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History of Ergonomics Dental Ergonomics

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Ergonomics is about how people, based on their physical capabilities, can

best organise and conduct their activities.

The word ergonomics may best be explained as the adaption of the environment to

man. Ergonomists conduct research into w ork strain and working posture as w ell

as w ork settings in organisations.

The entire context in w hich you perform your w ork is important. This means that

attention is not only paid to w hat you are capable of, but also to the point where

you go beyond the boundaries of your ow n ability.

The aim is to have the w ork physically conducted w ith as little strain as poss ible, so

that you have maximum energy f or your w ork and other things you f ind important. Inaddition the w ork should be conducted eff iciently. In other w ords, the point is to

achieve as much as possible w ith minimum eff ort, in a w ay that is healthy, saf e and

pleasant, i.e. you must feel comfortable doing it. In modern ergonomics, it is a matter

of adjustment of w ork to the individual, for instance by using height adjustable

office furniture.

To summarise, ergonomics includes the knowledge of how w ork can be organised

and conducted in an eff icient and healthy way.

The development of e rgonomics

When did ergonomics come into existence? At the time that, due to industrial

development, more complicated technical equipment was introduced, resulting in

more organisation. At that time, it w as not altogether clear how you could best

arrange your w ork, simply because people had no experience of it.

In the initial phase of the development of ergonomics, the aim w as to get people to

produce as much as possible at the low est possible cost. The most famous name

associated w ith early ergonomics is Taylor. His name has become a household

w ord w hich, however, has got a more and more negative connotation.

In the period round 1900, Taylor examined, through time and motion studies, how

people carr ied out their activities, w hat movement they made and how much time it

took. Next he determined how all operations could be executed as ef fectively as

possible to produce as much as possible in the minimum amount of time. That is

w hat is called the 'Taylor system, resulting of course in rushed systems, assembly

line production etc.

Esse ntial pr ogress

During the w ar, w hen many pilots w ere required and airplanes became increasingly

complicated, it was discovered that the cockpits w ere not adequate i.e. logically

organised, causing accidents to happen. This w as an essential push in theprogress of ergonomics.

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