By: Josh, Madison, Elisha, Kadison, Chrissy Ergonomics By: Josh, Madison, Elisha, Kadison, Chrissy

What are Ergonomics? Ergonomics are the scientific discipline that seeks to understand and improve human interactions with products, equipment, environments, and systems. Factors such as height, comfortability, and productivity should be taken into account.

Why are Ergonomics Important? Ergonomics provide a basis in which products can be made to fully benefit the user and reduce injury. Products that aren’t designed ergonomically can be awkward to use, sized poorly, and can even injure their user, depending on what type of product it is. Without taking ergonomics into consideration when buying an item that is used for the majority of a day, it can reduce productivity, whether it be in an office or school environment.

Ergonomic Factors Such examples of factors that affect ergonomics include the size and shape of an object. This could be the height of a chair, or the size of the holes in the handles of a pair of scissors.

Ergonomic Blueprint The diagram on the right shows the different measurements taken into consideration when designing a computer setup. This might be used by a company along with a set of averages for providing the most comfortable and safe setup.

Data Our sample group’s average height was 168.2 cm. We had a total of one male, and four females. Each part of our body was measured from the top of the head to the bottom of the foot, giving us an average for each separate part as well. With this data, it is possible to create an ergonomic model (ergonome) that can be used to test human factors.

How is Data Analyzed? All products that are ergonomically designed are made to fit the average person. A product will not be made to fit the minority sized because sales will be low. So any person who deviates by more than two standard deviations from the mean only make up about 4% of the population. With this data, various objects can be ergonomically fit for our sample average height. For example, a bed would have to be 193.7 cm long according to our average because there must be 6.4 cm above the head and 19.1 cm below the feet for full comfort.

Our Data Age M/F Height(cm) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Sum 1-7 Madi 18 F 178 19 16 35 47 45 38 27 179 Josh 17 M 166 33 43 25 Kadi 164 20 11 32 46 37 26 162 Chrissy 15 173 21 44 174 Elisha 160 34 39 30 163 Averages 168.2 19.4 11.4 33.8 8.8 45.8 41.6 35.6 17.6 1= top of head to angle of jaw 2 = angle of jaw to base of neck 3 = base of neck to top of pelvis 4 = top of pelvis to hip joint 5 = hip joint to knee 6 = knee to ankle 7 = ankle to bottom of foot 8 = shoulder to elbow 9 = elbow to wrist 10 = wrist to fingers