The UC Human Factors and Ergonomics Lab is affiliated with the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, a University of California umbrella organization that links faculty and research programs with research interest in occupational health from the Berkeley, Davis and San Francisco campuses. The Program's laboratory is located at U.C. Berkeley's Global Campus (Richmond Field Station), a research station administered by the College of Engineering.
The Program has research, graduate training, continuing education and labor & industry outreach components. Research is conducted with faculty from multiple departments.
The Ergonomics Graduate Training Program provides high quality training for graduate studentsinterested in a M.S. and Ph.D. degree in ergonomics. The program was started in 1990 by Dr. David Rempel MD, MPH and is currently under the direction of Dr. Carisa Harris-Adamson PhD, CPE.
In 1998 California became the only state in the nation to enact a workplace ergonomics standard. This standard and the high cost of work-related musculoskeletal disorders have generated a high West Coast need for professionals and researchers with expertise in ergonomics. UC Berkeley is one of only two West Coast universities that offer Ph.D. training in ergonomics - the other is the University of Washington.
Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system. The profession applies theory, principles, data, and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance. The terms ergonomics and human factors are often used interchangeably or as a unit (e.g., human factors and ergonomics, HFE)
HFE is a multi-disciplinary, user-centric integrating science. The issues HFE addresses are typically systemic in nature; thus HFE uses a holistic, systems approach to apply theory, principles, and data from many relevant disciplines to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments, and systems.
HFE takes into account physical, cognitive, sociotechnical, organizational, environmental and other relevant factors, as well as the complex interactions between the human and other humans, the environment, tools, products, equipment, and technology.
Here are some examples of what HFE Practitioners do:
