IDENTIFYING ANTHROPOMETRIC PARAMETERS CONSIDERED FOR THE IMPROVEMENT IN ERGONOMIC DESIGN OF CLASSROOM FURNITURE

The purpose of this study is to identify the relevance of various anthropometric parameters measurements for the ergonomic design of classroom furniture especially school desks. Literature survey reveals that many authors have used various body dimensions e.g. popliteal height, stature, shoulder height etc. while studying the designs of school desks from ergonomic aspects. It is also clear from the survey that there have been attempts to establish theoretical recommendations for the principles that relate school furniture design to children’s anthropometry. Combinational equations are also developed by some authors based on theoretical & practical ergonomic principles. The present article does a critical study of the parameters considered & of the recommended relationships between these parameters & the desk dimensions. Most commonly used school furniture dimensions and concerned anthropometric parameters relevant to ergonomic school desk design are identified. Appropriate relationships, combinational equations between the two are subsequently identified. It is revealed that further research is required to be done for some of the parameters for the improvement of ergonomic design of classroom furniture.