Human Factors

1
Human Factors

• Physiological Aspects
• Psychological Aspects
• Human Interface with World of Work

2
Physiological Aspects of Human Performance

• Physical structure of skeleton, muscles, nervous
  system, and metabolic processes
• Bones-spine and upper and lower
• Connected at body joints, wrist, knee etc
• Joints connected by ligaments
• Muscles contract and move bones
• Expend energy to move
• Biomechanics of motion

3
Psychological Aspects of Human Activities

• What motivates people?
• Do people like being idle?
• Americans want job enrichment?
• Who has the best ideas on how to increase
  productivity?
• What makes people more positive at work?

4
Psychological Aspects of Human Activities

• People are still motivated by money
• People would rather be doing productive work than
  be idle
• Many workers do not necessarily want job
  enrichment
• Workers often have the best ideas on how to
  increase productivity if only asked
• Most people respond when they know objectives,
  what their jobs are, that they will be treated
  fairly, consistently and with respect

5
Human Interface with Work

• Important interfaces
• Work Environment
• Social Structures
• Machines
• Information/Communication Systems
• Organizational/Supervisory Structure
• Robots/Intelligent Machines

6
Interface with Work Environment

• IEs design workplaces
• Optimal location for devices
• Illumination
• Atmosphere
• Safe and Attractive

7
Interface with Machines

• Human serves a control function
• Human factors data used to select size, shape and
  location of controls
• Humans are better at
• Recognizing.
• Storing.
• Other words.

8
What are we better at?

• Recognizing complex patterns
• Recognizing unusual/unexpected events
• Storing lots of info, long time, strategies
• Quick retrieval, associating, inferring
• Adapting the decision process
• Reasoning inductively
• Discerning most important activities

9
What are machines better at?

• Monitoring prespecified events
• Storing quantitative data quickly (lots)
• Retrieving and processing data quickly
• Performing repetitive activities
• Responding to inputs consistently, fast
• Ignoring distractions

10
Interface with Information/Communication Systems
One portion

• Auditory vs. Visual Presentation
• Auditory
• Message short, simple
• Not referred to later
• Deals with events in time
• Calls for immediate action
• Visual system overburdened
• Too bright, have to move a lot

11
More Interface Auditory or Visual

• Visual
• Message is complex and long
• Referred to later
• Deals with location in space
• Does not call for immediate action
• Auditory system overburdened
• Location is noisy, worker in one position