Topic 1 Ergonomics & Antropometrics

Adjustability

The ability of a product to be changed in size, commonly used to  increase the range of percentiles that a product is appropriate for.

Alertness

The level of vigilance, readiness or caution of an individual.

Anthropometrics

The aspect of ergonomics that deals with body measurements,  particularly those of size, strength and physical capacity.

Biomechanics

The research and analysis of the mechanics of living organisms. Biomechanics in Human factors includes the research and analysis of  the mechanics (operation of our muscles, joints, tendons, etc.) of our  human body. It also includes Force (impact on user’s joints),  Repetition, Duration and Posture.

Clearance

The physical space between two objects.

Cognitive  

ergonomics

How mental processes, (memory, reasoning, motor response and  perception), affect the interactions between users and other  components of a system.

Comfort

A person's sense of physical or psychological ease.

Dynamic data

Human body measurements taken when the subject is in motion  related to range and reach of various body movements. E.g. crawling  height, overhead reach and the range of upper body movements.

Environmental  

factors

A set of psychological factors that can affect the performance of an  individual that come from the environment that the individual is  situated.

Ergonomics

The application of scientific information concerning the relationship  between human beings and the design of products, systems and  environments.

Fatigue

A person's sense of physical or psychological tiredness.

Functional data

Functional data includes dynamic data measurements while  performing a required task e.g. reaching abilities, manoeuvring and  aspects of space and equipment use.

Human error

Mistakes made by users, some of which can result in catastrophic  consequences for people, property and the environment, as they are  considered key contributors to major accidents.

Human factors

A scientific discipline concerned with understanding how humans  interact with elements of a system. It can also be considered the  practice of designing products, systems or processes to take account  of the interaction between them and their users. It is also known as  comfort design, functional design and user-friendly systems.

Human information  processing system

An automatic system that a person uses to interpret information and  react. It is normally comprised of inputs, processes (which can be  sensory, central and motor), and outputs.

Interval data

Interval data are based on numeric scales in which we know the  order and the exact difference between the values. Organised into  even divisions or intervals, and intervals are of equal size.

Nominal data scale

Nominal means 'by name' and used in classification or division of  objects into discrete groups. Each of which is identified with a name  e.g. category of cars, and the scale does not provide any  measurement within or between categories.

Ordinal data

A statistical data type that exists on an arbitrary numerical scale  where the exact numerical value has no significance other than to  rank a set of data points. Deals with the order or position of items  such as words, letters, symbols or numbers arranged in a hierarchical  order. Quantitative assessment cannot be made.

Percentile range

That proportion of a population with a dimension at or less than a  given value. For a given demographic (gender, race, age), the 50th percentile is the average.

Perception

The way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted.

Physiological factor  data

Human factor data related to physical characteristics used to  optimise the user's safety, health, comfort and performance

Primary data

Data collected by a user for a specific purpose.

Psychological factor  data

Human factor data related to psychological interpretations caused  by light, smell, sound, taste, temperature and texture.

Qualitative data

Typically descriptive data used to find out in depth the way people  think or feel - their perception. Useful for research at the individual  or small (focus) group level.