Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics

Module 1
Key theme(s): Designing for people, technologies, organizations and environments as systems

Introduction to the various aspects of HFE

• HFE in relation to technology
• Human Knowing and Acting
• Teamwork and Organizational dimension
• Large-scale systems (safety and accidents)
• Background of HFE
• Meaning of Ergonomics
• Why is it Human Factors and Ergonomics?
• Breadth and scope of HFE

Brief History of HFE

• Earlier origins of human scale in everyday contexts
• Modern times and the advent of the factory system
• Brief understanding of human relations and industrial psychology
• World War II and human operators
• Nuclear power and the operator
• Product Ergonomics, Cognitive Systems Engineering and beyond
• Next steps in HFE?

What constitutes essential aspects of HFE?

• Systems approach
• Design-driven
• Performance and well-being (capabilities and limitations)
• Need to link human performance + macro variables (organizational background) + systems design
• Humans as participants in a co-design process

Example: HFE in Transportation
Module 2
Key theme: Human Knowing in technological contexts

• Vision and Perception
• Cognition
• Information processing approach
• Attention and memory
• Lapses in attention and memory, Types of memory
• Human decision making

Module 3
Key theme: Human Acting in technological contexts

• Challenges of different demographics
• Anthropometrics
• How does anthropometrics help in design?
• Body and activity systems
• Lifting, grasping, pushing and pulling
• Occupational challenges and muscoskeletal disorders
• Workplace injuries

Module 4
Key theme: The physical context of human knowing and acting

• Varieties of work environments
• Issues related to lighting and sound
• HFE outside in everyday world
• Everyday environment and risks
• Social environment
• Safety-critical environments
• Work Space design based on HFE principles

Module 5
Key theme: The sociocultural context of HFE (Organizational dimension)

• Organizational culture
• Group and teams dynamics
• Personality and management styles
• Leadership styles
• Job Characteristics and design

Module 6
Key theme: HFE and large scale systems (safety, risk and accidents)

• HFE and large scale systems
• Complexity and systems: dynamism, complexity, uncertainty
• Uncertainty as a fundamental challenge in human performance; coping with the unexpected
• Dynamic Challenges in large-scale systems not typically present in simple systems
• Challenges of human behavior in large scale systems, complex interlinkages with technology.
• Human errors in complex systems
• Moving beyond human error: beyond the blame game?
• HFE in relation to safety, risks and accidents

Module 7
Key theme: HFE integration

• Recap of the last 6 modules: Cognitive; Physical (and physiological); Organizational
• HFE integration with design, systems and management – the road ahead
• Step-by-step integration
• Worker involvement
• Catering to operators, managers and end users
• Building an organizational culture for Human factors improvement
• Understanding work from a human perspective
• Systems approach + Design-driven + Performance and well-being
• Reinforcing key themes from each session of the course