IND 712 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: International Ergonomics Association, Phototropism, Affordance
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
1
IND712S – Industrial Ergonomics
Winter 2018
Sample short answer questions for Midterm
Introduction – Lecture 01
1. What are the 2 main branches of ergonomics and the three underlying disciplines that ergonomics is
based on?
2 Main Branches:
1) Man as a machine
2) Man as an information processor
Underlying Principles:
1) Anatomy
2) Physiology
3) Psychology
2. How is ergonomics different from studying basic & medical sciences such as anthropology, cognitive
science, psychology?
a. Primary purpose is to understand and model human behaviour but not to design.
b. Ergonomics primary purpose is to design
3. What poles led to the ietio of the pilot’s otol stik?
- Many problems were encountered due to the sophisticated equipment that produced grave
consequences
due to human errors.
- the controls for actions were not clear and the locations for emergency buttons were in a weird
place (i think on the side of the seat) so pilots were accidentally ejecting themselves out of the
planes
- poor control-displa opatiilit → ot intuitive and easy to handle
4. Provide 5 important emerging areas in ergonomics around the time from the 1996 International
Ergonomics Association Survey.
a. Product Liability
b. Human-computer interface: software
c. Ergonomic design of physical work environment
d. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders
e. Training of Ergonomists
→ Memory device: PHEW-T
5. What are the 5 things to consider when trying to redesign a system to make it safer?
To redesign for safer environment:
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a. Examine allocation of tasks btwn ppl and machines
b. Redesign work processes/workstation to improve work posture, comfort & convenience (WP-
CC)
c. Illumination, noise, vibration, heat/cold- the stressful aiet eiro VINTage
d. Organizational factors such as allocation of responsibility to ensure people know the safety
hazards of the job/ dont need to waste time waiting for management approval for tasks
e. Controls & display improvement- improving features of machines
Memory device:(ER-IO-C) → Egoois eall is ol autious
6. According to Miles & “ift 1, h is it ot a good idea to do egoois late?
a. Higher cost to change design the further you are in the development stage
b. Harder to change later on
7. Provide 5 obstacles encountered by design and production engineers when trying to integrate
ergonomics into their work
a. Customers do not care if products ergonomically produced (Designer)
b. Lack of ergonomics knowledge
c. Lack of time
d. Not required by authority
e. Non-scheduled changes in development process (Engineer)
Lex
- Customers do not demand products which are erg friendly produced
- Lack of ergo knowledge
- Lack of time
- Lack of erg methods & tools
- not required by authority
- management are not committed to ergo
- Management do not value ergonomics
→ LK-T-EMT)-NRA-MNCE
MMA- TEK-C
8. In a GM study, ergonomic problems found include: Awkward posture, high loads, repeated loads,
sustained loads, low job control, high demands. Give a sentence to explain what each of these
mean.
a. Awkward Posture:
i. Workers must be able to adjust and adapt to their work situation when they shouldn't
have to.
b. Heavy Loads:
i. High stress in human body, not sustainable for long-term
c. Repeated Loads:
i. Can cause damage in the long run even if load is not heavy.
d. Sustained Loads:
i. under stress for a long period of time from carrying load
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ii. Machinery must be utilized if loads need to be carried for a sustained time
e. Low Job Control
i. Have to do the job in a specific order so the lack of variability in job decreases work
satisfaction and morale
f. High Demands
i. Puts high stress on worker if demands are not met, impact psychological state
9. Provide 5 problems or costs due to poor human factors. Give a sentence to describe each of them.
a. Quality of Product
i. jobs with poor ergonomics are 10 times more likely to have quality defects than jobs
with good ergonomics
b. Productivity
i. workstations that are not ergonomically designed negatively impact productivity
c. Workplace Injury
i. Poorly production system can results in negative operator effects and poor quality from
the system.
d. Flexibility
i. Having a design that is not flexible to meet the needs of a wide range of demands can
poorly
e. Hiring Costs / Training Costs
i. Poorly designed operations require more workers to be present or more time for
training.
-productivity
Performance
Quality
Lead time
Sickness and absence
Noise & Vibration – Lecture 01/02
1. What are the 4 reasons why noise is bad?
a. Noise can cause hearing loss
b. Noise can affect performance and productivity
c. Noise can be annoying
d. Noise can interfere with spoken communication
2. Explain and compare the difference between Conductive Hearing Loss and Neural Hearing Loss.
Conductive Hearing Loss:
- caused by a mechanical rupture of dislocation of eardrum and bone in middle ear
- due to a sudden intense pressure wave (ie explosion or blow to external ear)
- hearing loss may be total, temporary, partial or permanent. TTPP
Neural Hearing Loss:
- prolonged noise exposure, cause auditory nerve damage
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Document Summary
2 main branches: man as a machine, man as an information processor. Poor control-displa(cid:455) (cid:272)o(cid:373)pati(cid:271)ilit(cid:455) (cid:374)ot intuitive and easy to handle: provide 5 important emerging areas in ergonomics around the time from the 1996 international. 1: examine allocation of tasks btwn ppl and machines, redesign work processes/workstation to improve work posture, comfort & convenience (wp- Customers do not demand products which are erg friendly produced. Mma- tek-c: in a gm study, ergonomic problems found include: awkward posture, high loads, repeated loads, sustained loads, low job control, high demands. Conductive hearing loss: caused by a mechanical rupture of dislocation of eardrum and bone in middle ear. Due to a sudden intense pressure wave (ie explosion or blow to external ear) Hearing loss may be total, temporary, partial or permanent. Prolonged noise exposure, cause auditory nerve damage. Noise levels of about 130 db may cause swelling of hair cells in organ of corti for short exposure but permanent damage for long.
