human-factors engineering

American  

[hyoo-muhn-fak-terz en-juh-neer-ing, yoo‐] / ˈhyu mənˌfæk tərz ˌɛn dʒəˈnɪər ɪŋ, ˈyu‑ /

noun

1. an applied science that coordinates the design of devices, systems, and physical working conditions with the capacities and requirements of the worker; ergonomics. HFE

---

Etymology

Origin of human-factors engineering

An Americanism first recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

What contemporary reports did not point out—though scholarship in human-factors engineering emphasized and a later essay in Vanity Fair brought to public attention—was that the pilots’ mistakes, some of them novice errors, may have been at least partly due to the automation.

From Slate