Ergonomics is a scientific discipline that centers on the design and arrangement of objects and environments to optimize efficiency and safety in human interactions. This field of study, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is concerned with the fit between individuals and their work. The name ergonomics is derived from the Greek words ergon which means work, and nomos which signifies law. The primary aim of ergonomics is to prevent musculoskeletal disorders and soft tissue injuries caused by exposure to factors such as force, vibration, repetitive motion, and awkward posture. By enhancing product design and workspace arrangement, ergonomics seeks to minimize strain, fatigue, and injuries.
The ultimate goal of ergonomics is to promote a comfortable and relaxed posture that enhances worker efficiency and productivity. The Ergonomics and Appropriate Technologies Practical Manual sets out to achieve the following objectives: (a) to raise awareness of the relevance of ergonomics in daily life and its practical applications, (b) to gain knowledge about the work, worker, and workplace, and (c) to understand the various factors that influence worker performance at the workplace.
Ergonomics is “an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use, so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely;” as defined by Merriam-Webster. Ergonomics is a science concerned with the ‘fit’ between people and their work. The name ‘ergonomics’ comes from the Greek words ‘ergon’, which means work and ‘nomos’ which means law.
The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) defines ergonomics or human factors as the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.
Physical ergonomics is concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity. This is the ergonomics domain we are most concerned with in the workplace, and most of the content on this site is very much focused on workplace ergonomics.Physical ergonomic principles have been widely used in the design of both consumer and industrial products for optimizing performance and to preventing / treating work-related disorders by reducing the mechanisms behind mechanically induced acute and chronic musculoskeletal injuries / disorders.
There are 8 fundamental Ergonomic Principles for better work performance which help you identify ergonomic risk factors and maintain your stellar safety record. • Maintain neutral posture • Work in power zone • Allow for movement and stretching • Reduce excessive force • Reduce excessive motion • Minimize contact stress • Reduce excessive vibration • Provide adequate lighting
The parent material to which a coating or plating is applied is known as the base material. The phrase base material is used to distinguish the overall part, numerous layers, and the original base material. Coating, electroplating, welding, and soldering all depend heavily on base materials.
Anthropometry is the study of the measurement of the human body in terms of the dimensions of bone, muscle, and adipose (fat) tissue. It is a branch of anthropology dealing with measurements of human body to determine difference in groups and individuals. The word “anthropometry” is derived from the Greek word “anthropo” meaning “human” and the Greek word “metron” meaning “measure” (Ulajaszek, 1994).
The rate of consumption of time and energy in task completion is affected by the work area. The work area is composed of the height, available space of the work surface, the location of the equipment, materials, and supplies being used. The work surface should be at the optimum height for the position you assume in task completion. This means if you are standing, the surface height should be slightly below your waistline.
The level of motivation of an individual has a definite relation to the fatigue experienced while doing any work. When a person dislikes a task, motivation to do is low and fatigue sets in faster. Interest in job produces high motivation and prevents fatigue. Besides the way of carrying a task is of great concern if we want to maintain our right posture, in order that we do not have to face any musculoskeletal disorders.
Work simplification is the conscious seeking of the simplest, easiest, and quickest method of doing work. It describes the making of daily tasks easier in order to reduce strain or to decrease the amount energy required to complete an activity. Work simplification research consists of making motion and time studies of the work as it is being done, analyzing the work methods, developing the easiest and most effective way to do the task and putting the new method into use. Time and energy are closely related and if these are blended properly the work of the housewife will be much simplified.
Home cooking is all about simple, tasty and healthy food brought from the kitchen to the dining table. But oftentimes, preparing the food can be timeconsuming and tedious. With the right list of basic kitchen tools, utensils and appliances, we can make cooking more enjoyable and a lot easier. These appliances can also motivate us to think of creative new recipes to delight our loved ones.
Appliances which help or assist in doing household work as cooking, cleaning and food preservation are known as equipments. A equipment also referred to as a domestic appliance or an electric appliance or a household appliance.
Today, we have spoons made of different sizes and materials such as metal, wood, plastic, ceramic or a combination of two or more materials. The most popular material is the stainless steel. Spoons are used primarily for eating liquid or semi-liquid foods, such as soup, stew or ice cream, and very small or powdery solid items which cannot be easily lifted with a fork, such as rice, sugar, cereals and green peas.
Pressure cookers are pans made of Aluminum or stainless steel. They are available in different sizes. The pressure cooker was invented in the seventeenth century by the physicist Denis Papin, and works by expelling air from the vessel, and trapping the steam produced from the boiling liquid inside. This raises the internal pressures and permits higher cooking temperatures. This, together with high thermal heat transfer from the steam, cooks food far more quickly, often cooking in between half and a quarter the time for conventional boiling. After cooking, the steam pressure is lowered back to ambient atmospheric pressure, so that the vessel can be opened safely.
Cookware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots and pans, used in kitchens. There are several different types of pots and pans- nonstick, ceramic, stainless steel, cast-iron and more. If you’re only going to buy one, we suggest a heavy-duty, try-ply or multi-clad stainless steel pan. They’re expensive, but they’ll last a lifetime with proper use.
Method: To check the performance of these pans, prepare 3 besan chillas on each type of pan by using equal quantity of oil and batter. Then compare and evaluate prepared dishes on 5 parameters i.e. Appearance, Texture, Aroma, Color and Taste by using 9-point hedonic scale.
The toaster is a kind of equipment used to toast bread in order to make it crisp. It has two slots which can hold two or four slices of bread. The electrical element produces the heat needed to make the bread hot and crisp. The toaster is a little apparatus intended to toast numerous sorts of bread items. Created in Scotland in 1893 and persistently created from that point forward, the most well-known family unit toasting machines are presently the pop-up toaster and the toaster broiler. Pop-up toasters make toast from bread in 1 to 3 minutes by utilizing warmth components.
A vacuum cleaner, also known as a sweeper or hoover, is a device that uses an air pump (a centrifugal fan in all but some of the very oldest models), to create a partial vacuum to suck up dust and dirt from fl oors and from other surfaces such as upholstery and draperies.The dirt is collected by either a dustbag or a cyclone for later disposal. Vacuum cleaners, which are used in homes as well as in industry, exist in a variety of sizes and models—small battery-powered hand-held devices, wheeled canister models for home use, domestic central vacuum cleaners, huge stationary industrial appliances that can handle several hundred litres of dust before being emptied, and self-propelled vacuum trucks for recovery of large spills or removal of contaminated soil.
A microwave oven, commonly referred to as a microwave, is a kitchen appliance that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave spectrum.
The domestic electric food juicer/mixer/grinder has become an integral fixture in the typical modern kitchen. Generally functional as liquidizers, grinders and juicers, this paraphernalia comes in handy for grinding/pulverizing/powdering dry foodstuffs either raw or roasted (cereals, grains, masalas, coffee seeds, etc.), for mixing liquids and for converting food— with or without the presence of water (or vegetable oils)—into forms of slurry or pulps. It is also used for extracting juice from fruits or vegetables.
The refrigerator (called a ‘fridge’ by most people) is a box like equipment which uses electricity to keep the temperature inside the box lower than the atmosphere outside. Food kept at such a low temperature thus does not spoil for a long time. The refrigerator also serves the purpose of giving us cold water and ice in summer. By preserving food in the refrigerator, one can delay the growth of bacteria, keep food items fresh and thus save time and energy of the homemaker in meal preparation.
A washing machine laundry machine, clothes washer, or washer) is a device used to wash laundry. The term is mostly applied to machines that use water as opposed to dry cleaning (which uses alternative cleaning fluids, and is performed by specialist businesses) or ultrasonic cleaners. The user adds laundry detergent which is sold in liquid or powder form to the wash water.
Washing dishes is not the most rewarding task. Cooking can be creative, but cleaning up afterward seems like a waste of time and leaves the person washing complaining about “dishpan hands.” The development of the dishwasher has helped relieve some of the monotony, as well as the grease and grime.
Electric Cooking Range is also known as an electric stove or electric range; is a stove with a built-in cooktop and with an integrated electrical heating device to cook and bake. Electric stoves became popular as replacements for solidfuel (wood or coal) stoves which required more labor to operate and maintain. “Cookstoves” (also called “cooking stoves” or “wood stoves”) are heated by burning wood or charcoal; “gas stoves” are heated by gas; and “electric stoves” by electricity. Unlike gas stoves, electric stove tops don’t produce a flame.
A solar cooker or solar oven is a device which uses the energy of sunlight to heat food or to cook it or sterilize it by means of reflective panels that concentrate the light on to a dark coloured pot in an insulated box.
To learn the design and arrangement of space in the kitchen which is the key in the pattern of living, the number of people to be served in the area, the size of the house and the equipment and furnishing in the kitchen. To know the most important aspect to consider in planning a kitchen i.e., the nature of the primary and secondary activities to be performed in the kitchen.
Every homemaker spends a chunk of her time in the kitchen. Kitchen is the most functional part of the house. It needs to be carefully designed. Kitchen ergonomics comes into play to make the kitchen a comfortable place to work. Kitchen ergonomics is all about minimizing the movements and stress we have to go through while cooking. While designing your kitchen you need to keep in mind the heights of various surfaces, distances and placement of items to make your space functional, efficient and enable effortless cooking.
Market survey and analysis of different types of home appliances available in the market.
Anshel, J. (1998): Visual Ergonomics in the Work Place, Taylor and Francis (UK, USA); published by Taylor and Francis, C., London. Anton, T.J. (1989): Occupational Safety and Health Management, 2nd edition, (Sanfransico, Tokyo). Bhattacharrya, A. and Meglothin (1996): Occupational Ergonomics: Theory and Applications, Marcel Dekker Inc. (New York, Basel, Hong Kong); Marcel Dekker Inc., New York. Corlett, N. and others (1986): The Ergonomics of Working Postures: Models, Methods and Cases, Taylor and Francis (London, Philadelphia); published by Taylor and Francis, C., London.
