Ergonomics and Design

Today, both workers and management are concerned about the quality of work lives, ergonomics and occupational safety and health. New development such as information and communication technologies and specialized work requiring repetitive tasks add up to a need for Ergonomics. By examining, designing, testing and evaluating the work piece and how people interact in it, ergonomics can create productive, safe, and satisfying work environment. Ergonomics is concerns with the study of the relationship between people and work environment. The scope for the application of ergonomics in our working environment is tremendous. Ergonomics has the essential role to play in increasing work efficiency and productivity by making the tool or machine fit the users and the worker’s efficiency. Ergonomics developed into a recognized field during the Second World War, when for the first time, technology and the human science s were systematically applied in a coordinated manner [1]. The application of Ergonomics is very much in Europe and northern America. Recently Southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh are applying the concept of ergonomics industrial workstation design. This paper focuses on the importance of ergonomics in product design, working environment, and its influence in industrial workstation design, the interdisciplinary nature of ergonomics and the implications of ergonomics in industrial engineering function. It also contains the importance of ergonomics for an industrial engineer to design product.