Ergonomics of cooking a meal

Ergonomics is an important concept to be mindful of when carrying out an activity. Dul and Weerdmeester (2008) state that ergonomics is derived from the greek words of ergon (work) and nomos (law). Ergonomics aims to design applicances, technical systems and tasks in such a way to improve human, safety, health, performance and comfort. Through using ergonomics an activity is able to adapted where necessary to fit the clients needs and be suitable for the environment. Carlson & Dickson (2007) explains that occupational therapists need to make slight adaptations to an activity to suit the needs of the clients involved and continues to be effective for its intended purpose.


In class we discussed ergonomics in three categories person, environment and activity so that is exactly how I am going to analyse this task.


PERSON

• Cooking is an activity that is well known to me and that I enjoy
• I have multiple skills with cooking but am learning new skills
• I have a small budget when it comes to buying food to cook as I am a student
• I need an adequate amount of personal space in order to carry out my cooking
• I am able to do other things whilst cooking eg watch tv, talk to my flatmates, have a beer
• I find cooking very therapeutic

ENVIRONMENT

• A kitchen is preferred but not essential to complete the process
• Heights of bench's and stove tops need to be suited for the person to prevent bending or awkward positions for me the heights were great
• Positioning of items in the kitchen: Pots and pans are located in a cupboard under the so getting these is not ergonomically friendly. But the location of knives and plates which is an over hanging cupboard is great not too high.
• Cooking is culturally appropriate for me as my grandmother and mother first taught me how to cook
• To cook the social environment can be present but not to the extent that it is distracting and the cooking gets forgotten about

ACTIVITY

• Some meals are more complex because there are more aspects to the recipe so therefore different levels of engagement is needed for different levels.
• Recipes guide the process of cooking
• Some foods can be expensive so people can not afford them so they are unable to cook certain recipes

References:


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.

Dul, J., & Weerdmeester, B. A. (2008). Ergonomics for beginners: A quick reference guide (3rd Ed). USA: CRC Press.

 

Activity Analysis Blog

As part of this semesters course (Participation in Occupation II) we have been asked complete a task we are familiar with for 2 hours a week and break the task down then write about it each week from different perspectives. Breaking down the task as a task analysis which will help to have a greater understand of occupations for when we are qualified occupational therapists.

I have chosen to blog about cooking, because cooking is an essence of life, in order to survive people must eat food, in order to be able to eat this food it needs to be prepared and then cooked. Turner et el (1999) states that occupations are made up of a combination of different activities, for example home making includes cooking, cleaning, laundry, maintenance, shopping and childcare. Each of these activities includes a number of tasks. When I think about cooking I do not see this as a chore I see it as an enjoyable occupation to engage in. I love food and I love being able to prepare and cook a meal for my flatmates or family.

I am one of those people that can not get enough of food and especially fresh produce. When I cook I like to cook with fresh produce so when I am at home with my family this is what I do. As a student though things financially are tight enough as it is without trying to bring in the cost of fresh produce compared to frozen bags produce. Although this is a minor hitch its nothing major I am still able to cook and enjoy food which makes me happy.

Here is a link to a really great cooking website has lots of amazing recipes and handy tips
www.foodnetwork.com/
Practically for me to be able to carry out this for 2 hours a week I have the job now of cooking just about every night of the week depending on how long it takes to prepare a meal. But I don't think my flatmates will mind this on bit.

References
Turner, A., Foster, M., & Johnson, S. E. (1999). Occupational therapy and physical dysfunction: Principles, skills and practice. Philadelphia: Elsevier Ltd.