Product Ergonomics - 4GUP11A5

Goal(s)

In addition to the importance of the technical aspects of design and setting up a new product, human aspects must also be taken into account.

Ergonomics proposes models and an approach which lead to the analysis of any situation from an operational point of view.

The lecture aims at increasing the students' awareness in this subject, showing them that the study of human activities in this context can improve communication between users and designers and provide them with tools to analyse these activities.

Content(s)

This lecture presents theoretical trends of ergonomics, related to product design. Concepts are illustrated through actual case studies and an implementation exercise of ergonomic approach to product design.

• Models for cognitive analysis of activities: activity theory / situated action / situated cognition / distributed cognition / social distributed cognition.
• Product ergonomics: the concept of a product, industrial product, from product to service.
• Ergonomic criteria: security, effectiveness, usefulness, error tolerance, handling easiness, user-friendliness, pleasure
• Ergonomic criteria and product success: roles and tasks of the ergonomist in the product life, user interface optimisation, design process, taking into account actual users.
• Instrumental perspective: human-machine relations, various approaches, human-machine interaction, human-machine systems, mediated activity, from artefacts to instruments.
• Instrument development: instrumental genesis, systems of instruments.

Study cases:
-Design of the locomotive of the French high speed train (TGV)
-Design of a workshop to prepare products before their delivery

Various exercises are integrated throughout the lecture: design, observation, analysis.

Basics in ergonomics.
Activity and task concept seen in the 1st year courses.