Iranian Journal of Ergonomics

Introduction: The importance of product design has been dramatically increased in recent years due to economic considerations as well as changes in user preferences, policy making and legal needs. In response to this, and as one of the most influential branches in the field of product design (in terms of the fit between product and user), ergonomics has also been developed proportionally. The aim of this study was to review the most important considerations and different traditional and new approaches in product design as well as challenges and limitations in this regard.

Methods: A review was made of the relevant electronic databases including Ergonomics Abstracts, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Science Direct, Scopus and Google Scholar using the following keywords: product, design, ergonomic, design procedures and design approach. The search was limited to full text articles in the English language, published in peer reviewed journals between 1990 and 2015.

Results: Comparison of the traditional and new approaches in product design indicated that the new approaches helped designers to choose the best product model based on various aspects and a more detailed interaction between user and product. Ergonomic considerations in product design also include engineering and psychological aspects as well as taking into account abilities and limitations of both products and users, to find a good fit between user and product.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the traditional approaches in product design alone may not anymore guarantee the success of a product in the market, particularly in universal scale and for a wide range of users. In other words, consideration of various technical (in terms of user-product interaction) and legal (environment, sustainability, cost benefit, etc.) aspects in new ergonomic approaches may be taken into account to improve the quality and success of the products in the global market. Ergonomists may encounter with some challenges to achieve this goal, but high-quality ergonomics services can be considered as an effective solution in this regard.

Introduction: In the modern industrial world, the health of the employees in different Occupations can be influenced by the interaction of various risk factors. So, the purpose of present study was to assess and analyze the relationship between the factors including shift work, job stress, job satisfaction and health in a petrochemical industry.
Materials & Methods: The present study was conducted using analytical and cross-sectional method. The statistical population was all employees of a petrochemical company (4000 people). Using the Cochran formula, a sample of 360 individuals were selected using simple random sampling method. Data was collected using a high reliability integrated questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83). Data was analyzed using SPSS22.0.
Results: The analytical results of relationship between shift work, occupational stress, occupational satisfaction and health showed that all hypotheses in the conceptual model were approved and there was a significant relationship between these factors (P<0.001). Also, the results showed that, in addition to the direct effect of shift work on health, due to the effect on occupational stress and occupational satisfaction, it was indirectly related to health (P <0.001).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that shift work as a direct factor and as a mediator and indirect factor through impact on factors such as occupational satisfaction and stress can affect the health of employees. Therefore, considering this organizational phenomenon and its redesign or its change can play an important role in increasing the level of occupational health and motivation as well as organizational productivity.