Axiomatc design in ergonomics and an extension of the information axiom

Axiomatic design as a design principle has been used increasingly in product and system development. This paper introduces axiomatic design as a foundation to ergonomic design. Three examples demonstrate how axiomatic design can be used for biomechanics design of hand tools and for anthropometric design of workplaces. The independence axiom was used to demonstrate how design activity can be structured to avoid time-consuming iterative improvements of design solutions: a decoupled design can indicate the ideal design sequence. For one case study it was demonstrated that the number of design iterations would be reduced if the Environment or Machine would first be designed followed by the Operator's workstation and the task. The information axiom was used for anthropometric design of a work place. Direct application of the information axiom is not appropriate for ergonomic design. A new way of calculating the information contents in anthropometric design is suggested. This involves a re-definition of the concepts of system range and design range, and results in a new formulation for calculation of information content. Through these design examples the application of axiomatic design in ergonomics seems promising.