Introduction

Before going any further, read the Description and Schedule if you have not already done so and familiarize yourself with the other materials on the website, especially the Readings.

The readings are available through the School of Architecture and Planning Library's Course Reserve. They are all scanned and online. You can download them as PDF files and print them out. But there is also one book to purchase. My experience is that that this book is available at the lowest cost through Amazon than through a bookstore. So, I did not order it through a local bookstore. Order it online as soon as possible so that you will have it when you need it - see the Readings.

This course is about ergonomic design:

"Ergonomics is about 'fit': the fit between people, the things they do, the objects they use and the environments they work, travel and play in. If good fit is achieved, the stresses on people are reduced. They are more comfortable, they can do things more quickly and easily, and they make fewer mistakes."

Ergonomics Society (Europe)

"Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance."

"Ergonomists contribute to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people."

"Derived from the Greek ergon (work) and nomos (laws) to denote the science of work, ergonomics is a systems-oriented discipline which now extends across all aspects of human activity."

Domains of specialization within the discipline of ergonomics are broadly the following;

• Physical ergonomics is concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity.
• Cognitive ergonomics is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system.
• Organizational ergonomics is concerned with the optimization of sociotechnical systems, including their organizational structures, policies and processes.

International Ergonomics Association (IEA)

In the U.S., ergonomics is sometimes called "human factors engineering" or "human engineering." We will use the term "ergonomics" because it is a more common term in the design disciplines. The term "ergonomic design" is used here to focus on the application of knowledge through design rather than research on ergonomic issues.

Ergonomic design is the application of ergonomics goals, methods and knowledge to design problems. This course will not present a comprehensive overview of the vast research literature in the field of ergonomics. Rather, it will examine some critical issues in building and product design and explore methods for practicing ergonomic design as design professionals. Thus, it is more of skill building course than a knowledge based course.

In the academic practice of design (design studios), little attention is given to design for safety and health. Yet, in professional practice, a great deal of attention is given to these issues. Most designers simply follow the minimum requirements of regulations like building codes and consumer product safety standards. But standards and codes are only minimum requirements and do not address all the ergonomic issues of importance in architecture. It is increasingly evident that designers have to give more attention to ergonomics issues to meet the higher expectations of their clients. In fact, the practice of ergonomic design provides an opportunity to provide "value added" services that go beyond the ordinary and provide environments that are safer, healthier, and more convenient. By adopting ergonomic design practices, designers can offer their clients a competitive edge. And, they also can gain a competitive edge for themselves.

The design of simple features of buildings can make a difference between life and death. For example, a radiotherapy facility was built without a window and intercom between the operator and the therapy space. A man was getting therapy and the computer program that controlled the radiation machine malfunctioned and started producing an enormous dose of radiation. The man could feel the heat and thrashed around and screamed for minutes but the operator could not hear or see him and continued with the treatment. When it was all over, he walked out of the room seemingly unhurt but died within weeks from radiation poisoning. Although the story demonstrates a severe problem, there is no shortage of small problems that add up to significant barriers to the pursuit of human goals and objectives. In fact, these small problems, multiplied through daily encounters and experiences often result in substantial economic losses, great annoyance and major limitations in productivity and quality of life. Ergonomic design can not only reduce losses and problems, it can produce products, environments and systems that provide very significant improvements to their "competition." In a competive world, the need for ergonomic design is more and more obvious. Correspondingly, the demand for ergonomic design is increasing.

Perhaps the most interesting development in contemporary ergonomics is a new focus on the emotional experience of using designed artifacts. This semester we will have a special focus on "emotional design" to explore how knowledge from this new area of research can inform design. Designers spend a great deal of effort on emotional issues. So, although designers are "consumers" of information in other aspects of ergonomic design, in the area of emotional design, they may become significant "producers" of knowledge. Emotional design, in fact, offers an opportunity to play a more significant role in the interdisciplinary field of ergonomics.

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