I.

ANTHROPOMETRY
Anthropometry can be broken down into two roots
• anthropo – Greek meaning “human”
• metry – Greek meaning “the process of measuring”
Anthropometry literally means “the process of measuring humans.”
The formal definition is the measurement and study of the size and proportions of the human body.

Anthropometry is not so much based on abstract or symbolic ratios but rather functional ratios and
average human dimensions.
Functional ratios affect
• Things we handle
• Height and distance of things we reach
• Dimensions of furnishings we use for sitting, working, eating, and sleeping

HUMAN VARIABILITY
• Is there a Average Human?
• Humans vary in dimensions based on
• Gender
• Age
• Ethnic groups
• Nationalities
• Etc.
• Over 300 anthropometric measurements on the body
• It is hard to say that any one person is 50%-tile on all measurements
• Factors affecting Anthropometric data
• Age – body dimensions begin to increase with age and then decrease around 40
• Gender – men are generally larger than women at any given percentile and body
dimensions except hips and thighs
• Ethnic differences cause further differences
• Body Position
• Posture affect size
• Clothing – clothing adds to body size plus restricts movement

DESIGN AND USE OF ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA

• Design for the Extreme -- An attempt to accommodate all (or nearly all) of the population
• Design for the maximum – if maximum value accommodates all (e.g., height of door,
escape hatch in airplane)
• Design for the minimum – if minimum value determines if all are accommodated (e.g.,
distance to control button from the operator (reach); amount of force to press a button)
• Design for Adjustable Range – design to accommodate all (e.g., office chairs, desk height, key
board height)

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 01 1

School Year 2018-2019 JGPL2018
Module 01: Anthropometrics & Ergonomics
 • Design for the Average – there is no average human
• There are times when the average may be acceptable (e.g., counter height at grocery
store)

TYPES OF ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA

• Structural anthropometric data are measurements of the bodily dimensions of subjects in fixed
(static) positions.
• Some examples of the use of structural anthropometric data are to specify furniture
dimensions and ranges of adjustment and to determine ranges of clothing sizes.
• Structural data may be used for design in situations where people are adopting static
postures.
• Functional anthropometric data are collected to describe the movement of a body part with
respect to a fixed reference point
• Example: data are available concerning the maximum forward reach of standing
subjects
• Functional anthropometric data are useful for designing workspaces and positioning
objects within them, particularly in the design of aircraft cockpits, crane cabs, vehicle
interiors and complex control panels in the process industries

II. ERGONOMICS
• A branch of Engineering that has developed because of the study of human scale is Ergonomics.
• Ergonomics is an applied science concerned with the characteristics of people that need to be
considered in the design of devices and systems in order that people and things will interact
effectively and safely.
• Ergonomics can be simply defined as HUMAN ENGINEERING.
• 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.
• Example: a seat should be no higher than popliteal considering the height of a short user
and no deeper than the distance from the buttocks to the knees.

III. HUMAN FACTORS

• Human factors involves the study of all aspects of the way humans relate to the world around
them, with the aim of improving operational performance, safety, through life costs and/or
adoption through improvement in the experience of the end user.
• The two terms "human factors" and "ergonomics“ are essentially synonymous.

Why should designers be aware of anthropometrics, human factors and ergonomics?

Designers must be aware of human factors, anthropometrics and ergonomics to ensure their
product or service is safe and socially responsible. (designing public places is especially sensitive
to these conditions)

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE THEORY OF ARCHITECTURE 01 2

School Year 2018-2019 JGPL2018
Module 01: Anthropometrics & Ergonomics