ABSTRACT
Too often workplaces have been designed based on “efficient movement of product” or “best locations for machines.” All of these workplace designs are developed with little thought given to how people fit in. Designers have expected people to adapt to whatever system has been devised. Unfortunately, the human body cannot adapt to everything. People are different and have limitations. People behave and react in certain ways that do not always fit into traditional management concepts of how work should be done. The idea of ergonomic job design is to understand the anatomy, physiology, and psychology of people and design for those factors. By using this approach, employee well-being and workplace efficiency can be obtained and/or optimized (Jacobs, Larson, and MacLeod, 1990).
