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The Evolution of Ergonomics with Dr. Alan Hedge | E1

April 13, 2023
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The Evolution of Ergonomics

Episode 01: Show Notes

Ergonomics, the study of how people interact with their physical environment and the tools they use, has evolved significantly over the years. It is recognized as a critical aspect of workplace design, helping to improve employee comfort, health, and productivity, but where did it all start? Joining us today is Dr. Alan Hedge, Emeritus Professor at Cornell University's Department of Human Centered Design, who has devoted his career to researching and teaching about design and workplace ergonomics. He is particularly interested in how these factors impact workers' health, comfort, and productivity. His research spans a variety of topics, and his work has been published and disseminated through numerous journals, books, reports, and conferences. 

In our conversation, Dr. Hedge provides an engaging overview of the history and evolution of ergonomics. He discusses the crucial role of ergonomics in understanding the relationship between our interactions with the world and the risk of injury. He also shares valuable insights into fundamental research on topics such as cognitive ergonomics, industrial psychology, and anthropometrics. The historical role of ergonomics in design and engineering is explored, and he demonstrates how cognitive, physical, and environmental ergonomics intersect. Additionally, he reflects on his academic journey and discusses his seminal work on developing the RULA method. Finally, he concludes by discussing the opportunities and challenges presented by new and advanced technologies.

Key Points From This Episode:

Dr. Hedge begins by providing an overview of the history of ergonomics, discussing how it has evolved over time and its current form. He explains how various factors, including the field of astrophysics and the fundamental role of reaction times in skill development, have influenced ergonomics. Additionally, he highlights how the growth of technology has played a significant role in advancing the field and its philosophical underpinnings. 

Learn how ergonomics plays a crucial role in understanding the relationship between our interactions with the world around us and the risk of injury. Dr. Hedge shares valuable insights into fundamental research on the subject. He also discusses topics such as why people enjoy work and the different definitions of work, highlighting the importance of designing workplaces that promote comfort, health, and productivity.

He explores the history of the Hunley submarine and its design, highlighting the role of ergonomics and the impact of environmental conditions on crew performance. The selection process of the crew is also discussed, shedding light on the challenges of operating a complex system in high-stress environments. This early example provides valuable insights into the importance of ergonomics and environmental factors in the design and operation of systems.

We delve into the cognitive aspect of ergonomics and industrial psychology, highlighting the importance of anthropometrics in this field. Early work investigating human cognitive abilities is discussed, emphasizing intelligence testing and its influence on ergonomics. Additionally, he provides examples of how ergonomics is applied in practice, including the use of anticipatory information and the role of pain in human performance. 

Dr. Hedge illustrates how technological development during World War I and World War II prompted a rethinking of ergonomics, ultimately leading to the emergence of cognitive ergonomics. He explores the historical role of ergonomics in design and engineering and demonstrates how cognitive, physical, and environmental ergonomics intersect through a simple example.

He reflects on his academic journey and how he became fascinated with ergonomics. He shares how his interest in biology at school and exposure to earlier work in related fields motivated him to pursue the discipline. He details his earlier work on cephalopods and how it ultimately led him to the field of ergonomics.

Dr. Hedge elaborates on his seminal work on popularizing the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) method and shares his motivations behind working with the assessment, its real-world applications, the validation process, and why it remains a valuable tool. We conclude by discussing how new and advanced technologies provide opportunities for advancements in the field, such as going to Mars, and the current challenges and knowledge gaps.

Quotes:

“Invariably, the more skilled you are, the less risk you have of being injured.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:07:06]

“[Ergonomics] applies not to just to manual skills or physical skills, but also mental skills.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:08:04]

“Work today is fundamental to how we structure our societies.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:12:29]

“When something hurts, it is the body’s way of saying, ‘Do not use it for a while. Let’s try and recover.’” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:20:55]

“Cognitive ergonomics, physical ergonomics, and environmental ergonomics all go together really well.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:24:00]

“The idea was to have a risk assessment tool that you could use in three minutes or less to be able to quickly scan if a person is likely to get injured.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:39:40]

Longer Quotes:

“If you go back to Darwin’s idea of survival of the fittest, you can really say it is survival of the most skilled because the most skilled animal is the one that finds food best, can catch food best, eat food best, and escape best. So all of human behavior is really about becoming more skilled either intellectually, verbally, athletically, or whatever it is.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:08:21]

“Ergonomics became not just this physical discipline but also an environmental and cognitive discipline. The fact that people work in teams also means that it is an organizational discipline, because you can have the same four skilled people, and if those people hate each other, they will not work as effectively as if they really liked each other. So there are multiple factors to think about.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:25:44]

“If you overestimate the risk, it is good news because you are going to lower the risk. Everything you do is about lowering the perceived risk of a job, and we believe that if you lower that risk, you will lower the likelihood of an injury, and that will be better for the employee and for the benefit of the work they do.” — Dr. Alan Hedge [0:41:34]

Links & Resources Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Dr. Alan Hedge on LinkedIn

Cornell University

Human Centered Design

Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors

International Ergonomics Association

National Ergonomics Conference and Exposition

Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics Methods

Journal of Ergonomics 

Human Factors in Systems Engineering

TuMeke Ergonomics

Dr. Matt Jeffs on LinkedIn

Dr. Matt Jeffs on Twitter 

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