This edited book concerns the real practice of human factors and ergonomics (HF/E), conveying the perspectives and experiences of practitioners and other stakeholders in a variety of industrial sectors, organisational settings and working contexts. The book blends literature on the nature of practice with diverse and eclectic reflections from experience in a range of contexts, from healthcare to agriculture. It explores what helps and what hinders the achievement of the core goals of HF/E: improved system performance and human wellbeing.?The book should be of interest to current HF/E practitioners, future HF/E practitioners, allied practitioners, HF/E advocates and ambassadors, researchers, policy makers and regulators, and clients of HF/E services and products.
This edited book concerns the real practice of human factors and ergonomics (HF/E), conveying the perspectives and experiences of practitioners and other stakeholders in a variety of industrial sectors, organisational settings and working contexts. The book blends literature on the nature of practice with diverse and eclectic reflections from experience in a range of contexts, from healthcare to agriculture. It explores what helps and what hinders the achievement of the core goals of HF/E: improved system performance and human wellbeing. The book should be of interest to current HF/E practitioners, future HF/E practitioners, allied practitioners, HF/E advocates and ambassadors, researchers, policy makers and regulators, and clients of HF/E services and products.
Human Factors in Practice: Concepts and Applications is written for the practitioner who wishes to learn about human factors (HF) but is more interested in application (applied research) than theory (basic research). Each chapter discusses the application of important human factors theories, principles and concepts, presented at a level that can be easily understood by layman readers with no prior knowledge or formal education in human factors. The book illustrates to the non-HF practitioner the many varied domains in which human factors has been applied as well as serving to showcase current research in these areas. All chapters address the common overarching theme of applying human factors theories, principles and concepts to address real-world problems, and follow a similar structure to ensure consistency across chapters. Standard sections within each chapter include a discussion of the scientific underpinnings, a description of relevant HF methods and guidance on sources of further information, case studies to illustrate application, and a summary of likely future trends. Each chapter concludes with a short list of key terms and definitions to enhance the reader’s understanding of the content. Featuring specialist contributors from a variety of disciplines and cultural backgrounds, the book represents a diverse range of perspectives on human factors and will appeal to a broad international audience. It is consciously not a classroom textbook but rather intended to be read at the workplace by non-HF practitioners, and written specifically with their needs in mind. Reading this book will give all practitioners a solid grounding in modern human factors and its application in real-world situations.
Although still true to its original focus on the person–machine interface, the field of human factors psychology (ergonomics) has expanded to include stress research, accident analysis and prevention, and nonlinear dynamical systems theory (how systems change over time), human group dynamics, and environmental psychology. Reflecting new developments in the field, Human Factors Engineering and Ergonomics: A Systems Approach, Second Edition addresses a wide range of human factors and ergonomics principles found in conventional and twenty-first century technologies and environments. Based on the author’s thirty years of experience, the text emphasizes fundamental concepts, systems thinking, the changing nature of the person-machine interface, and the dynamics of systems as they change over time. See What’s New in the Second Edition: Developments in working memory, degrees of freedom in cognitive processes, subjective workload, decision-making, and situation awareness Updated information on cognitive workload and fatigue Additional principles for HFE, networks, multiple person-machine systems, and human-robot swarms Accident analysis and prevention includes resilience, new developments in safety climate, and an update to the inventory of accident prevention techniques and their relative effectiveness Problems in "big data" mining Psychomotor control and its relevance to human-robot systems Navigation in real-world environment Trust in automation and augmented cognition Computer technology permeates every aspect of the human–machine system, and has only become more ubiquitous since the previous edition. The systems are becoming more complex, so it should stand to reason that theories need to evolve to cope with the new sources of complexity. While many books cover traditional topics and theory, they to not focus on the practical problems students will face in the future. With broad coverage that ranges from physical ergonomics to cognitive aspects of human-machine interaction and includes dynamic approaches to system failure, this book increases the number of methods and analytical tools that are available for the human factors researcher.
This second edition of Human Factors Methods: A Practical Guide for Engineering and Design now presents 107 design and evaluation methods including numerous refinements to those that featured in the original. The book acts as an ergonomics methods manual, aiding both students and practitioners. Offering a 'how-to' text on a substantial range of ergonomics methods, the eleven sections represent the different categories of ergonomics methods and techniques that can be used in the evaluation and design process.
Although speech is the most natural form of communication between humans, most people find using speech to communicate with machines anything but natural. Drawing from psychology, human-computer interaction, linguistics, and communication theory, Practical Speech User Interface Design provides a comprehensive yet concise survey of practical speech
Research suggests that ergonomists tend to restrict themselves to two or three of their favorite methods in the design of systems, despite a multitude of variations in the problems that they face. Human Factors and Ergonomics Methods delivers an authoritative and practical account of methods that incorporate human capabilities and limitations, envi
Human Factors in the Chemical and Process Industries: Making it Work in Practice is a comprehensive overview of human factors within this sector, focusing on the practical application. It has been written by acknowledged industry experts from the Keil Centre, which is a leading practice of chartered ergonomics and human factors specialists, chartered safety specialists, registered occupational psychologists, and registered clinical psychologists The book was inspired by the international human factors training course run by the Keil Centre with the IChemE(http://www.icheme.org/human-factors), which has reached four continents across the world. The book is written for those who want a comprehensive overview of the subject, focusing on the practical application of human factors. It has been written for safety professionals, engineers and operational disciplines within industry, and those aspiring to these disciplines, who either deal with human factors issues or any aspect of the 'human element' in their core role. The book explains what 'human factors' is about and how human factors issues are best managed from a practical perspective. It will help readers develop a greater understanding of the area and how to establish more effective solutions for human factors related issues. - Provides comprehensive coverage of the most relevant human factors within this sector, with succinct overviews of each topic - Uses case studies and practical examples to illustrate topics and explains the material in a fully accessible, easy to understand style - Written by a single team of eleven industry practitioners, drawing on the combined expertise of different human factors specialisms which are rarely comprehensively combined in a single resource
Manufacturers are becoming more aware of human factors in product design as a major competitive issue. In many product areas, manufacturers have reached a technology ceiling, which simply means that it is increasingly difficult to get ahead of the competition in terms of, for example, functionality, technical reliability or manufacturing costs. As a consequence, design has become a major battleground for manufacturers, and usability is recognized as being a central tenet of good design. This book provides a unique snapshot of current practice in human factors, identifying methods and techniques that work well under tight constraints and providing case study evidence of their effectiveness. The commercial implications of usability are discussed, and special attention is paid to two key trends: inclusive design and smart products. Inclusive design is about meeting the needs of all users with one design, which includes the elderly and the disabled. Smart products are multi-functional products with electronic interfaces containing a vast array of "helpful" functions. Industrial designers and manufacturing executives will find this text enlightening.
An easy-to-use, in-depth manual, Human Factors Methods for Design supplies the how-tos for approaching and analyzing design problems and provides guidance for their solution. It draws together the basics of human behavior and physiology to provide a context for readers who are new to the field. The author brings in problem analysis, including test and evaluation methods and simple experimentation and recognizes the importance of cost-effectiveness. Finally, he emphasizes the need for good communication to get the new product understood and accepted. The author draws from his corporate experience as a research and development manager and his consulting practice in human factors and design.
