ABSTRACT
Human factors engineering (HFE) is the discipline that takes into account human strengths and limitations in the design of interactive systems that involve people, tools, and technology, and work environments to ensure safety, effectiveness, and ease of use. A human factors engineer examines a particular activity in terms of its component tasks, and then assesses the physical demands, skill demands, mental workload, team dynamics, aspects of the work environment, and device design required to complete the task optimally. The very nature of HFE rules out ‘one size fits all’ solutions, but several tools and techniques are commonly used as human factors approaches to addressing safety issues. They are the following: usability testing, forcing functions, standardization, and resiliency efforts. Using HFE exercises early on to assess where human errors in manufacturing can occur then results in optimized production time and decreased risk for all involved.
