A sizeable volume forming a definitive reference for the subject of human factors or ergonomics, now in its seventh edition, 40 years after its first publication. The subject matter is broadly the study and technology of designing or enhancing the interaction of humans with products, procedures or their environment, with the goal of improving this interaction. The book is split via sections into the major disciplines within the broader scope of the subject, the three applications of primary interest to the engineer being information input and output, human output and control and workplace design. The introduction sets the scope for the book with an overview of the subject, the removal of misconceptions and a history of the profession, while the remaining major sections cover environmental considerations and the more common applications of human factors’ work.
The section concerning information input and output outlines the methodologies behind the development of effective displays, with an insight into the way subjects acquire, process and ultimately are affected by the various outputs of a system. The subject is developed further for visual displays in particular, with a treatment of coding such as text, graphics and symbols. Speech has a chapter dedicated to it, and there is mention of more arcane techniques such as olfactory displays. The section on human output and control concerns the physical abilities of subjects such as manual handling and motor skills. The subject is developed from human physiology and work on task based stress and strain, and of particular interest are the chapters on the human control of systems, combining controls data entry devices and displays in the operation of machinery. The layout of control panels, instrumentation and indicators is perhaps the most easily applicable material in the section on workplace issues.
Although essentially a psychology textbook, the book contains a good deal of relevant information that is not taught on a typical engineering course. The text is well illustrated throughout, and for the specialist contains some 900 full references. The style makes for very easy reading around the subject and the appropriate sections should be required reading for anyone laying out control panels or designing user interfaces of all sorts.
