The purpose of the redesign project was to evaluate the current layout and design of one of the lecture halls on the Binghamton campus. Through human factors evaluation methods, the team determined that the lecture hall had two main design flaws, the chair design and the flow of traffic. The team researched and performed further evaluations in order to determine the best possible solution to the above problems. A new, more ergonomic chair design was created to include armrests and cushions while also implementing a staircase in the middle of the lecture hall to improve the ease of movement throughout the lecture hall. These designs were sketched out and modeled to display how both would look when implemented in the lecture hall and how the overall system would be improved with these additions. Lastly, the team presented the solution to colleagues and professors after compiling a report of 16 pages.

1. REDESIGNING THE
BU LECTURE HALL
Brian Doyle
Jacob Groezinger
Ethan Howe
Stephen Valvo

2. SYSTEM OVERVIEW
 Our team is going to enhance the ergonomics
of Lecture Hall 8 through a redesign of the
chairs and the flow of traffic to those chairs.
 Current Chair Design
 Current Flow of Traffic

3. DATA COLLECTION
 Think-Aloud Verbal Protocol
 Consisted of a walkthrough by Jacob
 Took a long time to go up and down stairs
 Difficult to get to middle chairs if students are seated on
outside
 Observation of Subject
 Brian observed Jacob going through the lecture hall
 Shuffled through the aisles while still periodically bumping
into the desk behind him
 Ergonomics Analysis
 In order to give back muscles a rest during class, Jacob had to
lean forward instead of resting his arms on an armrest, causing
compression on the L5/S1

4. The current seat design does
not provide an armrest causing
sitting through long lectures
very stressful on the lower back.
When walking down the
staircase, it takes a long time to
get down all the way from the
top of the lecture hall to the
desired row.

5. CHAIR DESIGN ANALYSIS
 Anthropometric data
 Static and dynamic dimensions
 Interface Pressure Measurements
 Deals with uncomfortable pains due to fatigue
 Postural Factors
 Back seat pad and tilt
 Cushioning
 Cushion thickness, density, and angle at which
cushion is oriented

6. TRAFFIC FLOW ANALYSIS
 Adjacent Spacing Between Desks
 No hassle getting into chair from the staircases
 Ease of Sight
 Making sure that everyone can see the Professor and board
from any position in the room
 Emergency Situations
 Efficient and methodical way of vacating the room

7. CHAIR REDESIGN
 Chair Redesign
 Collapsible arm rest will be added to the side of the chair
 Arm rest will be 6.5 inches in length, or 9 inches from the back
of the chair
 Arm rest will be adjustable, with a range of 5 inches to 8
inches
-d = 15in
-b = 18in
-g = 9in
-5in < f < 8in
*f will be
adjustable
http://www.humanscale.com/products/product_detail.cfm?group=DiffrientSmart
Chair

8. TRAFFIC FLOW REDESIGN
 Flow of Traffic
 Cut into balcony 36”
 Have staircase going down the center at a height : width ratio
of 1 : 1.25
 Staircase cannot be accessed by students sitting in back of
LH
 Fifteen seats will need to be removed from the center of LH
rows
 Class size in lecture hall will need to be reduced by just above
5%

9. Staircase leading down the
middle of the lecture hall from
the back balcony will provide
easier access to middle seats
for students, especially for
students walking in late.

10. Any Questions?