Human factors engineers enhance and improve products to make them safe, comfortable, and efficient. They identify needs, test existing products, develop improvement strategies, and create new designs. A bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field is typically required.
A career as a human factors engineer is usually suitable for a person with a creative mindset and a knack for optimizing products or machines. Basically, these individuals work to enhance and improve the things that humans use on a daily basis. The aim of these engineers is to make things as safe, comfortable and efficient as possible. Generally speaking, at least a bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related course is required to gain a position in this field. Some typical tasks of a human factors engineer include determining what factors people need in a product, testing existing products, identifying weaknesses, developing improvement strategies, and implementing those strategies in new projects.
One of the most important aspects of being a human factors engineer is determining what factors people need or want in a product. For example, if an individual in the position is working to redesign a forklift, he or she might conduct research to find out which type of seat is most comfortable, where the controls should be placed, and how to make the operation safe. Identifying these needs is vital to making the product as practical and efficient as possible. This part of the job often involves working with other professionals, such as psychologists or industry experts.
Another part of this career involves testing existing products and identifying weaknesses. Again, in the case of redesigning a forklift, a human factors engineer can use forklift operator surveys to identify the most common design-related complaints. He may also run some security tests to determine what the potential risks of use are. This step is necessary to improve ergonomics and design the best possible product.
Once a human factors engineer has a clear understanding of a product’s flaws, he or she will begin the process of developing improvement strategies. In most cases, he will discuss different possibilities and try out various ideas. He also sometimes interacts with professionals in an industry to determine how realistic and practical his ideas are. This part of the work serves as a preliminary step before creating new designs for a product.
Once he has some realistic improvements in mind, a human factors engineer will come up with new designs for a product. For example, he might design a forklift truck with a raised seat so drivers have a better view. It can also design a more stable structure to prevent the machine from rolling. For this process, a human factors engineer usually uses a computer-aided design (CAD) software program. Upon completion, products can begin manufacturing based on the improved design.
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