Use of Human Engineering Standards in Design

Recently, an increased emphasis has been placed on product quality and compatibility with the human user. As a result, there is growing recognition of the need for man/machine design standards. Do present standards meet this need? In the present study, the impact of human engineering standards on product designs was evaluated by: (1) a comparison of two display panels designed to the same standards, (2) an analytical evaluation of two existing standards, and (3) a survey of standard users. Existing standards appear to have little effect on product design. The apparent reasons are complex, probably involving deficiencies in the standards themselves, education, and interdisciplinary communication, as well as designer preference.