2020 Faculty Courses School of Engineering Undergraduate major in Industrial Engineering and Economics
Ergonomics
- Academic unit or major
- Undergraduate major in Industrial Engineering and Economics
- Instructor(s)
- Kenji Itoh / Hirotaka Aoki / Xiuzhu Gu
- Class Format
- Lecture/Exercise/Experiment (Zoom)
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - 5-8 Fri (W936)
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- IEE.C304
- Number of credits
- 111
- Course offered
- 2020
- Offered quarter
- 3-4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- Japanese
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course focuses on a discipline called ergonomics, especially on a human cognitive aspects-related topics such as perception, mental processes and cognition. This course provides knowledge and basic skills about approaches to/methods of designing human-machine interfaces. Contents covered in this course are divided into four categories: (1) Introduction to ergonomics, (2) human mechanisms, (3) purposes of applications of ergonomics, and (4) applications of ergonomics.
Students will gain knowledge and skills about some of methodologies and typical thinking processes in ergonomics for design of human interfaces.
Course description and aims
By the end of this course, students will be able to:
1. Explain the human characteristics related to work design, roughly.
2. Explain the typical methods/thinking processes used in ergonomics.
Keywords
Man-machine systems, anthropometry, long term memory, short term memory, cognition, workload, fatigue, human error, usability
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
At the beginning of each class, knowledge and basic skills related to the topics are taught. Towards the end of class, students are given experimental tasks/exercise problems related to the lecture given that day. Attendance is taken in every class. This course is held over two academic quarters. The class meets once a week.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Guidance, introduction to ergonomics | Understand the overall image of ergonomics. |
| Class 2 | Methologies of ergonomics (Problem solving, methodologies of ergonomics, data collection) Eye tracking experiment | Explain the methodologies used in ergonomics. |
| Class 3 | Human musculoskeletal system and motion Anthropometry exercise | Explain human musculoskeletal system, roughly. |
| Class 4 | Human sensory system and perception Visual system experiment | Explain human sensory system and perception, roughly. |
| Class 5 | Human information processing and cognition Hick-Hyman's law exercise | Explain human information processing and cognition, roughly. |
| Class 6 | Memory and knowledge representation Short term memory experiment | Explain memory and knowledge representation. |
| Class 7 | Workload and fatigue Flight simulator experiment | Explain the concept of workload and fatigue and their evaluation methods. |
| Class 8 | Safety 1 (Human error) Incident analysis exercise | Explain the definition of human error and its relation to accidents. |
| Class 9 | Safety 2 (Risk management and HRA) THERP exercise | Explain the concept of risk management and procedures of HRA. |
| Class 10 | Man-machine interface Interface evaluation experiment | Explain the concept of man-machine interface. |
| Class 11 | Usability 1 (Definition and measurement) Usability goal setting exercise | Explain usability and relating concepts. |
| Class 12 | Usability 2 (Usability design, prototyping) Rapid prototyping exercise | Explain how usability design is carried out, roughly. |
| Class 13 | Usability 3 (Usability heuristics) Usability heuristics exercise | Explain the benefits of tecuhiques used in sability design. |
| Class 14 | Usability 4(Usability test) Usability test exercise | Explain the procedures of usability test. |
| Class 15 | occasional date | occasional date |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend a certain length of time outside of class on preparation and review (including for assignments), as specified by the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Undergraduate Learning (東京工業大学学修規程) and the Tokyo Institute of Technology Rules on Graduate Learning (東京工業大学大学院学修規程), for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
None required.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Itoh, Kenji. Ergonomics in highly advanced and matured society (Kou-do Seijuku Shakai no Ningen-Kougaku), Tokyo: Nikka-Giren, (Japanese)
Instruction manuals and course materials are provided during class.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Students' knowledge of topics in the lecture, and their ability to apply them to exercise/experiment will be assessed. Short quiz 40%, reports 60%.
Full attendance and completion of all experiments are compulsory.
Related courses
- IEE.C202 ： Industrial Engineering
- IEE.C302 ： Quality Management
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are necessary, but enrollment in the related courses is desirable.