Ergonomics Study

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2. CONTENT
PAGE
EANTHROPOMETRICS AND
ERGONOMICS STUDY
1.1 INTRODUCTION 3
1.2 HISTORY 4-5
1.3ERGONOMICS AT HOME 6
1.4 FOCUS OF ERGONOMICS 7
1.5 IMPORTANCE 7
1.6 VITRUVIAN MAN BY “LEONARDO DA VINCI “ 8-10
1.7 MODULOR BY “LE CORBUSIER” 11-12
1.8 HUMAN PROPORTION 13
1.9 DIMENSION OF CHILDERN 14
1.10 DIMENSION OF MEN 15
2. LIVING ROOM
2.1 INTRODUCTION 16-17
2.2 FURNITURE 18
2.3 GENERAL INFORMATION 19
2.4 GENERALLY APPLICABLE 20-22
2.5 SOME FLOOR PLAN 23
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3. ERGONOMICS
THE TERM ERGONOMICS WAS COINED FROM THE GREEK WORDS ERGON (MEANING "WORK") AND NOMOS (MEANING "RULES).SO THE LITERAL
MEANING IS "THE RULES OF WORK," ERGONOMICS IS THE SCIENCE OF FITTING THE WORK-PLACE CONDITIONS AND JOB DEMANDS TO THE CAPABILITIES
OF THE WORKING POPULATION.
ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION, ERGONOMICS IS THE APPLICATION OF THE HUMAN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES IN CONJUNCTION
WITH ENGINEERING SCIENCES TO THE WORKER AND HIS WORKING ENVIRONMENT, SO AS TO OBTAIN MAXIMUM SATISFACTION FOR THE WORKER AND
AT THE SAME TIME ENHANCE PRODUCTIVITY.
THE GOAL OF ERGONOMICS IS TO MAKE THE WORK PLACE MORE COMFORTABLE AND TO IMPROVE BOTH HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY. TO MEET THESE
GOALS, THE CAPABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF WORKERS AND THEIR TOOLS, EQUIPMENT AND FURNITURE ARE CONSIDERED IN CONJUNCTION WITH
HOW THEY RELATE TO PARTICULAR TASKS. MOST PEOPLE HAVE HEARD OF ERGONOMICS AND THINK IT IS SOMETHING TO DO WITH SEATING OR WITH
THE DESIGN OF CAR CONTROLS AND INSTRUMENTS. IT IS...BUT IT IS MUCH MORE! ERGONOMICS IS THE APPLICATION OF SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION
CONCERNING HUMANS TO THE DESIGN OF OBJECTS, SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENT FOR HUMAN USE. ERGONOMICS COMES INTO EVERYTHING WHICH
INVOLVES PEOPLE. WORK SYSTEMS, SPORTS AND LEISURE, HEALTH AND SAFETY SHOULD ALL EMBODY ERGONOMICS
ANTHROPOMETRICS
Anthropometrics is the study of the human body measurements and its movement.
The study of the human body and its movement, often involving research into measurements
relating to people. It also involves collecting statistics or measurements relevant to the human
body, called anthropometric data.
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INTRODUCTION

4. HISTORY
The fact that the word ergonomics was coined by a Polish
scholar, Wojciech Jastrzębowski, in 1857 became widely
known when his book in Polish was reprinted with English
translation in 1997.
The year 1857 falls in the fourth year of the Ansei period in
Japan, which was the time just after the arrival of Perry and
his black ships.
Association between “labor” and “health”, in other words,
the kinds of “health problems” caused by “working” was
often reported even in the age of ancient Egypt and the
Greek and Roman period. It is in “De morbis artificum
diatriba,” a classic by Bernardino Ramazzini (1633-1714), an
Italian physician, that the relationship between working
conditions and pathology was first systematized from an
occupational health perspective. In this book, not only
respiratory disorders such as asthma and tuberculosis
caused by fine particles but effects of awkward working
postures on workers’ bodies were referred to as diseases
observed among metal mining workers. It can be said that
the age of industrialization, promoted by the Industrial
Revolution that started in the 18th century, demanded
clarification of the relationship between labor and health.
However, the development of preventive measures based on
an ergonomic perspective and ergonomic methods and
approaches, such as the measurement of occupational
fatigue and the establishment of principles in scientific
management of labor, had to wait until the beginning of the
20th century.
In 1919 “The Science of Labour and Its Organization” by
Józefa Joteyko, a Polish scientist, was published in English, in
which measurement of occupational fatigue and principles
in scientific management of labor were discussed in detail.
Wojciech Jastrzębowski
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5. Another course of development of ergonomics is
the research of human errors that has been
pursued mainly in the US since the end of World
War II. In those days accidents involving airplanes,
such as one in which an aircraft of the US air force
crashed into the Rocky mountains, occurred so
often that the investigation team composed of
specialists in psychology and aeronautical
engineering probed into the cause. The conclusion
was that pilots had misread the altimeter due to
the bad design of its interface. Human cognitive
characteristics taken into consideration, the
altimeter for aircrafts was then designed to have
an easy-to-read, single pointer. This is how the
science of human factors has developed in the
context of applied psychology. Now this scientific
field is not only providing safe and comfortable
designs, such as ones to prevent human errors and
those found in simple and easy-to-use products
for walk-up-and-use as well as consumer
equipment, but is also expanding its target area to
medicine, welfare, aviation, traffic systems and
public facilities.
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6. Ergonomics At Home
Why is it important?
The opportunity we have in our home that we do not always have in our work area is the ability to
create a user-friendly environment. As each room in the house serves a specific function we need to
come up with ideas on how we can set up the room to best suit our needs so there is more efficiency
and less stress in the activities of the house.
The Living Room
The next room we enter is the living room. This is the room in which we usually do most of our relaxing
in the form of reading, socializing or watching TV. These activities require ergonomically designed
couches, recliners and chairs. Watching television is best done from an easy chair or recliner. Directional
light should be used while reading that will only illuminate a specific target area.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is where we store, cook and prepare food. It is most practical to use a refrigerator that has a
freezer on the bottom with the most commonly used foods on the top or shelf that has the easiest
access. Most people have refrigerators that are set up in such a way that they are forced to bend over at
the waist to access the much frequently used foods. The most commonly used utensils should be within
easy reach. Special kitchen tool designs make chores easier as in opening jars. Professional cooks like
professional wood workers know the importance of using only sharp knives. When used skillfully, it is
more dangerous to use a dull knife than a sharp one. Using a utensil that is not suited for the task
(improvising) is a sure invitation to an accident.
The Bathroom
This is where most accidents in the house occur, usually from slipping. Bath and floor mats that provide
good traction are essential for the purpose of preventing slips and falls. Hand bars are also crucial to
prevent falls. Common flaws in bathroom design are low bathroom sinks and showerheads. These will
tend precipitate low back and neck injuries respectively. All faucets in the house should be fitted with a
user-friendly variety in which low force is necessary to turn the water on and off. Turning knobs that are
poorly designed can put unnatural stress on the wrists thereby causing injury to wrist tendons.
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7. FOCUS OF ERGONOMICS
• Work in Neutral Posture.
• Keep everything in reach.
• Reduce excessive force.
• Work in proper height.
• Provide Clearance.
IMPORTANCE
1. Increased savings
• Fewer injuries
• More productive and sustainable employees
• Fewer workers’ compensation claims
– The average direct cost of a workers compensation claim for an MSD is $14,120 (Oregon OSHA 2007)
– The indirect costs involved bring the total average claim cost to well over $32,000
2. Fewer employees experiencing pain
• Implementing ergonomic improvements can reduce the risk factors that lead to discomfort.
3. Increased productivity
• Ergonomic improvements can reduce the primary risk factors for MSDs, so workers are more efficient, productive, and have greater
job satisfaction.
4. Increased morale
• Attention to ergonomics can make employees feel valued because they know their employer is making their workplace safer.
5. Reduced absenteeism
• Ergonomics leads to healthy and pain-free workers who are more likely to be engaged and productive.
WORKER
ENVIRONMENT
OR WORKPLAE
JOB
ERGONOMICS
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8. As a master of the arts, sciences, and
everything in between, Leonardo da Vinci is
often referred to as a “Renaissance man.”
While the polymath is perhaps most well
known for his Mona Lisa masterpiece, it is
his scientific sketches that impressively
illustrate the encyclopedic knowledge and
eclectic interests that have come to define
him.
The Vitruvian Man, a late 15th-century
drawing, is a prime example of such work.
Intended to explore the idea of proportion,
the piece is part work of art and part
mathematical diagram, conveying the Old
Master‘s belief that “everything connects to
everything else.” Leonardo drew the
Vitruvian Man, known also as “The
proportions of the human body according to
Vitruvius,” in 1492. Rendered in pen, ink, and
metalpoint on paper, the piece depicts an
idealized nude male standing within a square
and a circle. Ingeniously, Leonardo chose to
depict the man with four legs and four arms,
allowing him to strike 16 poses
simultaneously.
VITRUVIAN MAN BY “LEONARDO DA VINCI “
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9. The Vitruvian Man is based
on De Architectura, a building
guide written by Roman architect
and engineer Vitruvius
between 30 and 15 BC. While it is
focused on architecture, the
treatise also explores the human
body—namely, the geometry of
“perfect” proportions—which
appealed to Leonardo’s interest
in anatomy and inspired his
drawing
Since 1822, the Vitruvian Man
has been a part of the permanent
collection of the Gallerie
dell’Accademia in Venice, Italy. As
it’s too fragile to be on display,
the piece is rarely exhibited.
However, even while concealed,
the drawing remains a key part of
their collection and, ultimately,
one of the most important works
of the Italian Renaissance.
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10. PALM=4 FINGERS
4PALM= FOOT
1 PACE=4 CUBIT
6 PALM=1CUBIT
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11. MODULOR BY “LE CORBUSIER”
In Le Corbusier's buildings and art a recurrent silhouette appears: the
Modulor Man. It's a stylised human figure, standing proudly and square-
shouldered, sometimes with one arm raised the mascot of Le
Corbusier's system for re-ordering the universe.
The Modulor was meant as a universal system of proportions. The
ambition was vast: it was devised to reconcile maths, the human form,
architecture and beauty into a single system.
Fibonacci and English crime noves
This system could then be used to provide the measurements for all
aspects of design from door handles to cities, and Corbusier believed
that it could be further applied to industry and mechanics. The
fundamental "module" of the Modulor is a six-foot man, allegedly based
on the usual height of the detectives in the English crime novels
Corbusier enjoyed.
This Modulor Man is segmented according the "golden section", a ratio
of approximately 1.61; so the ratio of the total height of the figure to the
height to the figure's navel is 1.61. These proportions can be scaled up
or down to infinity using a Fibonacci progression. In devising this system,
Corbusier was joining a 2000-year-old hunt for the mathematical
architecture of the universe, a search that had obsessed Pythagoras,
Vitruvius and Leonardo Da Vinci.
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12. The mystical virtues to the system
Le Corbusier developed the Modulor in 1943, and the first volume of his study of it
was published in 1950. From the Unité d'Habitation in Marseilles (completed 1952)
onwards, Corbusier applied the Modulor to his buildings, including the government
complexes he built in Chandigarh, India, and his rural retreat, Le Cabanon. It won
widespread praise, and was used by architects and designers including Georges
Candilis and Jean Prouve; no less a figure than Albert Einstein said: "It's a tool that
makes the good easy and the bad difficult." But it was not widely adopted, perhaps
because Corbusier wanted to patent the system and earn royalties from buildings
built using it.
However, the fact that Corbusier showed Modulor to Einstein betrays how proud
he was of his creation. He became transfixed, attributing mystical virtues to the
system and seeing it as part of the fundamental architecture of the universe itself.
The quixotic search for a key that can unlock the secrets of architecture obsessed
him, as it has others through the ages. The quest continues: architectural historian
Charles Jencks, who has written extensively on Le Corbusier, identifies Peter
Eisenman and Cecil Balmond as the inheritors of the spirit that drove the creation
of the Modulor.
The Modulor was, however, as arbitrary as any human measurement: its six-foot
basis was plucked out of the air, there was no reason the Modulor Man couldn't be
five foot ten or six foot two. As is often said, a six-foot rule is hardly fair to women
and children. Also, Corbusier's own application of it was somewhat haphazard.
Jencks points out that the children's bedrooms in the Unité are six feet by 23 feet,
not exactly an elegant proportion
Human form at the centre of design
It goes without saying that things that are in proportion to one another are
naturally more pleasing to the eye. But what's really important is that the Modulor
puts the human form back at the centre of design. In the present architectural
climate of post-modern free-for-all, driven by computer processors and buoyed by
parametric ideology, biomorphism runs riot, but human proportions are out of the
picture. Maybe this is the result of an understandable discomfort with the
idealisation of the human body. But we should overcome that discomfort to obtain
the magical comfort of inhabiting spaces that we know were designed with our
forms in mind
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13. HUMAN
PROPORTION
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14. DIMENSION OF
CHILDERN
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15. DIMENSION OF
MEN
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16. LIVING ROOM
INTRODUCTION
In Western architecture, a living room, also
called a lounge room, lounge or sitting room,
is a room in a residential house or apartment
for relaxing and socializing. Such a room is
sometimes called a front room when it is near
the main entrance at the front of the house.
In large formal homes, a sitting room is often
a small private living area adjacent to a
bedroom, such as the Queen's Sitting Room
and the Lincoln Sitting Room of the White
House. The term living room was coined in the
late 19th or early 20th century.
I n homes that lack a parlor or drawing room,
the living room may also function as a
reception room for guests.Objects in living
rooms may be used "to instigate and mediate
contemplation about significant others, as
well as to regulate the amount of intimacy
desired with guests.
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17. A typical Western living room may contain
furnishings such as a sofa, chairs,
occasional tables, coffee tables,
bookshelves, electric lamps, rugs, or other
furniture. Traditionally, a sitting room in
the United Kingdom and New Zealand has
a fireplace, dating from when this was
necessary for heating. In a Japanese sitting
room, called a washitsu, the floor is
covered with tatami, sectioned mats, on
which people can sit comfortably.
Until the late 19th century, the front
parlor was the room in the house used for
formal social events, including where the
recently deceased were laid out before
their funeral. The term "living room" is
found initially in the decorating literature
of the 1890s, where a living room is
understood to be a reflection of the
personality of the designer, rather than
the Victorian conventions of the day.[
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18. FURNITURE
Typical furniture groups in the living room are as follows.
• Primary conversation group: chairs & sofa normally
grouped around the fireplace, Television or View.
• Secondary conversation group: chairs and love seat at
end of room or in corner.
• Reading group or groups: Chair, ottoman, lamp, table
• Writing or study group: desk, lamp, one or two chairs,
bookcases.
• Music group: Piano, bench, storage space.
• Game group: Game table & four chairs.
• Television group: Television set and seating for several
people.
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19. GENERAL INFORMATION
• 2’10” - Space for general circulation
• 2’0” - Limited circulation between wall &
the others.
• 2’0” – Between table and other furniture.
• Grouping seats for social interaction should
be in a range of 8’8”-10’10” diameter.
• Furniture clearance
• 9’10” - Recommended Dimension for
seating & end table.
• 2’6” – Seating width.
• 4’6” – Dimensions for a person’s sitting in a
seating.
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20. GENERALLY APPLICABLE
• Single passage (Not a traffic lane) between two objects (sofa
& coffee table) – 1’6”
• Single passage (Not a traffic table) between tall objects (hip
height or over) – 2’0” to 2’6”
• General traffic lane – 3’4”
• Seating areas confined ( for instance, between a desk and a
wall) – 3’ so that one person can pass back on occupied
chair.
• 60” between facing seating
• 24” where circulation occurs between furniture.
• 30” for use of desk.
• 36” for main traffic.
• 60” between TV set and seating.
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SOME FLOOR PLAN

24. Thank you!
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