Lecture Courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department

In the mechanical engineering department, ergonomics (otherwise known as human factors engineering) has to provide the elementary professional knowledge which is necessary for making use of the full scale of design in the system "man at work" with regard to human-related aspects. According to the slogan "man – the most important factor," fitting the task to the man, and not vice versa, is of primary importance. Especially in engineering, ergonomic ways of thinking have a long tradition, and because mechanical engineers have to develop and construct apparatus and instruments, devices and plants as well as production equipment, for example computer-aided manufacturing facilities, human factors engineering and work design have already been part of the aims of engineers' thinking and planning for a long time. However, today's extraordinary extent of technical innovations often overtaxes "common sense," so that an early evaluation of possibly unfavorable effects of technological changes on man as a component of the working process should not just be left to the intuitive genius and his more or less spontaneous ideas. It is for this reason that ergonomics has to provide the necessary basic knowledge for the evaluation of human work in the field of engineering. Without knowledge of the biological background, the functioning of the human organism, as well as the processes of optical and acoustical perception, ergonomic endeavors would be restricted to mechanistic and thus sterile activities. The nowadays widely spread strict application of ergonomic rules, regulations, and application instructions, which can hardly ever lay claim to the same high precision as technical rules, cannot be adapted to the complex problems which one faces if human criteria have to be considered.

Building up on this "physiological" foundation, lectures are being offered which deal with the knowledge of engineering design of "workplace and work organization," "environment," and "work tools" under the aspect of fitting the technical layout to man's own characteristics. These ergonomic lectures deal for example with the anthropometrics design of workplaces and the human-related aspects of work structuring (job enlargement, job enrichment, job rotation, etc.). Furthermore, knowledge of primary and secondary noise control has to be conveyed and students will be made aware of the possibilities of "noise reduced design." Further aims are the ergonomic design of human-computer interaction, of visual display units or displays, as well as the design of control elements (sensory and motor interface design approaches in man-machine systems) and humane, i.e., hand-appropriate design of handles on tools and products (ergonomics of products and tools).

By systematic preparation and presentation of the principles and some practical experience in the field of all these engineering possibilities of design, students will be shown that compromises can often be found, considering both technical and economic aspects as well as human criteria, so that a "harmonization" of technical and human aspects need not remain mere theory. The humane marginal conditions and needs of man at work with regard to physiological and psychological as well as social aspects should not be presented by using the corresponding special terms of physiology and psychology, but in a technical language in order to gain understanding for today's working problems in the usual engineering way of thinking. The consideration of all aspects of human work necessitates not just an isolated but a "connected" special knowledge in most cases, in order to avoid that man gets "out of the frying-pan and into the fire" (despite well-meant design efforts).

In order to clarify the status of different workloads and possibilities of design as well as to enable students to learn by their own experience, practical exercises on model test devices are offered. Study and diploma exercises (minor and major theses) which can be prepared by making use of the institute's own laboratories or at real workplaces in industrial production offer the possibility to transfer the acquired basic knowledge into practical application.

As can be seen on the list on the facing page, lectures entitled "Work Science/Ergonomics" and "Noise and Sound Control Techniques" are included as required courses, obligatory courses selectable from a list, and as an optional subject in the integrated courses of Mechanical Engineering D I (usually 7 terms) and Mechanical Engineering D II (comparable to M.Sc. degree, usually 9 terms), Vocational Education (field of "Mechanical Technology/Production Engineering") as well as in the courses "International Project Management" and "Mechanical Engineering with Business Studies" (9 terms, each). All in all, no student studying "Mechanical Engineering" or "Mechanical Engineering with Business Studies" gets his/her diploma without at least 60 contact hours and having passed a written exam.