An Ergonomics Course For Manufacturing Engineering Technology Students

Ergonomics has become an important part of manufacturing process design, for even without an OSHA standard in the area, the potential savings of having an ergonomics program in place are significant. As such, it is important for students in a Manufacturing Engineering Technology (MET) programs to be versed in the basics of ergonomic process design. To address this need, the Engineering Technology (ET) Department at Western Washington University (WWU) recently created a course in Manufacturing Ergonomics, Safety, and Health (MESH) for students in the MET program. The new course predominantly covers ergonomic process design, and it also includes a section on safety, health, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations so that students are aware of responsibilities in that area as well. At the heart of the course are six active learning assignments, four on ergonomics and two on safety and health, that allow students to apply the course material to realistic and open-ended problems. The first two assignments are ergonomic assessments, one on body position during a work task and one on analyzing a lifting task. Students are required to find situations to observe for these two assignments, so they all analyze different situations. The next two assignments are design assignments, one for an assembly workstation and one for a process control panel. Students are all given the same specific problems for these two assignments. The final two assignments are on safety and health, one on researching an OSHA standard and one on an accident report. Students are given specific standards to research for the former assignment, but are required to find their own accident for the latter, so all students examine different situations. Together these assignments allow students to integrate and apply the course material. This paper describes the impetus for the course, its basic layout, the active learning assignments, including some examples, and the assessment findings so far.