ABSTRACT
Traditionally,engineershavedesignedmachinesaccordingtoengineering principles,ratherthanbehaviouralprinciples.Thatis,whenamachinehas beendesigned,verylittleconsiderationhasbeengiventohoweasyitisfor apersontouseoroperate.Lifeisfilledwithsuchexamples.Insome cases,thepoordesignisanuisanceandnotparticularlydangerous,suchas
the size of door handles or spare tyres in cars that require you to unpack the entire boot to access. In others, the design is positively hazardous, such as the placement in some new control consoles of the switch to 'amend flight plan' next to the 'screen shutdown'. There are several explanations as to why engineering principles dominate
the design field. Many engineers who have not had the benefit of human factors training believe that humans are able to adapt readily to almost any environment in which they are placed; whether a work place is too hot or cold, too quiet or noisy, humans manage to perform their work. The real question, however, is whether they perform these jobs adequately and safely, and whether another design would have resulted in better, more economical and safer performance.
