What is ergonomics?

A possible definition of ergonomics could be as follows:

Ergonomics is the science (and art) of fitting the work environment to the employee. By improving the match between the work environment and the employee, you can expect improved employee comfort, reduced chances for occupational injuries, improved productivity, and improved employee job satisfaction.
Ergonomics is concerned with reduction of one or more of the following risk factors:
Awkward Posture: If a job task looks uncomfortable, it probably is and this increases the chances for injury. Whenever possible, strive to arrange the work environment or work processes to allow employees to work from comfortable, neutral posture. Excessive bending, reaching, awkward neck, back, and arm positions should be eliminated.
High Repetition: Repetition can be controlled by using equipment to reduce repetition, allowing employees to rotate tasks, assuring adequate staffing, and ensuring employees take regular breaks away from highly repetitive tasks.
Excessive Force: The need to exert excessive force should be controlled through use of proper equipment, assuring equipment is operating properly, and getting adequate help when needed.
Contact Stresses: Contact with sharp, abrupt edges whether from a fixed piece of furniture or from a tool should be avoided.
Vibration: Vibration can be reduced at the source through tool or equipment selection or by padding the body against vibration, e.g. padded gloves.
Extreme Temperatures: Work place ambient temperature should be controlled whenever possible.
We can see an ergonomic engineer would be concerned with issues of health and safety.
The goal of ergonomics is to design jobs to fit people. Something is ergonomically design, if its optimized to fit people.This means taking account of differences such as size, strength and ability to handle information for a wide range of users. Then the tasks, the workplace and tools are designed around these differences. The benefits are improved efficiency, quality and job satisfaction. The costs of failure include increased error rates and physical fatigue - or worse.
The Science of ergonomics draws contributions from a couple of other sciences like Engineering, medical sciences, biomechanics, mathematics and behavioural sciences.

Relationship between ergonomics and other sciences.

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