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Industrial Ergonomics

Last updated: March 18, 2024

What Does Industrial Ergonomics Mean?

Industrial ergonomics is a sub-field of ergonomics, which is concerned with adapting the requirements of industrial jobs to the physical capabilities of the people who perform them.

Safeopedia Explains Industrial Ergonomics

Industrial ergonomic analyses involve a consideration of situation-specific factors, such as:

  • How many times the task must be performed in a row
  • The posture of workers while they use heavy equipment
  • Details of the working environment
  • The weight of items workers have to carry and how they carry them

Industrial ergonomics is a major means of ensuring workplace safety by reducing factors that increase the risk of an accident or stress-related injury. Exposure to repetitive stressors and force on the human body can lead to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) or a sudden physical injury.

Ergonomic factors can also raise the risk of an accident due to factors beyond causing injury. For instance, performing a task in a cold environment or while using powerful tools that emit vibrations will increase the risks of an ergonomic injury.

Industrial ergonomics is often summarized as being concerned with “human-machine interfaces.” Beyond the safety hazards associated with injurious or stressful ergonomic conditions, the poor ergonomic design of a machine can raise the risk of accident and injury simply due to the machine being difficult to use.

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