An ergonomic design is a piece of equipment which has been created in order to enable a particular worker work more effectively in a given type of job environment. A proper ergonomic design is useful in that it helps to reduce or prevent recurring strain injuries which can become worse, over a period of time, and may result in long-term disability conditions. The design of an ergonomic product is meant to fulfil at least two important goals~ health and productivity. In the ergonomic design of the product, emphasis is also laid on making the equipment easy to use for the worker, for which it has been solely made to increase his efficiency.
Without mincing words, an ergonomic design must be a perfect fit between the user and his work. Ergonomics as a science takes into consideration the worker's abilities and limitations so as to ensure that the task, design of the equipment, environment and information match each other and create a perfect tool for the user. Ergonomic designs are done by ergonomists or ergonomic designers. As a way of assessing the fit between a piece of equipment and a worker, ergonomic designers take into consideration the task being performed, its demand on the worker and the equipment in use~ that is its size, shape and how useful it is for the task or not. Also, ergonomic designers seek to know how information gathered from the worker can be presented accessed, changed and used so as to create a perfect or near-perfect solution that will assist the worker in discharging his or her duties effectively at his workstation , without any hindrances or limitations on the part of the tool or work environment.
When creating an ergonomic design solution, an expert usually starts by taking into consideration a series of steps. The expert must be able to identify the problem and hope to seek a solution to it through creative thinking. The solution must make a practical impact on the worker and the people around him or her. The problem should be able to test a particular theory. The expert then selects variables that have a bearing on performance, health and safety in order to get truthful and voluntary information from a user, the ergonomic expert explains to the user why it is important to be truthful about the problems militating against his or her efficiency at work. In order to get the best results, multiple observations and trials are made and compared so as to obtain the best consistent results possible.
It is cheering to note that through ground-breaking ergonomic designs and activities, the workplace has indeed been made friendlier to work in. As a matter of fact, health hazards and other serious problems militating against efficient service delivery have been reduced to the barest minimum in workstations, if not completely eradicated. Many thanks to the creative ergonomic designs and solutions! With them, our world is becoming a better place to live in!
