Abstract
The development of ergonomics is traced from its early origins in munitions manufacture during World War I until today, when applied anatomy and physiology have taken their place alongside the behavioral sciences in equipment design, in work-place layout, and in the development of manufacturing processes. The modern concepts of ergonomics, considering the man-equipment and man-environment interfaces as loci of physical stress transmittal, are discussed. Some problems of specialized working populations such as women and cardiac rehabilitees are mentioned. The minimization and prevention of work stress, through the application of ergonomics in industry, falls within the proper province of industrial hygiene, the discipline devoted by definition to the study and control of work-place-induced strain on man.