Human Factors in Engineering and Design

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Human Factors in Engineering and Design
Human Factors in Engineering and Design.jpg
7th edition
AuthorMark S. Sanders
Ernest J. McCormick
Cover artistCarla Bauer
Subject Human factors and ergonomics
Interface design
Published1957
1976, 1982, 1987, 1993 (McGraw-Hill)
Pages704 (7th ed.)
ISBN 978-0070549012 (7th ed.)
620.8'2—dc20
LC Class TA166.S33

Human Factors in Engineering and Design is an engineering textbook, currently in its seventh edition. [1] The book, first published in 1957, is considered a classic in human factors and ergonomics, and one of the best-established texts in the field. [2] [3] It is frequently taught in upper-level and graduate courses in the U.S., and is relied on by practicing human factors and ergonomics professionals. [3]

Human factors and ergonomics study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body and its cognitive abilities

Human factors and ergonomics is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the design of products, processes, and systems. The goal of human factors is to reduce human error, increase productivity, and enhance safety and comfort with a specific focus on the interaction between the human and the thing of interest. It is not simply changes or amendments to the work enviornment but encompases theory, methods, data and principles all applied in the field of ergonomics.

The text is divided into six sections: Introduction; Information Input; Human Output and Control; Work Space and Arrangement; Environment; and Human Factors: Selected Topics. [2]

See also

Anthropometry

Anthropometry refers to the measurement of the human individual. An early tool of physical anthropology, it has been used for identification, for the purposes of understanding human physical variation, in paleoanthropology and in various attempts to correlate physical with racial and psychological traits. Anthropometry involves the systematic measurement of the physical properties of the human body, primarily dimensional descriptors of body size and shape.

Industrial and organizational psychology, which is also known as occupational psychology, organizational psychology, and work and organizational psychology, is an applied discipline within psychology. I/O psychology is the science of human behaviour relating to work and applies psychological theories and principles to organizations and individuals in their places of work as well as the individual's work-life more generally. I/O psychologists are trained in the scientist–practitioner model. They contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance, motivation, job satisfaction, and occupational safety and health as well as the overall health and well-being of its employees. An I/O psychologist conducts research on employee behaviours and attitudes, and how these can be improved through hiring practices, training programs, feedback, and management systems.

Related Research Articles

Engineering applied science

Engineering is the application of knowledge in the form of science, mathematics, and empirical evidence, to the innovation, design, construction, operation and maintenance of structures, machines, materials, devices, systems, processes, and organizations. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specialized fields of engineering, each with a more specific emphasis on particular areas of applied mathematics, applied science, and types of application. See glossary of engineering.

Usability engineering is a field that is concerned generally with human-computer interaction and specifically with devising human-computer interfaces that have high usability or user friendliness. It provides structured methods for achieving efficiency and elegance in interface design.

Applied psychology is the use of psychological methods and findings of scientific psychology to solve practical problems of human and animal behavior and experience. Mental health, organizational psychology, business management, education, health, product design, ergonomics, and law are just a few of the areas that have been influenced by the application of psychological principles and findings. Some of the areas of applied psychology include clinical psychology, counseling psychology, evolutionary psychology, industrial and organizational psychology, legal psychology, neuropsychology, occupational health psychology, human factors, forensic psychology, engineering psychology, school psychology, sports psychology, traffic psychology, community psychology, medical psychology. In addition, a number of specialized areas in the general field of psychology have applied branches. However, the lines between sub-branch specializations and major applied psychology categories are often blurred. For example, a human factors psychologist might use a cognitive psychology theory. This could be described as human factor psychology or as applied cognitive psychology.

Interaction design, often abbreviated as IxD, is "the practice of designing interactive digital products, environments, systems, and services." Beyond the digital aspect, interaction design is also useful when creating physical (non-digital) products, exploring how a user might interact with it. Common topics of interaction design include design, human–computer interaction, and software development. While interaction design has an interest in form, its main area of focus rests on behavior. Rather than analyzing how things are, interaction design synthesizes and imagines things as they could be. This element of interaction design is what characterizes IxD as a design field as opposed to a science or engineering field.

Kim Vicente is an inactive professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. He was previously a researcher, teacher, and author in the field of human factors. He is best known for his two books: The Human Factor and Cognitive Work Analysis.

Alphonse Chapanis was an American pioneer in the field of industrial design, and is widely considered one of the fathers of ergonomics or human factors – the science of ensuring that design takes account of human characteristics.

Neville A. Stanton is a British Professor of Human Factors and Ergonomics at the University of Southampton. He has written and edited over a dozen books and over a hundred peer-reviewed journal papers on applications of the subject. Stanton is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, a Fellow of The Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors and a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He has been published in academic journals including Nature. He has also helped organisations design new human-machine interfaces, such as the Adaptive Cruise Control system for Jaguar Cars.

User experience (UX) refers to a person's emotions and attitudes about using a particular product, system or service. It includes the practical, experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human–computer interaction and product ownership. Additionally, it includes a person’s perceptions of system aspects such as utility, ease of use and efficiency. User experience may be considered subjective in nature to the degree that it is about individual perception and thought with respect to the system. User experience is dynamic as it is constantly modified over time due to changing usage circumstances and changes to individual systems as well as the wider usage context in which they can be found. In the end, user experience is about how the user interacts with and experiences the product.

Cognitive ergonomics, defined by the International Ergonomics Association "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. The relevant topics include mental workload, decision-making, skilled performance, human-computer interaction, human reliability, work stress and training as these may relate to human-system design." Cognitive ergonomics studies cognition in work and operational settings, in order to optimize human well-being and system performance. It is a subset of the larger field of human factors and ergonomics.

Gary Klein is a research psychologist famous for pioneering in the field of naturalistic decision making. By studying experts such as firefighters in their natural environment, he discovered that laboratory models of decision making could not describe it under uncertainty. His recognition primed decision (RPD) model has influenced changes in the ways the Marines and Army train their officers to make decisions.

Engineering psychology, also known as Human Factors Engineering, is the science of human behavior and capability, applied to the design and operation of systems and technology. As an applied field of psychology and an interdisciplinary part of ergonomics, it aims to improve the relationships between people and machines by redesigning equipment, interactions, or the environment in which they take place. The work of an engineering psychologist is often described as making the relationship more "user-friendly."

Systems psychology is a branch of both theoretical psychology and applied psychology that studies human behaviour and experience in complex systems. It is inspired by systems theory and systems thinking, and based on the theoretical work of Roger Barker, Gregory Bateson, Humberto Maturana and others. Groups and individuals are considered as systems in homeostasis. Alternative terms here are "systemic psychology", "systems behavior", and "systems-based psychology".

This article describes the origins of some of the institutions and agencies contributing to the development and practice of ergonomics in Canada.

Industrial engineering is an inter-disciplinary profession that is concerned with the optimization of complex processes, systems, or organizations by developing, improving and implementing integrated systems of people, money, knowledge, information, equipment, energy and materials.

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) is an interdisciplinary nonprofit professional organization covering the fields of human factors and ergonomics. It was founded in 1957 and is an organization of professionals devoted to the science of human factors and ergonomics. The society's mission is to promote the discovery and exchange of knowledge concerning the characteristics of human beings that are applicable to the design of systems and devices of all kinds.

Karl U. Smith American psychologist

Karl Ulrich Smith was an American physiologist, psychologist and behavioral cybernetician.

Anthony D. Andre is a researcher, practitioner and academic in the fields of human factors, ergonomics, usability and product design. He is the founding principal of Interface Analysis Associates, a human factors and ergonomics consultancy. He is a founding member and adjunct professor of the HF/E Graduate Program at San Jose State University. He has served as president of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Andre is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), recognized by the Board of Certification of Professional Ergonomists (BCPE).

Mica Endsley former Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force

Mica Endsley is an engineer and a former Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force. The position of the Chief Scientist was created over 60 years ago to provide independent scientific advice to the Secretary of the Air Force and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, as well as to its senior leadership. In this role, she worked with the top scientists and engineers within the Air Force as well as in academia, industry, and the other armed services to ensure that the Air Force's research and development efforts remain relevant and effective. Additionally, as the Chief Scientist she responded to any tasking from the Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff on issues or opportunities of a scientific and technical nature that may arise. Endsley was the first human factors engineer and the first female to serve as Chief Scientist.

Valeri F. Venda Russian psychologist

This page was translated from the Russian version of the article

References

  1. ↑ Sanders, Mark S.; McCormick, Ernest J. (January 1, 1993). Human Factors in Engineering and Design (7th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 704. ISBN   978-0070549012.
  2. 1 2 Whitfield, David (1989). "Human Factors in Engineering and Design". Ergonomics. 32 (5): 558. doi:10.1080/00140138908966127.
  3. 1 2 Karkowski, Waldemar, ed. (2006). "Professional Certification in Ergonomics in the U.S.". International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors: Volume 1. Boca Raton: CRC Press. p. 194. ISBN   978-0-415-30430-6 . Retrieved 15 December 2014.


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