Contemporary ergonomics, at its most fundamental, aims to optimise human-system interaction in order to promote individual well-being and increase overall operational efficiency. The discipline intervenes through the detailed analysis and conscious design of work environments, equipment, and user interfaces, taking a systemic view that encompasses physiology, psychology, and socio-technical interaction. The applicability of ergonomics extends beyond the work context, permeating home and leisure life, with significant implications in the design of appliances, furniture, tools and digital devices. In each scenario, the goal remains to harmonise the physical and cognitive needs of the individual with the technical and functional characteristics of the systems he or she uses, for a coexistence that prioritises health, safety and effective interactions.
There is also anevolution of contemporary ergonomics, defined as holistic, and outlined by Luigi Bandini Buti, father and founder of the SIE, the Italian Ergonomics Society. It is grafted onto the Holism paradigm, which postulates the insufficiency of reductionist analyses to understand the totality of systemic dynamics. According to this theory, the emergent properties of a system cannot be deduced exclusively from the summation of its constituent parts. This approach criticises the fragmentation of the traditional ergonomic approach, which tends to categorise human-system interaction into watertight compartments such as usability/design, health/work safety, and cognitive ergonomics. Bandini Buti advances the need for a more sophisticated conceptual framework that integrates physical, cognitive and affective variables in ergonomic design, emphasising the pre-eminence of factors such as the individual’s pre-knowledge and capabilities, collective memory, behavioural patterns and emotions. Holistic Ergonomics, therefore, advocates a broadening of the methodological corpus and epistemic tools to address the intrinsic complexity of human interactions in the design of environments, products and systems, proposing a more integrated and less compartmentalised analysis of the human-object interface.
For a final ergonomic evaluation, ergonomic development teams use physical or digital models to emulate the characteristics of the proposed design. These varieties of prototypes are essential to evaluate the interaction between the user and the product under controlled conditions and to detect usability problems before production and market launch. End users are involved in testing these prototypes, providing valuable feedback on their user experience, comfort, and ease of interaction through interviews, usability tests, and specially constructed questionnaires to collect meaningful data. During the analysis of the results, the quantitative and qualitative metrics collected are examined, such as task execution time, performance accuracy, and subjective user responses regarding comfort and satisfaction. This data is then used to evaluate the effectiveness of the solutions. Therefore, when a product or part of it is designated as ‘ergonomic’, this emphasises and means that the entire process of ergonomic analysis and synthesis has been carried out. The effectiveness of the ergonomic solution is assessed in relation to the information, the ergonomic object does not exist as an absolute entity, but is the result of comparing different solutions, with the aim of identifying the one that offers the greatest comfort and performance according also to the objectives defined in the project brief.
As part of the ergonomic development of aids for people with disabilities, Ponte Giulio has adopted a research and development process aimed at optimising the ergonomic performance of its products. For example, the design of handles and safety grips reflects an in-depth investigation of the physical and perceptual interactions between the user and the aid. Technological advances and manufacturing capabilities have enabled the exploration and adoption of shapes and materials that offer superior tactile and perceptual comfort. The evolution of these devices takes place through an iterative process, where each new solution is compared with previous versions through an analysis also based on anthropometric parameters, human capabilities, needs and feedback gathered over time from users and customers. This allows the design to be continuously refined, improving grip and functional effectiveness, ensuring that the aids not only meet safety requirements but also promote comfort to enhance quality of life.
As we increasingly work towards improving the standards of everyday life, the path towards more advanced solutions is an intricate web of variables. The multiplicity of design features that designers and universities have analysed over time has generated much more articulated and efficient disciplines and processes. In addition to ergonomics, inclusive disciplines and problem-solving methodologies have emerged that embrace, for example, human diversity and multiple contexts of use. These approaches integrate more complex strategies and methodologies, overcoming the limitations of the traditional ergonomic process to embrace a broader and more integrated view of design.
