Ergonomics and Increasing Marginal Returns
One of the biggest challenges for humans is to find a middle ground. This applies to a wide variety of situations and is especially useful when it comes to increasing productivity and preserve the health of people, taking into account that these two varia
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Abstract One of the biggest challenges for humans is to find a middle ground. This applies to a wide variety of situations and is especially useful when it comes to increasing productivity and preserve the health of people, taking into account that these two variables seem to be inversely proportional. This work aims to design a system to estimate the optimum point, related to the theory of diminishing marginal returns. The central idea is to get the point at which the additional resources generated higher returns, just before they a decreasing yield curve. From an ergonomic perspective, the resources used can be biomechanical or psychosocial: weights, repetitions, worktime or cognitive load. Through mathematical modeling work situations, and the results obtained and documented in industrial activity, we completed a model of two variables where the maximum point is where we get a derivative zero.
Keywords Ergonomics Fatigue Decreasing marginal returns Productivity Derivatives Optimization
Biomechanics
1 Introduction Often life confronts us with the problem of finding the best way to accomplish certain tasks. For example, a doctor may try to find the exact dose of a drug to cure the patient in the shortest time possible, but with minimal side effects; a manufacturer will want to get the maximum possible production of machinery at a point just where it won’t break down by excessive use and can continue running for long. Generally speaking, we commonly find situations that require to choose an optimal point at which the description curve reaches its peak and after which starts its I. Bello (&) Venezuelan Society on Occupational Health, Valencia, Venezuela e-mail: [email protected] A. Salmen-Navarro Ergonomists Association of Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 R. Goonetilleke and W. Karwowski (eds.), Advances in Physical Ergonomics and Human Factors, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 489, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41694-6_50
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downfall; At that point, since the time of Leibniz (1646–1716) German mathematician father of the differential calculus—is known as the maximum value of the function, if it is continuous and within the range of possible values. From an ergonomic perspective, such a diatribe is as follows: on the one hand, the company seeks the highest possible productivity based on more intensive use of all available resources; on the other hand, we have the human being as a key productive resource, with their abilities and needs to which must adapt work to provide adequate working conditions enabling him to enjoy the best attainable state of physical, psychological and social well-being possible. However, in the center of the variables that appear to move inversely (Productivity vs. Welfare), is the notion of sustainability. It is not possible to maintain production levels over time if in the process capabilities as a result of wear of productive resour
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