National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences 1992 definition of human factors is as follows:
[A person] who is concerned primarily with the performance of one or more persons in a task-oriented environment interacting with equipment, other people, or both.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA Website - Human Factors 101
Human factors is an umbrella term for several areas of research that include human performance, technology design, and human-computer interaction. The study of human factors in the Human Factors Research and Technology Division at NASA Ames Research Center focuses on the need for safe, efficient and cost-effective operations, maintenance and training, both in flight and on the ground.
Ergonomics is the scientific study of human work conditions, especially the interaction between man and machine. Ergonomics is a term taken from the Greek work "ergon," meaning work, and "nomos," meaning natural laws. The goal of ergonomics is to make work more comfortable and to improve both health and productivity. It is an interdisciplinary science of designing the job, products, and place to fit the worker. Psychology, industrial engineering, computer science, biomechanics, and safety engineering all play a role in ergonomics.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
FAA Website- Human Factors Policy (10/27/93)
Human Factors. Within the FAA, human factors entails a multidisciplinary effort to generate and compile information about human capabilities and limitations and apply that information to equipment, systems, facilities, procedures, jobs, environments, training, staffing, and personnel management for safe, comfortable, and effective human performance.
Transportation Research Board (TRB)
This definition came from the TRB; however, that page is no longer active. TRB homepage.
Human factors is the scientific discipline that studies how people interact with devices, products, and systems. It is an applied field where behavioral science, engineering, and other disciplines come together to develop the principles that help assure that devices and systems are usable by the people who are meant to use them. The field approaches design with the "user" as its focal point. Human factors practitioners bring expert knowledge concerning the characteristics of human beings that are important for the design of devices and systems of many kinds. The discipline contributes to endeavors as complex as space exploration and to products as simple as a toothbrush. In the field of transportation engineering, there have been numerous important contributions from human factors, but these are not always self-evident. Sight distance requirements, workzone layouts, sign placement and spacing criteria, dimensions for road markings, color specifications, sign letter fonts and icons, signal timing - these and many more standards and practices have been shaped by human factors evaluation. As applied to highway safety, human factors is concerned with the design of the roadway and operating environment and the vehicle. The three primary components of the highway transportation system - the roadway, the vehicle, and the road user - all must be compatible with one another. Engineers can design roadways, traffic control devices, and vehicles, but they cannot design the road user. They can design for the road user. Human factors provides an objective basis for doing this. It is based on measured behavior and capabilities rather than assumptions or trial-and-error.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
U.S. FDA Website - Human Factors Considerations
Human factors (HF) is the study of how people use technology. It involves the interaction of human abilities, expectations, and limitations, with work environments and system design. The term "human factors engineering" (HFE) refers to the application of human factors principles to the design of devices and systems. It is often interchanged with the terms "human engineering," "usability engineering," or "ergonomics."
The goal of HFE is to design devices that users accept willingly and operate safely in realistic conditions. In medical applications, HFE helps improve human performance and reduce the risks associated with use error.
In many cases, HFE focuses on the device user interface (also called the UI or the man-machine interface). The user interface includes all components and accessories necessary to operate and properly maintain the device, including the controls, displays, software, logic of operation, labels, and instructions.
National Research Council
Karl Kroemer prepared this definition (previously posted but no longer available). National Academies of Sciences home page.
Ergonomics is the study of human characteristics for the appropriate design of the living and working environment. Ergonomic researchers strive to learn about human characteristics (capabilities, limitations, motivations, and desires) so that this knowledge can be used to adapt a human-made environment to the people involved. This knowledge may affect complex technical systems or work tasks, equipment, and workstations, or the tools and utensils used at work, at home, or during leisure times. Hence, ergonomics is human-centered, transdisciplinary, and application-oriented.
The goals of ergonomics range from the basic aim of making work safe through increasing human efficiency to the purpose of creating human well-being. The National Research Council (1983) stated that human factors engineering can be defined as the application of scientific principles, methods, and data drawn from a variety of disciplines to the development of engineering systems in which people play a significant role. We measure successful application by improved productivity, efficiency, safety, and acceptance of the resultant system design. The disciplines that can be applied to a particular problem include psychology, cognitive science, physiology, biomechanics, applied physical anthropology, and industrial and systems engineering. The systems range from the use of a simple tool by a consumer to multiperson-sociotechnical systems. They typically include both technological and human components.
The National Research Council (1983) said: "Human Factors specialists are united by a singular perspective on the system design process: that design begins with an understanding of the user's role in overall system performance and that systems exist to serve their users, whether they are consumers, system operators, production workers, or maintenance crews. This user-oriented design philosophy acknowledges human variability as a design parameter."
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSHA Website - Ergonomics Overview
What is an "ergonomic injury"? Input from the recent ergonomics forums demonstrated to OSHA that there are a wide variety of opinions on how the Agency should define an ergonomic injury and that the definition adopted by OSHA depends on the context. Ergonomic injuries are often described by the term "musculoskeletal disorders" or "MSDs." This is the term of art in scientific literature that refers collectively to a group of injuries and illnesses that affect the musculoskeletal system; there is no single diagnosis for MSDs. As OSHA develops guidance material for specific industries, the agency may narrow the definition as appropriate to address the specific workplace hazards covered. OSHA will work closely with stakeholders to develop definitions for MSDs as part of its overall effort to develop guidance materials.