HISTORY OF ERGONOMICS: FROM ITS BEGINNINGS TO TODAY - ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY - 2025

The history of ergonomics begins in the 1940s, when it emerged as a scientific discipline. It arose from the realization that not all the benefits of technical equipment would be possible if people were unable to understand the full potential of using such equipment.

In simple terms, ergonomics is the study and design of the equipment and instruments that best fit the human body and its movement. Basic ergonomics has been around since the earliest ancestors of modern man began creating primitive tools to make tasks easier.

After the Industrial Revolution, factory machines and equipment began to be built with design considerations, which today we would refer to as ergonomic features.

Ergonomics in the modern sense began to become popular during World War II. Military equipment, machinery and weapons - specifically airplanes - became much more complex.

After the innovations of World War II, ergonomics continued to flourish, as its principles began to be applied to more modern technologies.

The science of modern ergonomics includes the work of industrial engineers, occupational physicians, and many other fields. Almost every aspect of modern life includes a level of ergonomic design.

Ergonomics in the

The importance of good design between humans and tools was noted very early in the development of the species. The history of ergonomics dates back to the time of the first humans.

The Austrolopithecus prometheus selected useful stones as tools and made spoons from antelope bones, in a clear attempt to create and select objects to make tasks easier.

Old age

Archaeological evidence of tools, hunting equipment, and other implements has been found in Egyptian dynasties and in Ancient Greece. These tools were man-made and illustrated quite sophisticated ergonomic principles for their time.

Ergonomics in the 20th century

Wojciech Jastrzebowski created the world of ergonomics, in 1857, in a philosophical narrative "based on the truths of nature science."

Wojciech Jastrzebowski

The first concepts to help workers operate more productively were published in the mid-1900s.

In the mid-1900s, industry production was largely dependent on human power and ergonomic concepts were developed to improve worker efficiency.

Scientific management, a method that improves worker efficiency by improving the work process, became popular.

Industrial Revolution

With the Industrial Revolution, machines such as the Jenny spinning machine (a machine that produces yarns to make fabric) and rolling mills (a method of ironing minerals into thin sheets), were developed to improve work processes. This is the same motivation behind most aspects of ergonomics.

Frederick W. Taylor was a pioneer in this approach and evaluated work to determine the best way in which it could be done.

Frederick W. Taylor was the main precursor to the scientific theory of management. Source: wikipedia.org

At Bethlehem Steel, Taylor dramatically increased worker output and wages on shoveling jobs by matching the shovel to the type of material being moved (ash, ore, or coal).

Frank and Lilian Gilbert made jobs more efficient and less tiring through analysis of motion and standardized tools, materials, and the work process.

By applying this process, the number of movements when placing the bricks was reduced from 18 to 4.5, allowing the rate of their placement to be increased from 120 to 350 bricks per hour.

Most of the designs of this era were created to increase the speed and efficiency of production, rather than to create comfort of use for the workers involved.

Ergonomics in World War II

World War II is considered the real beginning of the study of ergonomics.

World War II gave rise to great interest in human-machine interaction, as the efficiency of sophisticated military equipment (such as airplanes) could be compromised by poor design or confusing design.

Machine design concepts appropriate to the size of the soldier and sufficiently understandable and logical control buttons evolved.

Experimental psychologists studied air crashes and concluded that many of the crashes occurred due to illogical or poor design concepts that did not take the human body into account. This was the beginning of the study of human capacities proper to ergonomics.

Human cognitive characteristics began to be taken into account for the design of machines. This is how the science of human factors has developed in the context of applied psychology.

Modern ergonomics

Currently, this scientific field not only provides comfortable and safe designs, such as those that prevent human errors and those found in commonly used products; it also expands into the areas of medicine, tools of war, aviation, traffic, traffic systems, and public facilities.

Beginning in 1960, the discipline extended to computer equipment, followed by the study of computer software in the 1970s. Later, it incorporated the use of the Internet and the automation of adaptive technology, beginning in 2000.

In the United States, researchers focused on the behavioral sciences, such as experimental psychology and technology. For its part, the emphasis in Europe has been human physiology.

Today, the science of ergonomics is a combination of several disciplines, including psychology, engineering, and physiology.

When you talk about ergonomics you are no longer referring to physical problems and complaints. Today's ergonomics has become a very broad field that seeks more than the prevention of health problems.

His current focus is the question of how the human being can be aligned with the execution of his tasks. If this is done correctly, you can have many time savings and higher levels of productivity.

References

1. The history of ergonomics. Recovered from ergosource.com
2. History of ergonomics (2017). Recovered from ergoweb.com
3. A brief history. Recovered from ergonomics.org.uk
4. History of ergonomics. Recovered from ergonomics.jp
5. The history of ergonomics. Recovered from bakkerelhuizen.com