ANTHROPOMETRIC PRINCIPLES IN WORKSPACE AND EQUIPMENT DESIGN

DEFINITION:
The word ‘anthropometry’ means measurement of the human body. It is derived from
the Greek words ‘anthropos’ (man) and ‘metron’ (measure). Anthropometric data are
used in ergonomics to specify the physical dimensions of workspaces, equipment,
furniture and clothing to ensure that physical mismatches between the dimensions of
equipment and products and the corresponding user dimensions are avoided.

DESIGNING FOR A POPULATION OF USERS

Specify the user population (to a group of people sharing common ancestors,
common occupations, common geographical locations or age groups.) and then to
design to accommodate as wide a range of users as possible and acknowledge and
allow for the inherent variability of the user population.

SOURCES OF HUMAN VARIABILITY

Biological anthropologists distinguish four types of human adaptation. Over many
lifetimes, genetic changes may occur as a result of natural selection. Over the
course of a lifetime, organisms exhibit plasticity (literally the capability of being
moulded). Over the short term, organisms can exhibit acclimatisation, and over the
very short term behavioural adaptation. Only the last two of these forms of
adaptation are reversible.

FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CHANGE IN BODY SIZE OF POPULATIONS

Many studies indicate that better living conditions are associated with larger body
size. Thus, smallness in a population may be a plastic response to deprivation

IMPLICATIONS FOR ERGONOMICS

These findings have far-reaching implications for ergonomists attempting to design
to accommodate a wide range of people. The structure of populations and their living
conditions are changing in many parts of the world. This means that anthropometric
data captured in the past may no longer be representative. When designing for
international markets, then, each target country has to be considered separately.

Anthropometry and its uses in ergonomics

The approach of ergonomics is to consider product dimensions in human terms in
view of the constraints placed on their design by body size variability

ANTHROPOMETRIC SURVEYS
Traditionally, measurements are made using manually operated instruments such as
anthropometers and calipers. Automated or semi-automated systems have been
developed eg: Whole-body scanners & stereophotogrammetry. Manually operated
instruments (such as the ‘digital tape measure’) are used to capture the
measurements according to a user-programmed protocol.
World Health Organization recommends (WHO, 1995) that, if anthropometric data
are to be used as reference standards, a minimum sample size of 200 individuals
must be taken.
TYPES OF ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA

Structural anthropometric data

Structural anthropometric data are measurements of the bodily dimensions of
subjects in fixed (static) positions. Measurements are made from one clearly
identifiable anatomical landmark to another or to a fixed point.
Limitations on the use of structural data Structural data may be used for design in
situations where people are adopting static postures. Caution should be used when
applying these data to design problems that involve movement, particularly skilled
movement.

Functional anthropometric data

Functional anthropometric data are collected to describe the movement of a body
part with respect to a fixed reference point. The size and shape of the workspace
envelope depends on the degree of bodily constraint imposed on the operator. The
size of the workspace envelope increases with the number of unconstrained joints.
Generally speaking, fewer functional than structural anthropometric data are
available.

Newtonian anthropometric data

Newtonian anthropometric data are used in mechanical analysis of the loads on the
human body. The body is regarded as an assemblage of linked segments of known
length and mass (sometimes expressed as a percentage of stature and body
weight). Ranges of the appropriate angles to be subtended by adjacent links are also
given to enable suitable ranges of working postures to be defined. This enables
designers to specify those regions of the workspace in which displays and controls
may be most optimally positioned. Newtonian data may be used to compare the load
on the spine due to different lifting techniques.

PRINCIPLES OF APPLIED ANTHROPOMETRY IN ERGONOMICS

The normal distribution

For design purposes, two key parameters of the normal distribution are the mean
and the standard deviation. The mean is the sum of all the individual measurements
divided by the number of measurements. It is a measure of central tendency. The
standard deviation is calculated using the difference between each individual
measurement and the mean. It is a measure of the degree of dispersion in the
normal distribution. Thus, the value of the mean determines the position of the
normal distribution along the x (horizontal) axis. The value of the standard deviation
determines the shape of the normal distribution.

The distribution of stature in a population exemplifies the statistical constraints on

design. An important characteristic of the normal distribution is that it is symmetrical
– as many observations lie above the mean as below it (or in terms of the figure, as
many observations lie to the right of the mean as to the left). If a distribution is
normally distributed, 50% of the scores (and thus the individuals from whom the
scores were obtained) lie on either side of the mean.
Estimating the range
The standard deviation contains information about the spread of scores in a sample.
It is known, for a normal distribution, that approximately two-thirds of the
observations in the population fall within one standard deviation above and below the
mean.
Using the standard deviation and the mean, estimates of stature can be calculated
below which a specified percentage of the population will fall. The area under the
normal curve at any point along the x-axis can be expressed in terms of the number
of standard deviations from the mean.
Using the mean and standard deviation of an anthropometric measurement and a
knowledge of the area under the normal curve expressed as standard deviations
from the mean, ranges of body size can be estimated that will encompass a greater
and greater proportion of individuals in a population. Thus, given the mean and
standard deviation of any anthropometric variable, a range of statures, girths, leg
lengths, etc. can be computed within which a known percentage of the population
will fall.

APPLYING STATISTICS TO DESIGN

Statistical information about body size is not, in itself, directly applicable to a design
problem. First, the designer has to analyse in what ways (if any) anthropometric
mismatches might occur and then decide which anthropometric data might be
appropriate to the problem. In other words, the designer has to develop some clear
ideas about what constitutes an appropriate match between user and product
dimensions.
Next, a suitable percentile has to be chosen. In many design applications,
mismatches occur only at one extreme (only very tall or very short people are
affected, for example) and the solution is to select either a maximum or a minimum
dimension. If the design accommodates people at the appropriate extreme of the
anthropometric range, less-extreme people will be accommodated.

MINIMUM DIMENSIONS
A high percentile value of an appropriate anthropometric dimension is chosen. When
a doorway, for example, sufficient head room for very tall people has to be provided
and the 95th or 99th percentile (male) stature could be used to specify a minimum
height. The doorway should be no lower than this minimum value and additional
allowance would have to be made for the increase in stature caused by items of
clothing such as the heels of shoes, protective headgear, etc.
Seat breadth is also determined using a minimum dimension: the width of a seat
must be no narrower than the largest hip width in the target population.

Minimum dimensions are used to specify the placement of controls on machines,

door handles, etc.