Ergonomics Explained

According to dictionaries, ergonomics is a scientific discipline that is concerned with designing to the human needs that which provides principles, theories, and methods to improve a persons well being and performance.

There are groups of professionals that are called ergonomists that study movements by individuals while at the workplace. Ergonomists conduct studies to find some of the common practices that lead to things such as carpal tunnel. The Ergonomists then create items to help with these sorts of problems and attempts to correct bad posture.

A certified Ergonomist will have a BA or BS in Psychology, Mechanical Engineering, and Health Sciences. Some universities offer Master of Ergonomics.

The five basic principles of ergonomics are safety, comfort, ease of use, productivity, and aesthetics. Ergonomics in the workplace has become much more of a popular subject in order to improve the safety and productivity of employees and employers. This also helps save billions of dollars in workers’ compensation claims.

The word ergonomics comes from two different Greek words, erg; which means work and nomoi; which means natural law. Ergonomists have attempted to help with posture to avoid repetitive stress on the body. A person usually cannot break these bad habits by themselves. A person would have to be a skilled observer to recognize the things that are creating the problem. One way to learn these sorts of skills is to learn about the Alexander Technique. This technique enables the students to learn and use ergonomic principles into direct practice, which will help reduce the risk of RSI.

The Alexander Technique has been around for nearly a century and is an educational method which shows people how their everyday habits can be harmful.