New Course Proposal - KIN 488-3 Ergonomics Laboratory

Anne-Kristina Arnold and Stephen Brown, School of Kinesiology

August 17, 2004

Calendar Information

Course Number: KIN 488

Course Title: Ergonomics Laboratory

Credit Hours: 3 Vector: 0-0-4 (lecture-tutorial-lab)

Course Description

A project based laboratory course that applies theoretical knowledge to industrial situations. Instruction will be provided in proposal development, evaluation techniques, and report writing. Students will complete projects in human-machine interaction, occupational ergonomics, and industrial design.

Prerequisite: KIN 180, plus at least four of the following: KIN 380, KIN 381, KIN 382, KIN 383, KIN 481, KIN 442, KIN 486 and CMNS 354

Recommended: None.

Corequisite: None.

Special Instructions: None.

Course(s) to be dropped if this course is approved:

None.

Rationale for Introduction of this Course

This course will fill a gap in the current ergonomics curriculum. It will be the final course in the Ergonomics Stream and will allow students the opportunity to apply theoretic knowledge obtained from previous courses. This course will also fulfill certification requirements for the Association of Canadian Ergonomics, which cannot be met with the current curriculum including:

36 hours of lab instruction
12 hours of Work evaluation and investigation
12 hours of work activity/analysis
20 hours of Quantitative and Qualitative Design and Analysis

Will this be a required or elective course in the curriculum; probable enrolment when offered?

Elective for Degree, but required for the Ergonomics/Human Factors Stream. The expected registration would be 15 students.

Scheduling and Registration Information

Indicate Semester and Year this course would be first offered and planned frequency of offering thereafter.

First offering Spring 2005. Thereafter to be offered annually in Spring semester.

Which of your present CFL faculty have the expertise to offer this course? Will the course be taught by sessional or limited term faculty?

Anne-Kristina Arnold (limited term instructor), Dr. Jim Morrison, Dr. Christine McKenzie, Tony Leyland, Steve Brown.

Are there any proposed student fees associated with this course other than tuition fees?

No.

Is this course considered a `duplicate' of any current or prior course under the University's duplicate course policy? Specify, as appropriate.

No.

Resource Implications

Note: Senate has approved (S.93-11) that no new course should be approved by Senate until funding has been committed for necessary library materials. Each new course proposal must be accompanied by a library report and, if appropriate, confirmation that funding arrangements have been addressed.

Provide details on how existing instructional resources will be redistributed to accommodate this new course. For instance, will another course be eliminated or will the frequency of offering of other courses be reduced; are there changes in pedagogical style or class sizes that allow for this additional course offering.

The School of Kinesiology has already committed instructional resources to the development of this area in general, and this course, in particular.

Does the course require specialized space or equipment not readily available in the department or university, and if so, how will these resources be provided?

A space at Harbour Centre has been allocated for the lab course. Funds have been allocated to purchase lab equipment.

Does this course require computing resources (e.g. hardware, software, network wiring, use of computer laboratory space) and if so, describe how they will be provided.

Yes, some software will be used in the course. All software will be provided on PCs in the lab.

Course Outline

Course Objectives

The objective of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to integrate evaluation techniques and methodologies introduced in other courses within the Ergonomics/Human Factors Stream within an industrial setting that can be used to assess and improve systems. Specifically students will gain experience in the area of Human-machine interaction, Occupational Ergonomics and Industrial Design.

Topics

The instructor will locate suitable workplaces, and will liaise with workplace supervisors to define suitable student ergonomic projects. Students will do three projects over the semester, with each project taking about four weeks. They will do one project in each of three areas: Machine-Human Interaction (e.g., software evaluation, web site evaluation, or electronic technology), Occupational Ergonomics (e.g., evaluation of workplace injuries, environmental issues, or organizational design), and Industrial Design (i.e., involvement in the design process for consumer or industrial products).

Students will do the projects in groups of three or four students. The composition of the group will change for each project, so that the same students are not working together for the whole semester.

Students will be taught analysis techniques in each of the following areas:

Systems analysis (e.g., link analysis and process flow charting)
Task analysis (e.g., job demands analysis)
Interface analysis
Functional capacity evaluation
Applied anthropometry (e.g. the software package called Mannequin)
Repetitive strain injury (e.g., the Snook tables of maximal acceptable weights for the upper limb, and two methods of scoring postures from observations of videotapes of workers doing their jobs called Rapid Upper Limb Assessment and Rapid Entire Body Assessment)
Manual materials handling (e.g., the software packaged called WATBAK that calculates compressive force at the spine and muscle moments around major joints, the NIOSH 1981 and 1991 Guidelines, and field assessment of metabolic rate)
Applied biomechanics (e.g., force transducers, force estimation from electromyography, and electronic goniometers)
Subjective assessment (e.g., interview techniques, verbal protocol, and focus groups)
Environmental assessment (e.g., noise, illumination, contrast, vibration acceleration, and wet bulb globe temperature)

Grading

Grading will be based on performance in 3 small projects. The three projects will be weighted equally. Each project will be graded in four stages:

Project development
Methodology
Interventions
Written Report Quality

Projects will be team based. Marking will be on an individual basis.

Recommended Text Book

None – Course readings will be assembled.