Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace

Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace

The purpose of this Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace assignment is to evaluate the physical environment of information technology in your work area, hospital, clinical setting, office, or classroom.

View the video on ergonomics and human factors:

In a 2–3-page Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace paper:

Describe the physical, cognitive, and organizational ergonomic conditions present or absent in the assessment of your work area.

Identify how human factors presented in the video apply to your work area physical and functional characteristics.

Suggest ways in which the ergonomic design of the work area can be improved to mitigate human factors and to better facilitate human-computer interaction, reduce risk factors, and promote safety

Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace

 
Ergonomic and Human Factors Evaluation of an IT Workspace

When assessing both the ergonomic and human factors in my workplace, which is the information technology office environment, it is necessary to consider both the physical, cognitive, and organizational aspects of the ergonomic situation. These factors play a very important role in determining the effect of the workspace on productivity, safety, and comfort (Hamed et al., 2023). Based on the knowledge given in the video on ergonomics and human factors, this assessment takes into account the current state of affairs and what can be done further.

Physical Ergonomic Conditions

In a physical setting, the workspace is also fairly ergonomic, though not consistent in its design. Office chairs are adjustable and also have support in the lumbar area, which fits the guidelines of ergonomics in reducing stress in the body. Nonetheless, there are also non-adjustable tables with a height that causes employees to time at musculoskeletal discomfort. The height of the computer monitors is not maintained at the eye level, which is a contravention of the ergonomics procedure that recommends the use of screens that are positioned to minimize neck aches. Then there is lighting- fluorescent lights are bright and cause glare on the screens, leading to eye strain. Noises can be controlled, though it would be even more appropriate with the use of acoustic panels or noise-absorbing partitions, especially in open offices Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace.

Cognitive and Organizational Ergonomics

The surroundings are also disorganized and mismatched in terms of cognition, which influences judgments and mental exhaustion. According to the video presentation, interfaces and workstations that lack intuition and are too complicated may overload the working memory and reduce the effectiveness of the tasks. The computer systems being used have disarrayed dashboards, and it has to be clicked many times to do basic tasks. This contravenes the stimulus-response compatibility that implies that the actions of users should be intuitive in relation to the responses of the system. At the organizational level, there is no standard way of taking breaks and rotating tasks in the workplace, which translates to long hours of sitting and cognitive burnout, particularly in a job that requires a lot of screen time and concentration.

Human Factors Applied to Workplace Characteristics

The affording, user stereotype, and perceptual abilities are clear human factors that are applicable in the present workspace. As an example, ambiguous forms of user interfaces in internal software platforms lead to wrong entries. This situation shows an imbalance between the expectations of a user and the system’s behavior. The video says that affordances are meant to dictate user action naturally. Still, our internal systems tend to give us false or cloaked affordances that are misleading to the user, like buttons that can be clicked, but nothing happens. Moreover, we can observe the absence of a user-centered design in tools employed in scheduling or documentation, failing to prioritize the codes of relevant information, therefore, causing cognitive overload.

Recommendations for Ergonomic Improvement

In order to improve human-computer interaction and contribute to safety, a number of ergonomic enhancements are suggested. On a physical level, the substitution of fixed desks with adjustable sit-stand desks would give them the option of alternating sitting positions and reducing physical strain. They ought to install monitors that can be mounted or adjusted at eye level. The application of less harsh, task-oriented light would reduce eye strain. Mentally, software interfaces are to be redesigned using the human factor engineering principles. The minimization of the required number of clicks and the consolidation of similar activities can simplify the performance of tasks and the pressure of making decisions.

On an organizational level, increased mental alertness can be achieved by introducing frequent micro-breaks and encouraging task variety (Albulescu et al., 2022). Ensuring a safer and more efficient workplace would involve training their staff on the basic ergonomic principles and also doing periodic ergonomic audits. It is the inclusion of the simulation-based system used for training that is addressed in the video, which would enhance the familiarity level and minimize errors.

Finally, a proper ergonomics and human factors assessment demonstrates that physical and cognitive ergonomics are the part and parcel of the workplace safety, efficiency, and satisfaction of the user. As Park et al. (2022) opine, it is possible to improve performance and minimize the risk of workplaces by redesigning the work environment based on the principles of user-centered design, which involves making systems, tasks, and tools adaptable to the capabilities and expectations of people Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace.

References

Albulescu, P., Macsinga, I., Rusu, A., Sulea, C., Bodnaru, A., & Tulbure, B. T. (2022). ” Give me a break!” A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance. 
PloS one
, 
17
(8), e0272460.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0272460&utm_medium=organic&utm_source=blog&utm_campaign=beat-burnout

Hamed, S. A., Hussain, M. R. M., Jani, H. H. M., Sabri, S. S. S., & Rusli, N. (2023). The impacts of physical workplace environment (PWE) on employees productivity. 
International Journal of Business and Technology Management
, 
5
(4), 369-376.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sapiah-Abdul-Hamed/publication/391220256_The_Impacts_of_Physical_Workplace_Environment_PWE_on_Employees_Productivity/links/680ef568bfbe974b23bc76cc/The-Impacts-of-Physical-Workplace-Environment-PWE-on-Employees-Productivity.pdf

Let’s Teach Science. (2020, November 17).
Human factors engineering (ergonomics)
[Video]. YouTube.

Park, D. Y., Choi, J., Ryu, S., & Kim, M. J. (2022). A user-centered approach to the application of BIM in smart working environments. 
Sensors
, 
22
(8), 2871.
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/22/8/2871
 Ergonomic and human factors evaluation of workplace