ERGONOMICS

ANTHROPOMETRY
ANTHROPOMETRICS
Achieving good physical fit cannot accept
one mean feature when one considers the
range in human body sizes across the
population.
The science of anthropometrics provides
data on dimensions of the human body in
various postures.
Biomechanics considers the operation of
the muscles and limbs, and ensures that
working postures are beneficial, and that
excessive forces are avoided.
Anthro·pom·etry.
 This is the branch of ergonomics that
deals with body shape, size, weight,
strength, proportions, and working
capacity of the human body.

 It is the technology of measuring

human physical traits such as size,
reach, mobility and strength.

 It is the study of human body

measurement for use in
anthropological classification and
comparison.
Anthro·pom·etry.
 It is the field that involves the
measurement of the dimensions and other
physical characteristics of people, and the
application of this information to the design
of things they use.
 Literally anthropometry means
“measurement of humans”
Anthropometric side of
ergonomics is:
 Matching the physical form and dimensions of
the product or work space to those of it’s user;
and

 Matching the physical demands of the working

task to the capacities of the work force.
HISTORY OF ANTHROPOMETRY
In the past, anthropometry was used by the Nazi’s
whose Bureau for Enlightenment on Population Policy
and Racial Welfare recommended the classification of
Aryans and non-Aryans on the basis of measurements
of the skull and other physical features. The Nazi’s set
up certification institutes to further their racial policies.
Not measuring up meant
denial of permission to marry
or work, and for many it
meant the death camps.
Fortunately, today anthropometry has
many practical uses, for example it is used
to assess nutritional status,
to monitor the growth of children, and
to assist in the design of office furniture.
Anthro·pom·etry.
 People come in all shapes and sizes, so you
need to take these physical characteristics into
account whenever you design anything that
someone will use, from something as simple as
a pencil to something as complex as a car.
TYPES OF ANTHROPOMETRIC
DATA
STRUCTURAL
ANTHROPOMETRIC
DATA
 Measurement of the dimensions in
static positions
FUNCTIONAL
ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA
 Data that define the movements of
a part of the body in reference to a
point.
NEWTONIAN
ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA
 Used for the mechanical
analysis of the loads on the
human body
 Body segment
measurement for use in
biomechanical analyses
ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA

STATIC MEASURES:
ARE PASSIVE MEASURES OF THE
DIMENSIONS OF THE HUMAN BODY
THESE MEASURES ARE USED TO DETERMINE
SIZE AND SPACING REQUIREMENTS OF
WORK SPACES SUCH AS
HEIGHT
WEIGHT
WING SPAN
SEAT – ELBOW HEIGHT
ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA

DYNAMIC MEASURES:
MEASURES OF THE DYNAMIC PROPERTIES
OF THE HUMAN BODY SUCH AS STRENGTH
AND ENDURANCE
THESE MEASURES ARE USED TO MATCH
THE DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF
CONTROLS TO USER
EG. RANGE OF MOTION FOR VARIOUS JOINTS
FORCE OF LEG PUSHES
STRENGTH OF FINGERS
ANTHROPOMETRY

THERE ARE SOME STEPS A DESIGNER

MUST TAKE:

Decide who you are designing for

Decide which body measurements are relevant
Decide whether you are designing for the
'average' or extremes
Decide who you are designing for
Anthropometric tables give measurements
of different body parts for men and women,
and split into different nationalities, and age
groups, from babies to the elderly.

So first of all, you need to know exactly

who you are designing for.
The group of people you are designing for
is called the USER POPULATION.
 If you were designing an
office chair, you would need
to consider dimensions for
adults of working age and
not those for children or the
elderly. If you were designing
a product for the home, such
as a kettle, your user group
would include everyone
except young children
Decide which body measurements
are relevant
 You need to know which parts of
the body are relevant to your
design. For example, if you were
designing a mobile phone, you
would need to consider the width
and length of the hand, the size of
the fingers as well as grip
diameter. You wouldn't be too
interested in the height or weight
of the user (although the weight
of the phone might be important!)
Decide whether you are designing for
the 'average' or extremes

 Nobody is 'average' in
all body dimensions.
Someone might be of
average height but
have a longer than
average hand length.
 Height Hand length

Age Girls Boys Girls Boys

11 1440 1430 155 155

12 1500 1490 165 165

13 1550 1550 175 190

14 1590 1630 175 190

15 1610 1690 180 195

16 1620 1730 180 195

17 1620 1750 180 200

18 1620 1760 180 200

The variation in the size and shape of
people also tells us that if you design to
suit yourself, it will only be suitable for
people who are the same size and shape
as you, and you might 'design out'
everyone else!
Percentiles are shown in anthropometry
tables and they tell you whether the
measurement given in the tables relates to
the 'average' person, or someone who is
above or below average in a certain
dimension.
If you look at the heights of a group of
adults, you'll notice that most of them look
about the same height. A few may be
noticeably taller and a few may be
noticeably shorter. This 'same height' will
be near the average (called the 'mean' in
statistics) and is shown in anthropometry
tables as the fiftieth percentile, often
written as '50th %ile'. This means that it is
the most likely height in a group of people.
 If we plotted a graph of the heights (or most other
dimensions) of our group of people, it would look
similar to this:
NUMBER OF PEOPLE

HEIGHT
The graph is symmetrical – so that
50% of people are of average height
or taller, and 50% are of average
height or smaller.
NUMBER OF PEOPLE

HEIGHT
The graph tails off to either end, because
fewer people are extremely tall or very
short.
To the left of the average, there is a point
known as the 5th percentile, because 5%
of the people (or 1 person in 20) is shorter
than this particular height.
 The same
distance to the
right is a point
known as the
95th percentile,
where only 1
person in 20 is
taller than this
height.
 So, we also need to
know whether we are
designing for all
potential users or just
the ones of above or
below average
dimensions. This
depends on exactly
what it is that we are
designing.
 For example, if we were designing a doorway
using the height, shoulder width, hip width etc.,
of an average person, then half the people using
the doorway would be taller than the average,
and half would be wider.
 Since the tallest people are not necessarily the
widest, more than half the users would have to
bend down or turn sideways to get through the
doorway. Therefore, in this case we would need
to design using dimensions of the widest and
tallest people to ensure that everyone could
walk through normally.
Deciding whether to use the 5th, 50th or 95th percentile
value depends on WHAT you are designing and WHO you
are designing it for.
 Usually, you will find that if you pick the right
percentile, 95% of people will be able to use
your design. For instance, if you were choosing
a door height, you would choose the dimension
of people's height (often called 'stature' in
anthropometry tables) and pick the 95th
percentile value – in other words, you would
design for the taller people. You wouldn't need to
worry about the average height people, or the
5th percentile ones – they would be able to fit
through the door anyway.
At the other end of the scale, if you were
designing an aeroplane cockpit, and
needed to make sure everyone could
reach a particular control, you would
choose 5th percentile arm length –
because the people with the short arms
are the ones who are most challenging to
design for. If they could reach the control,
everyone else (with longer arms) would be
able to.
INTERIOR OF A COCKPIT
 Here are some examples of other situations - your design
project will normally fit into one of these groups:
What is it that you are Users that your design
Examples of measurements to
aiming for with your Design examples: should
consider:
design? accommodate:

Easy reach Vehicle dashboards, Arm length, Smallest user: 5th

Shelving Shoulder height percentile

Adequate clearance to Manholes, Shoulder or hip width, Largest user: 95th

avoid unwanted Cinema seats Thigh length percentile
contact or trapping
A good match between Seats, Knee-floor height, Head Maximum range: 5th
the user and the Cycle helmets, circumference, Weight to 95th percentile
product Pushchairs

A comfortable and safe Lawnmowers, Elbow height, Maximum range: 5th

posture Monitor positions, Sitting eye height, to 95th percentile
Worksurface heights Elbow height (sitting or
standing?)
Easy operation Screw bottle tops, Grip strength, Smallest or weakest
Door handles, Hand width, user: 5th
Light switches Height percentile

To ensure that an item Machine guarding mesh, Finger width Smallest user: 5th
can't be reached or Distance of railings percentile
operated from hazard Arm length Largest user: 95th
percentile
Sometimes you can't accommodate all your
users because there are conflicting solutions
to your design.
In this case, you will have to make a
judgment about what is the most important
feature. You must never compromise
safety though, and if there is a real risk of
injury, you may have to use more extreme
percentiles (1%ile or 99%ile or more) to
make sure that everyone is protected (not
just 95% of people).
Think about other human factors

 You may need to add

corrections for
clothing. Have you
allowed for shoe
heights? You
generally add 20mm
for fairly flat shoes,
and more if you think
users will be wearing
high heels.
CLOTHING
 If your product is to
be used somewhere
cold, can it still be
used if someone is
wearing gloves or
other bulky clothing?
It is important to take the strength of your users into
account, as well as the environmental conditions and
the space they have to perform tasks.

 If you were designing

tools for changing car
wheels, for example,
it's more than likely
that they would have
to be used in cold and
wet weather.
 People need to
grip harder if their
hands are wet and
cold, and they
need to exert more
force to carry out
tasks than they
would if they were
warm and dry.
 You may also need to
consider people's
eyesight and hearing
abilities. Can they read
the small labels on the
remote control that you've
designed? Is there
enough light to read them
by? Can they hear an
alarm bell above the
general noise in the
room?