Assessment of the physical dimensions of the human body and application of this knowledge to the design of tools, equip ment, and work are certainly among the oldest arts and sciences. It would be an easy task if all anthropometric dimensions, of all people, would follow a general rule. Thus, philosophers and artists embedded their ideas about the most aesthetic proportions into ideal schemes of perfect proportions. "Golden sections" were developed in ancient India, China, Egypt, and Greece, and more recently by Leonardo DaVinci, or Albrecht Durer. However, such canons are fictive since actual human dimensions and proportions vary greatly among individuals. The different physical appearances often have been associated with mental, physiological and behavioral characteristics of the individuals. Hypocrates (about 460-377 BC) taught that there are four temperaments (actually, body fluids) represented by four body types. The psychiatrist Ernst Kretchmer (1888-1964) proposed that three typical somatotypes (pyknic, athletic, aesthenic) could reflect human character traits. Since the 1940's, W. H. Sheldon and his coworkers devised a system of three body physiques (endo-, meso-, ectomorphic). The classification was originally qualitative, and only recently has been developed to include actual measurements.

In the fifteen years since the publication of Occupational Ergonomics: Theory and Applications significant advances have been made in this field. These advances include understanding the impact of ageing and obesity on workplace, the role of ergonomics in promoting healthy workplaces and healthy life styles, the role of ergonomic science in the design of consumer products, and much more. The caliber of information and the simple, practical ergonomics solutions in the second edition of this groundbreaking resource, though, haven’t changed. See What’s New in the Second Edition: Enhanced coverage of ergonomics in the international arena Emerging topics such as Healthcare Ergonomics and economics of ergonomics Coverage of disability management and psychosocial rehabilitation aspects of workplace and its ergonomics implication Current ergonomics solutions from "research to practice" Synergy of healthy workplaces with healthy lifestyles Impact of physical agents on worker health/safety and its control Additional problems with solutions in the appendix The book covers the fundamentals of ergonomics and the practical application of those fundamentals in solving ergonomic problems. The scope is such that it can be used as a reference for graduate students in the health sciences, engineering, technology and business as well as professional practitioners of these disciplines. Also, it can be used as a senior level undergraduate textbook, with solved problems, case studies, and exercises included in several chapters. The book blends medical and engineering applications to solve musculoskeletal, safety, and health problems in a variety of traditional and emerging industries ranging from the office to the operating room to operations engineering.

This volume contains the proceedings of a conference held in Freiburg, West Germany, September 22-25, 1980, entitled "Manned Systems Design, New Methods and Equipment". The conference was sponsored by the Special Programme Panel on Human Factors of the Scientific Affairs Division of NATO, and supported by Panel VIII, AC/243, on "Human and Biomedical Sciences". Their sponsorship and support are gratefully acknowledged. The contributions in the book are grouped according to the main themes of the conference with special emphasis on analytical approaches, measurement of performance, and simulator design and evaluat ion. The design of manned systems covers many and highly diversified areas. Therefore, a conference under the general title of "Manned Systems Design" is rather ambitious in itself. However, scientists and engineers engaged in the design of manned systems very often are confronted with problems that can be solved only by having several disciplines working together. So it was felt that knowledge about newly developed methods and equipment, applicable in the design process, is of common and increasing interest for all those who are engaged in the design of manned systems, from the earliest con ceptual design phases until operation under real circumstances. This seems to be particularly true in view of restricted resources of manpower and energy.