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Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing vocabulary · Ergonomics and Human Factors

Human factors

Meaning in industrial engineering & manufacturing, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In industrial engineering & manufacturing, human factors means: The study of how people's abilities, limits and behavior affect their work with machines, systems and procedures, used to design work that reduces errors.

In Turkish: insan faktörleri, insan faktörü mühendisliği

How it is used

Often used together with ergonomics, but with more focus on the mind: attention, fatigue, workload, displays and decision making. Investigations look at human factors instead of simply blaming 'human error'. Common in aviation, healthcare and control rooms.

Example sentences

  1. The investigation found human factors behind the error: a confusing screen and a 12-hour shift.

  2. We asked a human factors specialist to review the new control panel layout.

Common collocations

  • human factors engineering
  • human factors specialist
  • human error
  • cognitive workload
  • ergonomicsThe study and design of work so that it fits the human body and mind, reducing strain, injury and errors while improving comfort and performance.
  • anthropometryThe measurement of the human body, such as height, reach and hand size, used to design workstations, tools and equipment that fit the people who use them.
  • near missAn unplanned event that could have caused injury or damage but did not, such as a box falling from a rack where someone had just been standing.
  • poka-yokeA simple device or design feature that prevents a mistake or makes it obvious at once, such as a part that can only fit one way. Japanese for 'mistake-proofing'.

More terms: Ergonomics and Human Factors

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