cct333lab10


 * Tutorial 10 Wiki Questions:**


 * Write three paragraphs to define the term 'ergonomics'. (3 paragraphs)**

Ergonomics is the overall understanding of the design of the human body, designs of human factors such as movement, abilities and body type. Ergonomics designers use various fields in science to help them in their designing process to make their products stand out. There were many scenarios described that were related to the ergonomics of products, according to the video shown. The main issue of ergonomics is how simple and comfortable the design is.

The video talks about the ergonomics of an office room. The main idea of ergonomics is to incorporate performance, comfort and ease of use in their design. The ergonomics of the design in the office room included products such as desk, chair, computer screen, lighting and keyboard. All of these were designed with the idea of ergonomics in mind, making sure that they were comfortable and simple to use, the height and the weight were just right, the correct lighting, adjustable screen and chair. The video compared two employees working in an office space, one with ergonomical designs while the other without it. The results were that the employee without the ergonomic designs was struggling to cope with the office and its surrounding space while the employee with the ergonomic design was comfortable and productive.

In the long run, ergonomics can be extremely useful to the design of products and objects. The right design and comfort can save a lot of pain and stress in the work space. The office from the previous paragraph gives examples that the employee without the ergonomic design experienced stress and anxiety in the work space whereas the ergonomic employee didn’t face any of that. The ergonomic designs make objects efficient and that transfers to the employees, thus being beneficial to the company.


 * What is the 'Gilbreth system of motion analysis' (1 paragraph)**

Frank Gilbreth analyzed brick layers who were working on buildings and studied their motion and movements. He looked at the movements and fatigue involved in actually doing this task, which involved bending down and picking up the bricks, lifting them and layering them. He observed that these brick layers had to pick up brick 250 times per hour and that seemed extremely inefficient and painful for the workers. Therefore, he created a one-motion platform with a lifting jack that would not require the workers to stoop over and that reduced the physical requirement and the fatigue of the workers.


 * Who was Henry Ford influenced by the efficiency expert, Frederick Taylor? (2 paragraphs)**

Henry Ford was the man who first created and introduced the economical car. He was influenced by the efficiency expert, Fredrick Taylor. Ford wanted to change the car building industry by introducing newer methods. Taylor wanted to find methods to be more efficient and economical in factory works and buildings and studied the methods and processes of doing them. Taylor introduced a method called division of labour, where the work would be divided into automated simple steps and that increased the efficiency of the process.

When Henry Ford came to know about this, he was inspired by Taylor’s work. He added his own twist to the work of Taylor by adding his own conveyor belt and assembly line. Ford’s factory gained instant efficiency and he mastered the art of mass production. However, there were some problems involved with the process as the workers played second fiddle. They were expected to work at the pace of the conveyor belt, working at the pace of robots. This form of measures in the factories was making workers seem unnecessary and they were replaced quite often if they couldn’t cope with the system.


 * What are the four basic principles of McDonaldization? (List of 4)**

The four basic principles of McDonaldization: 1.Predictability 2. Efficiency 3. Calculability 4. Non-human technology