BENEFITS OF ERGONOMICS - Most often user comfort is seen as the focus of ergonomics but it is actually a result of improving the ergonomics through a more intuitive design that supports natural body mechanics. Clear communication between the user and whatever is being used is a benefit of ergonomics. Another benefit of ergonomics is that with better ergonomics the amount of training needed for proper operation is reduced. By increasing the efficiency of a tool or a task, you tend to shorten the length of time it takes to accomplish your goal. Reduction in fatigue, increase accuracy, lessen chance of injury and lower cost of an individual tool are additional benefits of ergonomics.

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The Benefits of Ergonomics

How ergonomics help the individual, the system and the bottom line

by Chris Adams 

Ergonomics is about making things better.

The better the ergonomics the more efficient the tool, task or system is.  

That makes for a happier, healthier user, a streamlined system and a lower bottom line. Who doesn't want some of that.

Better Comfort

A core benefit of ergonomics is an increase in the user's comfort.

Most often user comfort is seen as the focus of ergonomics but it is actually a result of improving the ergonomics through a more intuitive design that supports natural body mechanics.

Improve Communication

Clear communication between the user and whatever is being used is another benefit of ergonomics.

Reduce Skill Level

Another benefit of ergonomics is that with better ergonomics the amount of training needed for proper operation is reduced.

If you never need to read the owner's manual then it has good ergonomics.

Save Time

Ergonomics is about making things more efficient.

And one of the benefits of ergonomics is that by increasing the efficiency of a tool or a task, you tend to shorten the length of time it takes to accomplish your goal.

Reduce Fatigue

With increased comfort and easier to understand usage come reduction in fatigue, another benefit of ergonomics.

Increase Accuracy

Ergonomics also benefit your accuracy by lessoning the chance of errors. From a system perspective this is one of the greatest benefits from ergonomics.

Lessen Chance of Injury

A great benefit of ergonomics if that there is less of a chance to injure yourself or someone else.

When you spend less time performing a task with tools that are intuitive to use, don't require special mental or physical skill, and do not fatigue you then a lot of causes of injuries are removed.

Lower Cost

The cost of an individual tool may not be lowered. In the case of most specially designed "Ergonomic" tools they are actually much higher.

But the overall cost in terms of time, labor and other inputs (blood, sweat and tears) come down.

Chris Adams

Human factors engineer and industrial designer

Human systems integration lead at Strata-G Solutions, Inc.

Experience

Chris Adams is a former writer for ThoughtCo who wrote about ergonomics for more than nine years. Ergonomics is the study of how humans effectively interact with their work environment. Chris has more than 11 years of experience working in the field of human factors and ergonomics. He was a human factors and systems engineer with Jacobs Engineering working on NASA's the Ares I and V rocket systems. Chris later became the lead of human-system integration for Strata-G Solutions, Inc. 

Chris specializes in furniture design and corporate identity and works as an independent consultant on various design projects. His work for ThoughtCo appears on many websites, newsletters, and books which focus on engineering spaces for human use.

Education

Chris Adams earned a Bachelor of Industrial Design (B.I.D.) in Industrial and Product Design from Auburn University in 1999.

ThoughtCo and Dotdash

ThoughtCo is a premier reference site focusing on expert-created education content. We are one of the top-10 information sites in the world as rated by comScore, a leading Internet measurement company. Every month, more than 13 million readers seek answers to their questions on ThoughtCo.

For more than 20 years, Dotdash brands have been helping people find answers, solve problems, and get inspired. We are one of the top-20 largest content publishers on the Internet according to comScore, and reach more than 30% of the U.S. population monthly. Our brands collectively have won more than 20 industry awards in the last year alone, and recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry publication.

https://www.thoughtco.com/benefits-of-ergonomics-1206418