Ergonomics - interdisciplinary science

Along with the development of the productive forces, the man being the determining element among them, there arose the need to conduct studies and research on work. The purpose of these studies is to maintain the physical and mental state of man as high as possible, in order to enable him to respond appropriately to the requirements imposed by the introduction of technological progress.

The concept of productive forces covers all the forces that are applied by humans in the production process, from the body and brain, tools and techniques, materials, resources, equipment and even the collaborative and cooperative relationships between people, including management functions and engineering, which are technically indispensable for production.

The change in the man's conception of work and life, due to the introduction of mechanization and automation of processes, has led to a change in the relationship between physical and intellectual work. Thus, the executor becomes more and more an operator and a leader of the process.

Nowadays, the equipment is becoming more complex, more sophisticated and more expensive and the wear and tear comes faster, thus having a shorter life in production.

As a result, it becomes necessary for the people to adapt to their requirements by developing and improving the knowledge necessary for the proper use of equipment as well as adapting the pieces of equipment as well to the specific needs of each person so that the effort required is minimal and to ensure maximum efficiency without damage or accidents.

Due to the increasing complexity of equipment and processes, more and more problems have arisen regarding the practical requirements for production development, and specialists from different fields are required to work together to identify the most efficient solutions. The need for collaboration between them led to the emergence of a new discipline, respectively a new science, called Ergonomics.

Ergonomics has been defined as the interdisciplinary science that seeks to achieve optimal relationships between man, workplace and the environment, with great effects in terms of increasing labor productivity and improving human working conditions.