Table Of ContentA GUIDE TO HUMAN FACTORS
AND ERGONOMICS
Second Edition
A GUIDE TO HUMAN FACTORS
AND ERGONOMICS
Second Edition
Martin Helander
Nanyang Technological University Singapore
Taylor & Francis Group
Boca Raton London New York
A CRC title, part of the Taylor & Francis imprint, a member of
the Taylor & Francis Group, the academic division of T&F
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International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-415-28248-2 (Print Edition) (Hardcover)
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Helander, Martin, 1943– A Guide to
human factors and ergonomics/Martin Helander.—2nd ed. p. cm. Rev. ed. of: A guide to ergonomics of
manufacturing. London; Bristol, PA: Taylor & Francis c1995. Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-28248-9 (alk. paper) 1. Human engineering. 2. Work environment. 3. Industrial hygiene. I.
Helander, Martin, 1943– Guide to ergonomics of manufacturing. II. Title. T59.7.H46 2005 620.8′2–
dc22 2005047023
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To Mahtun
Foreword
This book is based on some of my teaching and research experiences at university and in
industry. It is intended as a basic text for a first course in Human Factors/Ergonomics
(HFE) at the undergraduate and the graduate levels. Some of the text is adapted from a
book that I wrote a few years ago: A Guide to the Ergonomics in Manufacturing, but
most is new and was written at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Human Factors is an interdisciplinary science, and the book is suitable for many types
of students and professionals: engineers, computer scientists, behavioral scientists as well
as medical doctors and physiotherapists.
I have portrayed HFE as a systems science. To design an artifact or an interface the
human factors expert must consider the interactions between three important systems
components: The Operator/User, the Environment, and the Machine/Computer, and these
interactions can be modeled using a systems approach.
Some HFE design problems have obvious and immediate solutions, and the benefit-
cost ratio of implementing the solutions may be high. But in some cases design problems
are complex, and it is difficult to propose good design solutions. One may have to
consider expertise from various professions, and there may be several alternative design
solutions. To decide which alternative is best, it is common to evaluate the design
alternatives using test persons or users. One can then measure how well the user is
interacting with the system. A system that is well designed allows the operator to finish a
task quickly and is well designed; a system that makes the user commit many errors is not
well designed. There are often trade-offs in design—one particular design A may lead to
a reduction in user performance time but increase in user errors. For another design B
performance time may increase, but errors are reduced. To decide between A and B one
will then have to examine other task related factors. Good design solutions are hard to
find, but the process of arriving at the solutions is rewarding and exciting.
Another aspect that is important to many human factors professionals is Compassion
with fellow workers and users. We want to put things right—enhance performance and
reduce errors, accidents and injuries. Operators and users have a right to work with well
designed systems.
The following quote of C.N.Anadurai, a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, India
sums up both our methodology and compassion:
Dear Friends: Go to the people,
Live among them, Learn from them,
Love them, Serve them,
Plan with them, Start with what they know,
Build on what they have.
I have worked in different parts of the world as a teacher and as a consultant: Luleå
University, Human Factors Research Inc. in Santa Barbara, Virginia Tech, The
University at Buffalo, Linköping University, Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology, and currently at Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. I learned much
from my university colleagues in research and from industrial partners in implementing
HFE in the real world and I am grateful for the experience.
My wife Mahtun gives me everyday honest and constructive criticism. She read the
book and helped with editing. It is a true pleasure to dedicate the book to her.
The cover of the book is from a copper print from 1785 with the title: A General
Display of the Arts and Sciences. It is a frontispiece to the Royal Encyclopedia and the
artist’s name is Grignon. He selected an environment from the antique Rome. All types of
work activities are illustrated: design, planning, team collaboration and physical work,
thereby illustrating the issues of concern in this book.
There are several examples and exercises in the book. Solutions and discussions of
these are provided at www.ntu.edu/martin/guidebook.
The Author
Martin G.Helander is Professor at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He received a Ph.D.
from Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden, and became Docent of
Engineering Psychology at Luleå University. He has held faculty positions at Luleå
University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Linköping University, and
visiting appointments at Virginia Tech, MIT, and Hong Kong University of Science and
Technology. His primary research interests are in human factors engineering and
ergonomics. In 1996, he established the Graduate School of Human-Machine Interaction
in Linköping, Sweden. He is currently the director of the graduate program in human
factors engineering at NTU. Dr. Helander has authored 300 publications, including 8
books. He is a Fellow of the International Ergonomics Association, of the Human Factors
and Ergonomics Society in the U.S., and of the Ergonomics Society in the U.K. and the
Institute of Engineers, Singapore. He is a former president of the International
Ergonomics Association.
