SOME ERGONOMIC ASPECTS OF SAFETY

A case-study of a certain type of punching machine in a stationery factory revealed that typical accidents wore caused by the neglect of certain ergonomic principles in the construction of the machine. There was one specific type of disturbance in the work-process to which workers reacted with a rash movement intended to eliminate the disturbance. The risk of accidents seems to be connected exclusively with this movement, which is nevertheless the one preferred to an alternative way of eliminating the disturbance, because this safe way involves more complicated movements and a more radical interruption of the immediate task.