Enhancing Ergonomic Design Skills among Undergraduate Students by Integrating Computer Aided Design and Digital Human Modeling

Teaching ergonomic design to undergraduate students can be challenging. One effective strategy for teaching ergonomic design is to incorporate the conceptual, technical, and procedural foundations of ergonomics into the design of products. In this paper, we discuss the integration of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Digital Human Modeling (DHM) to improve the understanding of ergonomic principles among undergraduate students. The curriculum of two undergraduate courses, Product Design and Work Design, were revised to include a course project that combines concepts from both courses to assess students’ knowledge of ergonomic design. The Product Design course focuses on the principles required for designing a product and developing the specifications for its components. The Work Design course focuses on ergonomic analysis and design of workplace and job. Students were asked to create different CAD designs for a single-channel pipette while considering ergonomics and then evaluate the designs using DHM. The design process involves gathering of customer requirements, identifying product specifications, generating design concepts, evaluating the designs, and selecting the best design. Results show that students’ design skills can be greatly enhanced by integrating the two courses.