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Introduction to Ergonomics, 3rd Edition by R S Bridger

Article  in  International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics · January 2014

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 International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 44 (2014) 892e893
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ergon
Book review
Introduction to Ergonomics, R.S. Bridger, third ed.. Taylor &
Francis/CRC Press, Boca Raton, London, New York (2008). (808
pp., 232 illustrations, Instructor’s manual, £49.99 hard cover),
ISBN: 0849373069 and 978-0849373060
The 3rd edition of ‘Introduction to Ergonomics’ is continuing in
the same approach of earlier two editions, with ample coverage of
all major topics of ergonomics. With removal of few contents, some
recent research findings and advance ergonomics evaluation tech-
niques have been added and reorganized, but the basic structure
remains unaltered. This third edition has been completely revised
and updated to enhance practicability. This book contains ergo-
nomics workshop sections with tutorials and exercises in each
chapter; psychometrics section on questionnaire and survey
design; significant numbers of ergonomics checklists and design
guidelines, case studies, stand-alone sections with worked exam-
ples; excellent glossary of technical terms, updated instructor's
manual etc. to aid delving in-depth understanding of subject. Be-
sides these, problems given at the end of each chapter have either
been updated or increased in numbers.
This book is intended as a reference source for ergonomists, en-
gineers, system designers, practitioners, and graduate students to
understand how knowledge of human strengths and limitations
(both mental and physical) can lead to better system design,
more effective training of the user, and better assessment of the us-
ability of a system. The author set himself in a challenging task to
‘represent the entire field of ergonomics in a single book’. Each
chapter provides an overview of a particular area of ergonomics
study or application and down-to-earth approach to the subject,
particularly as many of them are self-explanatory from their titles.
Most chapters have extensive references to allow interested
readers to follow them up in greater depth. This new comprehen-
sive book comprising 16 chapters, with a high number of illustra-
tive figures and many valuable tables, is particularly welcome.
The chapter 1 is a gentle introduction to the subject which
covers a unique historical treatise of how the human factors/ergo-
nomics discipline came and how it has progressed over the past
century, followed by human-machine system, modern ergonomics,
as well as the discussion of cost benefit models and methods. Chap-
ter 2 covers body mechanism, anatomy of the spine and pelvis
related to posture and biomechanics of spinal loading. Design prin-
ciples for the workspace using anthropometric data have been
covered in chapter 3. Scaling technique used for users whose
anthropometry is unknown such as Rapid Anthropometrics Scale
for Height (RASH) explained with ergonomics workshop 3.2 is
very useful. Chapter 4 covers an overview of design approach for
static work in standing and seated postures. Checklists for chair
design and VDT workspace evaluation and posture analysis by
REBA have been included. Chapter 5 ‘Repetitive Task: Risk Assess-
ment and Task Design’ contains a wide view of these issues and,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2014.08.003
0169-8141
in particular, how task design approaches may be used to prevent
injuries for back pain, disorders of the neck, carpal tunnel syn-
drome, cumulative trauma disorders etc. Chapter 6 discusses
various aspects of design and evaluation of manual material
handling (MMH) tasks such as analyzing postural stress, use of
biomechanical models, and other factors influencing postural sta-
bility. Table 6.15 present a short hazard checklist for rapid screening
of manual handling task in the industry and Table 6.16 summarizes
guidance for risk reduction. These are interesting and very useful
for MMH. Despite global trend to replace manual tasks with mech-
anized and automated systems, physical aspect of work design are
the great importance in view of the modern interest in eliminating
avoidable ill-health. The various aspects of physiological demands,
their assessment techniques, as well as preventative measures for
improving health and overall system performance are covered in
chapters 7 and 8. The author has summarized the main work-
related psychosocial stressors, followed by some key components
of stress management program. Chapter 9 covers thermal environ-
mental issues i.e. hot and cold climates, their affect to workers and
work performance. This chapter also includes psychological impact
of the working environment and cost effectiveness risk assessment.
Chapter 10 covers vision, light, illumination and psychological as-
pects of indoor lighting. Surprisingly, useful recommended and
naturally occurring illumination level has been removed as
appeared in the 2nd edition. Chapter 11 deals with causes, their ef-
fects, measurement techniques and preventive measures from
sound, noise and vibration. Unfortunately, measurement technique
of vibration has not been discussed. Further, preventative measures
from vibration have been covered superficially. In chapters 12 and
14 covers cognitive ergonomics and their contributions to the
development of humanecomputer interaction. Chapter 13 deals
with the design of displays and controls. The main focused areas
are auditory displays, controls design and combination of displays
and controls. Explanation of these focused areas explained with ta-
bles and illustrative figures are very helpful for better understand-
ing. Chapter 15 includes human error, accidents and safety. Each
section gives some useful insights into the above issues. The chap-
ter deals mainly with the concepts of decision making, problem
solving and cognitive workload. Finally there is an important topic
(chapter 16) on system design and assessment, a very nice and lucid
contribution. This chapter deals with the various ergonomic inputs
in all stages of design process from requirement specification and
concept generation to post implementation evaluation. Question-
naire design for ergonomic studies and their reliability and validity
assessments is discussed with example such as factor analysis of
cell phone features.
Negligible number of minor errors appears to have escaped dur-
ing proofreading. The factual content is excellent with more than
800 references listed at the end of the book in alphabetical order
which is very useful. Numbers of recent references seems to be
 Book review / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 44 (2014) 892e893 893

relatively less although the past decade has seen rapid development Thaneswer Patel
of ergonomics discipline. In spite of these drawbacks, the author has Department of Agricultural Engineering, North Eastern Regional
provided an excellent coverage of contents. For the novice reader, Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Nirjuli 791 109,
the book provides glossary of 15 pages (713e727), a significant num- Arunachal Pradesh, India
ber of research issues, summary and exercises to aid understanding
Sougata Karmakar*
and application of the material covered. Moreover, the book has
Department of Design, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati,
been sensibly written in very simple language for easy understand-
Guwahati-781 039, Assam, India
ing. This book covers many tools and techniques for ergonomic anal-
ysis and demonstrates how to apply them in practices. These offer *
not just for improved quality of product but also for better comfort, Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 361 2582464 (office);
safety and overall system performance. fax: þ91 361 2690762.
Needless to say, it is a valuable reference volume for all those E-mail addresses: karmakar.sougata@gmail.com,
interested in the field of human factors, psychology, industrial and karmakar.sougata@iitg.ernet.in (S. Karmakar).
engineering design, occupational ergonomics and allied disciplines.
Anybody would expect it to find a place on ergonomists' book- Available online 16 September 2014
shelves. This book is recommended for all intended readership.

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