This book focuses exclusively on ergonomics in the design and use of hand tools. Hand tools have been an integral supplement to the human hand since the beginning of civilization. Recently, they have been pinpointed as a prominent cause of workplace disease. Cumulative Trauma Disorders such as Tendonitus, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and Raynaud's Syndrome are caused by the specialization of motion employed when using a screw driver, the shock to the hand and wrist when a hammer strikes a nail, or the vibration of a power saw. Ergonomics and Safety in Hand Tool Design explores the relationship between Biomechanics, Safety, and Ergonomics allowing the reader to recognize, evaluate, and control ergonomic risk factors and improve hand tool design. After a history of hand tool use and design, the book is broken down by the various disciplines as they apply to hand tools, taking a broad approach. The author gives special attention to safe design and use, illustrated with detailed diagrams. The text serves as a guide to the human factors in safety and ergonomics for safety professionals.

The International Ergonomics Association (IEA) is currently developing standards for Ergonomic Quality in Design (EQUID) which primarily intends to promote ergonomics principles and the adaptation of a process approach for the development of products, work systems and services. It is important to assess the ergonomic quality of products, hand-held tools and computer input devices through working processes that represent reality. Well-designed working tools can be expected to reduce or eliminate fatigue, discomfort, accidents and health problems and they can lead to improvements in productivity and quality. Furthermore, absenteeism, job turnover and training costs can positively be influenced by the working tools and the environment. Not all these short-term and long-term issues of working tools can be quantified in pragmatically oriented ergonomic research approaches. But multi-channel electromyography, which enables the measurement of the physiological costs of the muscles involved in handling tools during standardized working tests, and subjective assessments of experienced subjects enable a reliable insight in the essential ergonomic criteria of working tools and products. In this respect it is advantageous to provide a test procedure, in which working tests can be carried out alternating both with test objects and reference models.

The approach to the book is analogous to a toolkit. The user will open the book and locate the tool that best fits the ergonomic assessment task he/she is performing. The chapters of the book progress from the concept of ergonomics, through the various assessment techniques, and into the more complex techniques. In addition to discussing the techniques, this book presents them in a form that the readers can readily adapt to their particular situation. Each chapter, where applicable, presents the technique discussed in that chapter and demonstrates how it is used. The supporting material at the end of each chapter contains exercises, case studies and review questions. The case study section of the book presents how to use techniques to analyze a range of workplace scenarios. Topics include: The Basics of Ergonomics; Anthropometry; Office Ergonomics; Administrative Controls; Biomechanics; Hand Tools; Vibration; Workstation Design; Manual Material Handling; Job Requirements and Physical Demands Survey; Ergonomic Survey Tools; Work-related Musculoskeletal Disorders; How to Conduct an Ergonomics Assessment; and Case Studies

This volume comprises select proceedings of the International Conference on Humanizing Work and Work Environment organized by the Indian Society of Ergonomics. The book presents research findings on different areas of ergonomics for developing appropriate tools and work environment considering capabilities and limitations of working people for maximum effectiveness on their performance. The volume is divided into several sections focusing on different ergonomic research activities currently being undertaken at both national and international levels. Considering the high diversity among researchers contributing to this volume, it should prove to be a valuable collection of different approaches that contemporary researchers are adopting on the theme of caring for the people and humanizing work and work environment.

A complete introduction to the field, Ergonomics: Foundational Principles, Applications and Technologies discusses scientific principles, research, applications, and emerging trends in technology. Covering the foundational principles and major topics in physical ergonomics, the book contains the necessary components of a quality ergonomics course,

Written for those who are on the job but not necessarily professionally trained ergonomists, the principles and approaches detailed in this highly regarded guide have all been implemented in real-world workplace environments and proven successful in reducing the potential for occupational injury, increasing the number of people who can perform a job, and improving employee performance on the job. More than 150 clear and informative illustrations and tables help convey data and information in eight sections: Ergonomics design philosophy Human reliability and information transfer Evaluation of job demands Work design Workplace design Manual handling in occupational tasks Equipment design Environment