What is ergonomics? correct answers Ergonomics is designing work systems around capabilities
and limitations of people
What are the benefits of ergonomics? correct answers -Reduce potential for injury/discomfort
-Make work tasks easier
-Reduce fatigue
-More productive at work and at home
-Improve work quality
How is ergonomics different from other approaches that aim to prevent workplace injury? correct
answers Ergonomics is different from other approaches that aim to prevent workplace injury
because it aims to minimize effort, which in turn minimizes muscle use.
Ergonomics isn't just common sense, it is based on science. It is based on analysis of the job and
scientific evidence and is evaluated in terms of their effect on the work system.
Spine flexion/extension correct answers Bending forwards/leaning backwards
Shoulder flexion/extension correct answers Bringing the arm out in front of you/putting your arm
behind you
Elbow flexion/extension correct answers Bending the arm/straightening the arm
Knee flexion/extension correct answers Bending the leg/straightening the leg
Hip flexion/extension correct answers Bending the hip/straightening the hip
Abduction correct answers Away from the midline of the body
,Adduction correct answers Towards the midline of the body
Internal rotation correct answers Rotation towards the midline (medial rotation)
External rotation correct answers Rotation away from the midline (lateral rotation)
Pronation correct answers Palms down
Supination correct answers Palms up
What are the 3 basic strategies for anthropometric design? Be able to provide examples where
you would use them correct answers 1. Designing for the extreme
-Fit: leg room on an airplane
-Reach: brake pedals
2. Designing for the mean
-Chair height, door knob height
3. Designing for adjustability
-Chairs with height adjustability
When do we design for "reach"? Who is included and who is excluded? correct answers Design
for reach is the upper 95%, i.e. brake pedals, controls, safety shutoff
Excludes short people
When do we design for "fit"? Who is included and who is excluded? correct answers Design for
fit is the lower 95%, i.e. roof in a car, leg room on an airplane
, Excludes tall people
Why don't we design for everyone? correct answers It isn't possible to accommodate every
design for every person because not everyone is proportional and we cannot collect data on every
single person (costly and unrealistic).
How are anthropometric data collected? Where does one find the data? What kind of data are
available? correct answers Various measurements are collected in regards to the human body,
like distance from wrist to shoulder, leg length, shoulder height, etc.
This data can be found online (ex: military data).
When can we use one anthropometric dimension to predict another? When shouldn't we do this?
correct answers We can use one anthropometric dimension to predict another when the
dimensions are strongly correlated (like height and leg length).
We shouldn't use one anthropometric dimension to predict another when there is no relationship
between the two dimensions (like shoulder height and hand width).
What are some of the key assumptions we make regarding anthropometric data? correct answers
The data has a normal distribution, high variability, little correlation between dimensions.
How are anthropometric data changing over time? correct answers People are getting taller,
wider, bigger in general (started after the Industrial Revolution)
Why is there no such thing as the average sized person? correct answers Body parts do not
correlate well, too much variation
How do we combine anthropometric dimensions so that we can calculate the 5th or 95th
percentile of a new dimension? correct answers Combining Dimensions:
Means