design, Work situation design

✓ Scientific Aspects: Anatomy, Physiology and Psychology, Work Environment.

Overview

The practical aims of ergonomics are the efficiency and safety of man-machine and man-environment
combinations, together with the welfare and satisfaction of the people involved

3. Anatomy

- Anthropometry: dimensions of human body with it's variations.

- Biomechanics: This involves the forces which can be applied by the body under varying conditions

BASIC ANTHROPOMETRIC VARIABLES

Forward reach , Stature, Eye height, Elbow height, Knee height, Fore-arm hand length, Hand length and breadth,
Foot length and breadth

•BIOMECHANICS - requires the knowledge of gross anatomy, in particular the locations of the main muscle
groups, their composition and modes of action.

Principles of effective application of forces include among others:

• To try to get the body mass to exert the force rather than the muscles

• To use the largest available muscles moving a joint around the central region of its total range.

4. Physiology

✓Work Physiology: is concerned with energy production and expenditure when working

• The effect of the application of effort is an important factor in task setting. • Knowledge of the fatigue results of
applied effort can ensure that demands will not be made on the worker,

• The fastest way to regulate muscular workload entails designing work-rest regimen.

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF MUSCULAR WORK INVOLVES;

1. Dynamic Muscular Work:- active skeletal muscles contract and relax rhythmically. Heart rate, blood pressure,
and oxygen extraction in the muscles increases linearly in relation to working intensity.

2. Static Muscular Work :-muscle contraction does not produce visible movement. Muscles become fatigued and
blood pressure rises

✓ Environmental physiology:- deals with effects of the physical environment of the workplace. It provides
measures of stress and standards of what is reasonable

The environmental parameters include among others:

• Lighting. • Noise. • Vibration. • Climate

Factors that Influence Physiology

✓ Intrinsic Factors - Nutrients, Metabolism, Heart function

✓Extrinsic Factors - Environmental parameters , Workload.

•.Effects Of Body Temperature On Physiology

•Effects Of Noise On Physiology

•Effects Of Vibration on Physiology

•Effects of Oxygen Deficiency

•Effects of Radiation on Physiology

5. Psychology

• Skill Psychology:- involves the mental activity of information processing and consequent decision making

• Occupational Psychology:- deals with the training effort and individual differences

✓ Mental workload - Requirements and demands made by the tasks on the employees namely:

• Perception (visual, auditory etc.)

• Information processing, including cognitive, motivational and emotional aspects

• Memory function

✓Vigilance - human observer's state of alertness in tasks that demand efficient registration and processing of
signals.

✓Mental fatigue: Symptoms include;

• perception: reduced eye movements, reduced discrimination of signals, threshold deterioration.

• Information processing: extension of decision time, action slips, decision uncertainty.

• Memory function: prolongation of information storages, delay in memory searching processes,

- Mental Workload: Considers the demands placed on employees' cognitive abilities, including perception,
information processing, memory, and vigilance.

6. Technological Aspects

1. Systems Design: allocation of functions between mans, machines, and procedures.

• Man and machine complement each other. Machines are powerful, fast and tireless while men are intelligent,
versatile and adaptive

2. Workspace Design - physical surroundings fit the characteristics of the human body

• It depends largely on the application of anthropometry and biomechanics

3. ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN - All environmental parameters should be appropriate to human requirements.

• It is concerned with lighting, heating, ventilation, noise, vibration and all other environmental parameters.

4. Workstation Design - deals with wider issues such as work organisation as well as interpersonal aspects of
work.

• It involves among others; hours of work, rest pauses, shift work, communication, incentives etc.

Typical Administrative Controls

• Training workers in work methods.

• Varying or rotating work tasks.
• Limiting extended work hours.
• Providing mini-breaks.
• Take holiday/leave days vs. selling leave days

CONCLUSION

• Ergonomics demands a two way approach namely, fitting the job to the worker and fitting the worker to the job.

• The two way adaptation process is mainly determined by man's abilities and disabilities.

• Ergonomics is interdisciplinary

. Where to Get More Information

• Encyclopaedias of occupational health and safety - ILO

• Ergonomic Checkpoints - ILO
• Higher Productivity And A Better Place To Work - ILO
• Safety, Health and Working Conditions Training Manual -ILO

4. HUMAN ENGINEERING
Human Engineering also known as (Ergonomics or Human Factors Engineering)

- Involves the application of physical and psychological knowledge to the design of human devices and systems.

- Focuses on understanding human capacities and applying this knowledge to the design of equipment,
instruments, systems, and work processes.

HUMAN ENGINEERING IN MANAGEMENT

•Focus on Human Beings. - Aims to improve workplace goods, equipment, and environments to better match
people's skills, constraints, and needs.

•Improvement Objectives. - Aims to improve the things people use and the atmosphere in which they use things
to enhance overall productivity.

IMPORTANCE OF ERGONOMICS

•In Product Creation - Enhances the protection, comfort, and productivity of products or environments.

•In the Workplace - Seeks to build healthy, comfortable, and efficient workspaces by integrating human
capabilities and disabilities into the design of a workspace.

•In the Greater Population. - Includes equipment, services, and structures designed to meet the rising needs of
the elderly population.

OBJECTIVES AND EFFECTS OF ERGONOMICS

•Objectives - Improve the efficacy and quality of tasks carried out to increase comfort, minimize errors, and boost
productivity.

•Direct Benefits - Reduce occupational illness and injury, lost workdays, workers' compensation claims, and more.

•Indirect Benefits - - Effects on productivity, cost, and regulatory liability.

APPLICATION OF HUMAN FACTORS

•Design Efficiency. - Aims to optimize working conditions and design efficient tools, devices, systems, and
activities.

•Workers' Well-Being - Seeks to provide convenience and enhanced working conditions to channel workers'
energies into positive and productive work.

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN CAPACITIES

•Knowledge Acquisition - Involves discovering knowledge about human behavior and applying it to the design and
efficient use of tools and systems.

•Enhancing Working Conditions - Aims to provide convenience and enhanced working conditions to maximize
efficiency and productivity.
 •Optimizing Living Conditions. - Focuses on designing for human use and optimizing working and living conditions
to improve overall quality of life.

Human Factors for Safety

- Reducing Error

- Enhancing Comfort

- Increasing Productivity

APPLICATION OF HUMAN FACTORS PSYCHOLOGy

•Understanding Human Behavior - Involves analyzing human behavior and characteristics for the design of
efficient tools and systems.

•Designing Efficient Systems - Focuses on enhancing the design and functionality of systems to match human skills
and needs.

•Optimizing Workspaces - Aims to optimize working and living conditions, leading to improved productivity and
quality of life.

5. Elements and Principles of Design

•Design (In very general terms)

- The realization of a concept, idea or theory into a drawing, plan, specification, model and so on that ultimately
enables achieving or resolving a set of goals.

- To create a cohesive whole, a design process must rationalizes numerous and often conflicting criteria for
aesthetics, the brief, the budget, structure, legislation, climate, weather, protection, privacy and so on.

- The adoption of design principles such as harmony, unity, movements, focus, contrast, space alignment and so on
will overlay this.

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN

1. Point: - A single mark in a specific and restricted space. Offers a powerful relationship between positive and
negative space.

2. Line: - Can be used to create perspectives and dominant directional lines. Being used to create a shape.

3. Shape: - An element, closed contour, defined by its perimeter. A region inside the implied line that is enclosed.-
Has two dimensions: height and width.

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

1. Balance: - The principle of visual equilibrium of equal, opposing, or contrasting components that together
establish a cohesive whole.
2. Emphasis: - Marks the location in a composition that draws the attention of the viewer most powerfully, often
referred to as the focal point.

3. Movement: - The visual flow through the composition, where the designer can direct the viewer’s eye over the
design surface

COLOR AND TEXTURE

1. Color: - The eye’s reaction within the visible spectrum to different wavelengths of radiation.

- Used to generate emotions, define hierarchy, build interest, etc.

2. Value: - The degree of light and darkness in a design.

- The contrast between black and white and all the tones in between.

3. Texture: - The consistency of the surface that can be seen and felt.

- Can be rough or smooth, soft or hand, etc.

SPACE AND FORM

✓ Space: - The field between objects and around them.

- Refers to differences in the perspective and proportions of objects, lines or shapes.

✓ Form: - A shape defines the length, the 3D component of an object.

- Takes up space and can be viewed from any perspective.

FIVE FACETS OF ERGONOMICS

1. Safety: - Bottles of medicine: The print on them should be bigger so that the dosages and label. can be seen
more clearly by sick person who may have blurred vision.

2. Comfort. - Alarm clock display: Certain screens are mostly bright, forcing one's eye to the brightness when the
environment is dark.

3. Ease of use - Street signs: Sometimes, it is difficult to spot street in a strange place.

4. Productivity/Performance: - HD TV: The sound on HD TV is much lower than regular TV. Ergonomics recognizes
that this difference in decibel level creates a difference in loudness and hurts human ears.

5. Aesthetics - Signs in the workplace: In order not only to be aesthetically pleasing, but also so that details are
readily available, signage should be made consistent throughout the workplace.

Conclusion

- Design is a complex and multifaceted field that involves a deep understanding of various elements and principles.

- It plays a crucial role in shaping the world around us and impacts our daily lives in numerous ways.