Ergonomics: what is it and what are its 4 types and functions?

A set of disciplines associated with the comfort and safety of spaces and products.

Imagine working in an office for eight hours a day in front of a computer, but the company has the computer screens at the same height as our legs.

This would obviously be an uncomfortable situation, and could even cause back and neck problems.Ergonomics: what is it and what are its 4 types and functions?

A set of disciplines associated with the comfort and safety of spaces and products. Imagine working in an office for eight hours a day in front of a computer, but the company has the computer screens at the same height as our legs..

• This would obviously be an uncomfortable situation, and could even cause back and/or visual problems. Now let's think about jobs that require concentration, such as that of a surgeon. Not having the right light could have catastrophic consequences. Finally, let's imagine that we have a physical disability and that we are provided with a chair that is smaller than our own dimensions, or is exaggeratedly inclined.

In all cases, we are seeing how the existence or absence of certain elements can modulate the efficiency and degree of difficulty of performing a task or using a service. It is in order to prevent and to be able to solve this type of situations

What is ergonomics?

As indicated by the Spanish Ergonomics Association, ergonomics is the name given to the body of knowledge from different scientific disciplines which are applied in order to adapt products, systems or environments to the needs and characteristics of the people who use them.It is a scientific discipline of great importance in ensuring the safety and suitability of goods, services and environments to the needs of the people who use them, taking care of assessing the characteristics of users or workers and of the products or environments in question in order to establish the necessary changes to optimize this relationship to the maximum.

Ergonomics aims to improve the level of safety, well-being and efficiency of workers or customers, quality of life while improving productivity.. It also aims to control the environment, to optimize the adjustment of the characteristics of the job or product to the needs of the person and to detect and solve threats to their well-being.

• The type of knowledge that is taken into account to achieve these objectives are multiple:

medicine, anatomy, psychology, engineering, or design.

are some of the disciplines from which ergonomics takes concepts and knowledge in order to perform its function.

In this sense, the aim is to make materials, instruments, clothing and even working environments as safe as possible, as well as to enhance the capabilities and productivity of employees. The aim is also to

to produce a healthy and motivating work environment The aim is also to produce a healthy and motivating work environment, which favors employee satisfaction and allows the correct performance of their functions.Aspects such as brightness, exposure to noise, size of spaces, temperature, use of appropriate clothing that allows the employee to be protected in case his work involves any danger, separation of light sources, position of materials and instruments (for example, chair-table separation or inclination of the back of the chair) are evaluated.

And not only with respect to what is present:

the possible impact and suitability of the introduction of new methodologies and instruments by the employees has also been assessed. by employees. Body posture, schedules and breaks and the instruments themselves are other important aspects.In the case of more specific needs, such as in the case of disability or functional diversity, the aim is to generate adaptations that do not prevent the normal performance of their functions without the appearance of difficulties.

Taking into account the ergonomic design of the workstation and the materials used has great advantages, since it makes it possible to

the possibility of suffering occupational illnesses, injuries and accidents. . It also reduces absenteeism and increases production, well-being, commitment and work environment..

In other contexts

It is generally associated with the workplace, where it is most often emphasized because of the responsibility for the safety and well-being of employees, although it is also applied in the design and manufacture of products and consumer goods.

in the design and manufacture of products and consumer goods. In addition, the knowledge of this discipline is also used for the adaptation of materials and work environments or the evaluation and prevention of problems (e.g. health problems) in these and other contexts.Types of ergonomics

Ergonomics is a diverse discipline, dealing with different aspects of reality and the person-product-environment relationship or fit.

This wide diversity allows us to assess the existence of different types of ergonomics. . Although there are many more, the four best known are the following.1. Physical ergonomics

When we talk about ergonomics, most people think of the physical suitability of the environment or products. It is the one that is in charge of assessing

the work equipment, the body posture during working hours, or the spaces in order to prevent

or spaces in order to avoid the appearance of physical problems or to facilitate work performance, especially taking into account the physiological/mechanical factor. 2. Cognitive ergonomicsThis type of ergonomics is very different from the previous one, being focused on the implications and adequacy of the position or product to the psychological capabilities and needs of the subject.

We are talking about aspects such as

the management of stress and the presence of devices or services to reduce it, the workload, the treatment of the emotional impact of some jobs or products

The treatment of the emotional impact of some jobs (e.g. the surgeon in the initial example) or the interaction between the materials and the subject's cognitive capacities.

3. Organizational ergonomics

In this case we are dealing with a type of ergonomics centered not on the subject-job relationship but on the subject-institution relationship. In this sense, the activities carried out by each one, the management of human resources or the internal communication of the company are analyzed. 4. Environmental ergonomics Dedicated to the evaluation and allocation of spaces, it evaluates elements such as noise or the level of luminosity or temperature that may affect the subject.