IDT205 : Ergonomics / Faculty of Art and Design

This course is designed to introduce students to ergonomics as a discipline of thought and practice that advocates on behalf of human well-being in system and industrial design. The aim of ergonomics is to ensure that the equipment, facilities, processes and systems are suited to the people who use them, so that tasks can be performed efficiently, comfortably and safely. In this course, the cognitive and physical elements of ergonomics such as perception, attention, anthropometrics, biomechanics, postural strength, work performance and decision making are presented as the basis for how human capabilities and basic design constructs through practical exercises. The overall aim is to ensure that our knowledge of human characteristics is brought to bear on practical problems of people at work and in leisure. By the end of the Diploma course in Industrial Design, students should have an appreciation of a broad range of topics in the discipline of Ergonomics. They also have an understanding of applied skills that would be useful to practitioners in the field of design and be able to devise Ergonomics research of design settings and report results in a professional manner.