A discipline centred on improving working conditions and quality and safety at work, ergonomics has been marked by a shift in emphasis from physical work to mental work. For anyone who has the aim of understanding and transforming working conditions, it is no longer possible to disregard the cognitive actions put into play by the actors concerned. That is why the cognitive sciences now round out the purely physiological ergonomic approach. Nowadays, cognitive ergonomics plays a paramount role when it comes to grasping the cognitive aspects - emotional and social - which influence the performance and reliability of complex systems.

Cognitive ergonomics is thus interested in mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning and motor responses, and their effects on their interaction between people and other components within a system. The relevant themes consist of mental capacity, decision making, specialist performance, human-machine interaction, individual reliability, work related stress and training, these different dimensions being studied through their connections to the design of ‘person-system’ entities.

Physical ergonomics is concerned with a human being’s anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biometric characteristics in their relation to physical activity. The relevant themes consist of working postures, repetitive movements, musculo-skeletal problems, the lay out of work stations, safety and health.

Organisational ergonomics is interested in optimising socio-technological systems, including their organisational structures, regulations and procedures. The relevant themes consist of communication, the management of a group’s resources, team work, organisational culture, virtual organizations and quality oriented management.