436-472 Ergonomics

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Objectives:

On completion, students should be able to comprehend the basic principles of psychology and physiology relevant to engineering design and to apply these to the design of machines, products and devices so that they may be used effectively by all users.

Content:

Human characteristics, capabilities and limitations. Workplace design. Humans as controllers and processors of information. Task design. Decision making and signal detection. People as monitors; effects of task design, environment and personal factors on vigilance. Physiological effects of prolonged work. Environmental effects. Personal and social factors in engineering systems. Individual differences; selection of operators for specified tasks. Skill training. Human - machine and person-person interactions; group dynamics. Methods of measuring human factors; anthropometry, psychophysical methods. Analysis of complex systems and identification of critical factors.

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