CHAPTER 1

THE DISCIPLINE OF HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS

Waldemar Karwowski

Waldemar Karwowski

University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida

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Wei Zhang

Wei Zhang

Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

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First published: 13 August 2021
Citations: 2

Summary

Over the last 70 years, human factors, a term that is used synonymously with ergonomics and denoted as human factors ergonomics (HFE), has been evolving as a unique and independent discipline that originated with a focus on the nature of human–artifact interactions. The HFE discipline advocates systematic use of the knowledge concerning the relevant human characteristics in order to achieve compatibility in the design of interactive systems of people, machines, environments, and devices of all kinds to ensure specific goals. Ergonomics design is concerned with the ability to implement knowledge about human–system interactions and use them to develop systems that satisfy customer needs and relevant human compatibility requirements. Ergonomics literacy prepares individuals to perform their roles in the workplace and outside the working environment. One important subdiscipline of HFE with respect to the central focus of the management discipline is macroergonomics.

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