HUMAN FACTORS SCIENCE: This is a branch of science that strives to design the job to fit the worker, rather than the other way around. In the modern office, it most commonly relates to the physical stresses placed on joints, muscles, nerves, tendons, bones, even hearing and eyesight, along with other environmental factors that can adversely affect comfort and health. Ergonomics deals with the interaction of technology and work environments with the human body, and involves such things as anatomy, physiology, and psychology in the design of chairs, desks, computer accessories, the design of car controls and instruments -- in short, any kind of product that could help relieve potential repetitive strain from a given job or task.
ABOUT BRAILLE AND LABELS: The Braille system was invented in 1821 by Louis Braille as a method of representing letters, numbers and punctuation in a tactile manner. It enables people with impaired vision to read using the sense of touch. Characters are represented by a set of dots arranged in a two by three pattern. This pattern allows up to 64 items to be represented. The affordable label maker featured in this story allows people with limited vision to customize labels so they might distinguish between items that have a standard size, such as CDs, DVDs, and canned goods.
The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.