Is your workspace friendly?
Ergonomics: The science that studies the characteristics that need to be considered in designing the tools people use and interact with to insure that they work in a productive, safe and efficient environment.

Often referred to as human engineering or human factors engineering, the relationship between men and there machines is extremely important to the productivity and safety of each individual. Today's employers have to consider both production and the liabilities they face with work related injuries. In times past, the workspace was designed for the average person but the new norm is to design with enough versatility and adjustability to meet the needs of most individuals. In order to do so, a study of the environment is a major factor in the design. Call centers operator may have different needs than dispatchers and security monitoring is totally different from the needs of people doing data entry. In a perfect world, employers would design something special for each worker. Since the same workstation is used by multiple shifts,  designing in as much flexibility as possible is the best solution.

I will be doing a number of articles around human factor engineering. The articles will address major considerations for specific applications: