 History of

Ergonomics
TOPICS TO  Interdisciplinary
BE nature of
ergonomics
DISCUSSED:
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS Basic ergonomics has
existed since the first
ancestors of modern
man began creating
primitive tools to
make tasks easier.
 Earliest Egyptian
dynasties and 5th
Century BCE
Greece
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS Bernardino Ramazinni
(1633-1714) wrote
about work-related
complaints (that he saw
in his medical practice)
in the 1713 supplement
to his 1700 publication,
“De Morbis Artificum
(Diseases of Workers).”
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS The word Ergonomics
was first used in 1857
by Prof. Wojciech
Jastrzebowski in
Poland. He used this
word in philosophical
narrative, “based
upon the truths drawn
from the Science of
Nature”.
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS Shortly after the
Industrial Revolution,
factory machinery
and equipment started
being built with
design considerations
closer to what we
think of today as
“ergonomics.”
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS
Frederick W.
Taylor pioneered
the of
scientific
management as
well as ergonomics
approach.
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS The World Wars were
periods of intense use
of ergonomics. World
War II prompted and
initiated greater
interest and research
in human and
machine interaction
especially in
sophisticated military
equipment.
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS
From the 1960s, the
discipline of
ergonomics extended
to computer
equipment, followed
by the study of
computer software .
 HISTORY OF
ERGONOMICS
Today ergonomics
is a combination of
various disciplines,
including
psychology,
engineering and
physiology.
INTERDISCIPLINAR
Y NATURE OF
ERGONOMICS
INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE OF
ERGONOMICS Physiology
Understanding how
the physical aspects
of the human
respond to the
work environment.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE OF
ERGONOMICS Psychology
Understanding the
cognitive aspects of
human interaction
in the work
environment.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE OF
ERGONOMICS
Biomechanics
Concerned with the
mechanical
elements of living
organisms.

 Occupational
biomechanics
INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE OF Physics
ERGONOMICS
Uses laws of science
and engineering
concepts to describe
motion undergone by
the various body
segments and the
forces acting on these
body parts.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE OF Anthropometry
ERGONOMICS
The empirical science
that attempts to define
reliable physical
measures of a person’s
size, form and
capabilities for
anthropological
comparison.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
NATURE OF
ERGONOMICS General
Engineering

Used to develop
appropriate tools,
facility, and
equipment designs.
 Happy mind,
Happy learning,
Happy us!

Stay safe
everyone!