Ergonomics

During this week’s tutorial we talked about the idea of ergonomics and how they relate to the activity.

Ergonomics is about how the activity is shaped by the individual and environment resources.

An understanding of ergonomics underpins the ability to “constantly make slight invisible adjustments to an activity to adapt the needs of those taking part and ensure that it continues to work for its intended purpose” Caulton and Dickson (2007). This quote is very important as this relates to cooking in different environments.

When considering cooking, ergonomics is very important. In past experience it has been a struggle to cook in an unfamiliar environment, such as a different kitchen. This is because I could not find any ingredients or even equipment as I wasn’t sure where they were kept. When I began flatting at the beginning of the year I found cooking in an unfamiliar environment was difficult because I didn’t have all the equipment or ingredients needed to cook.

Caulton and Dickson (2007) discuss, activities need to be constantly adjusted to meet the needs of those involved with the particular activity as this will ensure that activities intended purpose is met. Previously being on placement we carried out kitchen assessments. It was noticeable when a client was in unfamiliar surroundings compared to their home environment. I found this was difficult to assess the client properly as they were unfamiliar to the task that we asked them to complete and also unfamiliar to where everything was kept.

Ergonomics can relate to person, occupation and environment.

Aspects to do with person include:

• Time available to cook throughout the week.
• Time available to prepare and cook the meal.
• Recipes collected from various sources.
• Financial, having enough money for the ingredients I need to cook the meal. I need to think if the meal that I am making can be made with different or cheaper ingredients.
• Personal space while preparing and making a meal.
• How much time do I need to cook this meal.

Aspects to do with activity/occupation include:

• Preparing the meal, for example cutting up the vegetables.
• Depending on what is in the cupboard to what I am going to cook.
• Costs involved.
• Adapting a recipe to suit.

Aspects to do with environment include:

• Size of the kitchen.
• Space in the kitchen.
• Getting used to the flat oven therefore knowing the heat and time available to cook.
• Necessary equipment available.
• Cleanliness of the flat kitchen.

These aspects are related back to my activity, cooking.  

Caulton, R & Dickson, R. (2007). What's going on? Finding an explanation for what we do. In J. Creek & A. Lawson-Porter (Eds.) Contemporary issues in occupational therapy. Chichester: John-Wiley & Sons Ltd