Study of the role of Anthropometry in Designing

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by MAT Journals Journal of Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume 3 Issue 1 Study of the role of Anthropometry in Designing Sandeep Singh Kharb Ph. D Scholar: P & I Dept. P.E.C. University of Technology, Chandigarh, India [email protected] Dr. R.M. Belokara, Dr. SumanKantb, (a, b ) P & I Department, (c) Mechanical Dept. P.E.C University of Technology a, b Chandigarh a, b India Abstract As per the previous studies it has been observed that Musculoskeletal disorders are prevailing due to inadequate design of products, work space and work stations. Ergonomically there are three domains which mainly affects the designing of the systems Physical Ergonomics (Anthropometry, Biomechanics and Physiology), Cognitive Ergonomics and Organizational Ergonomics. In this paper the importance of Anthropometry in designing of the different systems is studied and it has been found that Musculoskeletal Disorders can be avoided if the systems are designed Anthropometrically (Ergonomically). Keywords: Ergonomics; Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs); Anthropometry. INTRODUCTION This paper gives the vision of importance of the anthropometry in designing. Anthropometry is the branch of ergonomics has a great potential in contribution of design of different kinds of systems with people i.e. work systems, work stations, products and service systems[1].When consider the human as a user of the products, designs are mainly assessed with the terms like cost, safety, fit & the performance metrics. So the understanding of body dimensions, strength data & reach capability of user population can assist the designers in designing the products to meet the goals[2].According to International Ergonomics Association "Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, information and techniques to design so that you can optimize human properly-being and usual machine performance". Ergonomics word is combos of two words: Ergos means 66 paintings and Nomos method legal guidelines. Ergonomics is the technology of work: of the those who do it and the approaches it's far done; the equipment and gadget they use, the locations they work in, and the psychosocial components of the working situation [3]. Domains of Ergonomics According to IEA there are three domains of Ergonomics: 1. Physical Ergonomics: relates the laws of Anthropometry, Biomechanics, and Physiology. 2. Cognitive Ergonomics: considers the mental processes such as perceptions, reasoning and motor response. 3. Organizational Ergonomics: is concerned about the policies and structure of organization. Trends of Human and machine interactions Fit the man to the job: According to this trend basically the fit men are recruited to do the job (Job is designed so it is fixed but people are variable so they are selected for the job) Page 66-71 © MAT Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved Journal of Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume 3 Issue 1 Fit the job to the man: In this trend job has to be designed or workstations has to be designed according the human or users. dimensions (e.g. the obesity epidemic), and require regular updating of anthropometric data collections. ANTHROPMETRY is the branch of ergonomics which deals with the body measurements like sizes of body dimensions, capacity, shape of the body, strength and capacity of reach in various postures[3].Anthropometry is combination of two words Anthropos means human and metron means measurement. Today, anthropometry plays an important role in industrial design, clothing design, ergonomics and architecture where statistical data about the distribution of body dimensions in the population are used to optimize products. But changes in lifestyles, nutrition, and ethnic composition of population lead to changes in the distribution of body Musculoskeletal Disorders(MSDs) MSDs, or musculoskeletal disorders, are injuries and disorders of the soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, and cartilage) and nervous system. They can affect nearly all tissues, including the nerves and tendon sheaths, and most frequently involve the arms and back[4].MSDs occurs mainly due to repetitive work for a prolonged period of time. MSDs can cause a number of conditions, including pain, numbness, tingling, stiff joints, difficulty moving, muscle loss, and sometimes paralysis[5].Frequently, workers must lose time from work to recover; some never regain full health. Table 1. MSDs Risk Factors Parts of the Body Affected by MSDs: • Arms • Hands • Fingers • Neck • Back • Wrists • Legs MSDs Risk Factors • Force • Repetitions •Awkward Postures •Static Postures •Quick Motions • Compression or Stresses • Temperature Fig.1 Working postures during DrillingIdentify applicable sponsor/s here. If no sponsors, delete this text box (sponsors). 67 Page 66-71 © MAT Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved Journal of Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume 3 Issue 1 Fig. 2 working posture during Typing and Lifting Different MSDs: a) Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Tendonitis c) Muscle/ Tendon Strain Sprain e) Tension Neck Syndrome Epicondylitis g) Radial Tunnel Syndrome Finger/ Thumb i) Degenerative Disc Disease A. b) d) Ligament f) h) Trigger METHODOLOGY Anthropometry branch of ergonomics which concerns about the human body sizes and reaches. Work stations, work space, products, machines, clothing and devices etc. should be designed according to the dimensions and capacities of human who are users. Some Anthropometric Dimensions[3] 1. Stature: The vertical distance from the floor to the vertex (i.e. the crown of the head). 2. Eye Height:Vertical distance from the floor to the inner canthus (corner) of the eye. 3. Shoulder Height: Vertical distance from the floor to the acromion (i.e. the bony tip of the shoulder). 4. Elbow Height: Vertical distance from the floor to the radiale. (The radiale is the bony landmark formed by the upper end of the radius bone which is palpable on the outer surface of the elbow.) 68 5. Trochanter Height: Vertical distance from the floor to the greater trochanter (a bony prominence at the upper end of the thigh bone, palpable on the lateral surface of the hip). 6. Knuckle Height: Vertical distance from the floor to metacarpal III (i.e. the knuckle of the middle finger). 7. Fingertip Height: Vertical distance from the floor to the dactylion (i.e. the tip of the middle finger). 8. Sitting Height: Vertical distance from the sitting surface to the vertex (i.e. the crown of the head). 9. Sitting Eye Height: Vertical distance from the sitting surface to the inner canthus (corner) of the eye. 10. Sitting Shoulder Height: Vertical distance from the seat surface to the acromion (i.e. the bony point of the shoulder). 11. Sitting Elbow Height: Vertical distance from the seat surface to the underside of the elbow. 12. Thigh Thickness: Vertical distance from the seat surface to the top of the uncompressed soft tissue of the thigh at its thickest point, generally where it meets the abdomen. 13. Popliteal Height: Vertical distance from the floor to the popliteal angle at the underside of the knee where the tendon of the biceps femoris muscle inserts into the lower leg. 14. Knee Height: Vertical distance from the floor to the upper surface of the Page 66-71 © MAT Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved Journal of Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume 3 Issue 1 knee (usually measured to the quadriceps muscle rather than the kneecap). Fig. 3 Anthropometric Dimensions Table 2.Applications Of Some Anthropometric Dimensions Sr. No. 1 Anthropometric Dimension Stature 2 Eye Height 3 Shoulder Height 4 Elbow Height 5 Trochanter Height 6 Knuckle Height 7 8 Fingertip Height Sitting Height 9 Sitting Eye Height 10 Sitting Shoulder Height 11 Sitting Elbow Height 12 Thigh Thickness 13 Popliteal Height 14 Knee Height Applications vertical clearance required in the standing workspace; minimal acceptable height of overhead obstructions such as lintels, roof beams, light fittings, etc. „reach‟ dimension for sight lines, defining maximal acceptable height of visual obstructions; optical sighting devices for prolonged use should be adjustable for the range of users. The approximate centre of rotation of the upper limb and, hence, of use in determining zones of comfortable reach; reference datum for location of fixtures, fittings, controls etc.). reference datum for the determination of work-surface heights, etc. Centre of rotation of the hip joint, hence the functional length of the lower limb. Reference level for handgrips; for support (handrails, etc.) Lowest acceptable level for finger-operated controls. Clearance required between seat and overhead obstacles. During sitting „reach‟ dimension for sight lines, defining maximal acceptable height of visual obstructions; optical sighting devices for prolonged use should be adjustable for the range of users. The approximate centre of rotation of the upper limb and, hence, of use in determining zones of comfortable reach during sitting Height of armrests; important reference datum for the heights of desk tops, keyboards, etc., Clearance required between the seat and the underside of tables or other obstacles Reach dimension defining the maximum acceptable height of a seat Clearance required beneath the underside of tables. Studies of Anthropometry 69 Page 66-71 © MAT Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved Journal of Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume 3 Issue 1 Figures 4 & 5 below represents the various Anthropometric studies in India [6]. Fig. 4 Number of dimensions measured Vs Studies Fig. 5 Number of subjects measured Vs Studies RESEARCH GAPS 1. A very few researches and Anthropometry is done in India to investigate the match/mismatch of classroom furniture [7] [8] [9]. 2. Few Studies is done on Anthropometry of Indian Population to design the proper garment/clothing design and sizes. Fig. 6 Clothing Patterns according to Anthropometry CONCLUSION This paper intended to study the importance of anthropometry in design of products, work space and work stations etc. It is concluded that if design is not 70 meeting the standards of anthropometric dimension of user population then there can be MSDs to the user which reduces the performance of user. Also the MSDs caused due to improper design may Page 66-71 © MAT Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved Journal of Mechanical and Mechanics Engineering Volume 3 Issue 1 enhance the absenteeism of employees in companies which will rise the overall costing of the company production too. So it is observed that there must be anthropometric studies at all levels for ergonomically design concern. So Anthropometry is an integral part of different methods of ergonomics to shape the work and better life of human. REFERENCES 1. Biman Das, Robert M. Grady, “Industrial workplace layout design An application of engineering anthropometry” Ergonomics, vol. 26:5, pp. 433-447, May 2007. 2. Biman Das, Arijit K. Sengupta, “Industrial workstation design:A systematic ergonomics approach” Applied Ergonomics, vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 157-163, 1996. 3. Stephen Pheasant, “Body Space Anthropometry, Ergonomics and the Design of Work” Taylor Francis, 2nd Edition, e-published 2003. 4. Richa Talwar, Rohit Kapoor, Karan Puri, Kapil Bansal, Saudan Singh, “A study of visual and musculoskeletal health disorders among computer professionals in NCR Delhi” Indian Journal of Community Medicine, vol. 34:4, pp. 326-328, 2009. 71 5. OSHA 3125, “Ergonomics: The Study of Work” U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, revised 2000. 6. Meera Ramachandran, Sashidharan Komandur, “Survey of Anthropometric data collection methods of Indian population for design of proportional medical devices” Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care, pp. 208-211, 2012. 7. H.I. Castellucci, P.M. Arezes, C.A. Viviani, “Mismatch between classroom furniture and anthropometric measures in Chilean schools” Applied Ergonomics, vol. 41, pp. 563-568, 2010. 8. Joanne W. Y. Chung, Thomas K. S. Wong, “Anthropometric evaluation for primary school furniture design” Ergonomics, vol. 50:3, pp. 323-334, 2007. 9. M.K. Gouvali, K. Boudolos, “Match between school furniture dimensions and children‟s anthropometry” Applied Ergonomics, vol. 37, pp. 765-773, 2006. 10. R.S. Bridger, “ Introduction to Ergonomics” Taylor Francis, 2nd Edition, 2003. Page 66-71 © MAT Journals 2017. All Rights Reserved