The spaces in which we work are determinants of how well we perform a task. It is important for a chef, for example, to have a kitchen that allows him to move quickly between different environments and also allows him to have access to all his ingredients and supplements in an efficient and simple way.
Ergonomics is the science that is responsible for studying the distribution and design of tasks and work spaces, this in order to achieve a decent workflow, which can maximize the efficiency of workers and therefore increase the income that they earn. the company can do.
A good example of the need for good ergonomic design is fast food restaurants such as McDonalds or Burger King, which need spaces designed to facilitate the movement of orders and workers within a densely populated kitchen.
Types of Ergonomics
Ergonomics establishes that there are 3 factors in a system, which are human, machine and environment, and that all of these must be optimized to improve the phases of the production process of a company.
This is such an important science that it has an international body which regulates it, which is the International Ergonomics Association, which is responsible for establishing a series of rules with which they ensure the development of humans and their environment. worked.
This science is divided into 3 groups, Cognitive Ergonomics, which seeks to explain the internal processes of the individual; Physical Ergonomics, which studies the elements of the individual’s physical capacity; and Organizational Ergonomics, which studies the improvements that can be made in the distribution of objects in a space.
On the other hand, there are several organizations that watch over ergonomics, such as the ISO. This is an international association which maintains the quality control processes of the companies in order to ensure that the customer receives the best product that can be offered.
This organization gives recognition to all those companies capable of completing all the steps to obtain an ISO 9000 certification.
Once the certification is obtained, it is immediately noticeable that the company is going to acquire certain characteristics of the ISO 9000 standards that will make it stand out from the rest and give it considerable prestige in the work and economic environment.
What are the ISO technical standards for ergonomics design?
They are a series of rules that have a very high validity, this is because they have been created based on studies by renowned scientists, which establish the basic rules for the development of work environments. These studies were compiled by a special ISO committee and issued the basic requirements to achieve an ergonomic environment for the company and its workers.
These experts that make up the committee are characters from different countries such as Switzerland, Mexico, the United States, Spain and the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan, and the important thing about these rules is that none is published unless there is the consensus of all the characters that make up the forum.
Due to the repetitive nature of our jobs, we can adopt movements which at first appear to be harmless to our bodies, but which in the long run can have dire consequences for our bodies, such as carpal tunnel disease in people who they write a lot.
There are several jobs whose routines and movements are evaluated specifically by a series of experts who are able to determine if the job requires a change in their routine or if it should be kept that way, since verifying the safety of the worker is key when it comes to training. effective and solid work teams.
It is important to highlight that the way in which a task is structured is key in the consequences of its repetition in the long term. The most basic series of rules left by the ISO is ISO 11228, which evaluates the effects of lifting and moving loads on the human body and establishes the basic guide for almost all physical effort work.
