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The ergonomic design of classroom furniture/computer work station for first
graders in the elementary school
Samuel A. Oyewole
*
, Joel M. Haight, Andris Freivalds
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
article info
Article history:
Received 3 April 2009
Received in revised form
4 December 2009
Accepted 25 February 2010
Available online xxx
Keywords:
Classroom furniture
Elementary school children
Anthropometric measures
Ergonomics-oriented furniture, First graders
Adjustability
abstract
Children have been known to spend over 30% of their time at school. Most classroom activities involve
sitting for long periods of time, with little or no breaks. Every effort should be made to ensure that young
children do not experience back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders due to prolonged sitting on
improperly designed classroom furniture. This paper proposes a methodology and guidelines for the design
of ergonomic-oriented classroom furniture for first graders in the elementary school. The anthropometric
measures of twenty first graders were used to develop regression equations for the furniture dimensions.
The analysis of the relevant anthropometric measures such as stature, weight, body mass index (BMI),
popliteal height, buttock-popliteal length, and hip breadth shows that stature and body mass index are
important factors in the design of the classroom furniture. Adjustability was incorporated into the design in
order to recommend the appropriate dimensions for the design of the classroom furniture. Based on the
need to accommodate at least 90% of the population of first graders in the United States, this paper proposes
furniture design dimensions for seat height (25.83e32.23 cm); seat depth (27.41e33.86 cm); seat width
(17.91e23.29 cm); back rest (35.64e44.37 cm); arm rest (16.28e20.68 cm); and desk height
(30.12e37.85 cm). This anthropometric analysis could be used to design ergonomic-oriented classroom
furniture which would not only incorporate adjustability, but also improve the level of comfort for the
intended users.
Ó2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The use of furniture has been traced back to the Stone Age,
during this period, the handy man carved out chairs and tables
from stones and rocks. In the ancient civilization, the chair was one
of the first types of furniture which was created in order to convey
status, kingship and authority. Recent archeologists have discov-
ered images of early furniture of ancient civilizations, especially in
Ancient Egypt. The chair and table changed very little for several
thousand years. The chair was typically pictured with a low seat
and slightly reclining back as seen in the thrones and folding stools
of the Egyptian Pharaohs (Schwartz et al., 1968).
Furniture designs continued to change over time, and by the
mid 19th century, the influence of Industrial Revolution and mass
production further enabled chairs and tables to be manufactured in
large quantities, various sizes and forms (Fiell and Fiell, 1993).
Anthropometry and ergonomics have been used to develop new
furniture forms which include task, or office desks and chairs by
incorporating adjustability in order to accommodate a wider range
of people and population. This is not only aimed at suiting a range
of users, but also a range of postures (Lueder and Rice, 2007).
Although adjustability has been a primary criterion in many
designs, by the early 1960s, the value of adjustable furniture
became an issue for debate in cases where there are more than two
dimensions to adjust and users have difficulty in determining what
fits best, which is often worsened by fatigue. By the early 1990s
several manufacturers commenced the mass production of the
modern furniture, especially chairs in different sizes and dimen-
sions, based on reliance on the anthropometric data available to the
designers (Cranz, 1998). Actual chair and desk dimensions are
determined by measurements of the human body or anthropo-
metric measurements. Anthropometric statistics may be gathered
for mass produced furniture and designs are made based on these
statistics.
Until recently, the design of school furniture for children has
received little or no interest. The focus of ergonomic design of
furniture has been traditionally based on the design of work
furniture based on the anthropometry and biomechanics of the
human body. Numerous researches investigated prolonged sitting
in the work place and proposed design principles for chairs and
*Corresponding author.
E-mail address: sao152@psu.edu (S.A. Oyewole).
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ergon
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0169-8141/$ esee front matter Ó2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2010.02.002
International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics xxx (2010) 1e11
Please cite this article in press as: Oyewole, S.A., et al., The ergonomic design of classroom furniture/computer work station for first graders in
the elementary school, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics (2010), doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2010.02.002
desks, especially for the computer workstation (Cook and Kothiyal,
1998; Kumar, 1994; Villanueva et al., 1996; Burgess-Limerick et al.,
1999). Although several ergonomic-oriented designs have been
proposed for classroom furniture, this research intends to effec-
tively recommend design guidelines for elementary school furni-
ture by conducting an initial evaluation of the current furniture
design in a particular school. Further analysis is then carried out to
obtain the relevant design parameters and dimensions for the
ergonomic-oriented classroom furniture based on the need to
adequately accommodate at least 90% of the entire population of
first graders in the United States.
1.1. Research motivation
Several elementary schools in United States and around the
world, especially in developing countries are often faced with
ergonomics-oriented problem of inability to match students with
the available classroom furniture, desks or computer work stations
(Panagiotopoulou et al., 2004; Gouvali and Boudolosa, 2006).
Economical problems, budget constraints and lack of educational
funding in several countries have also led to the problem of inad-
equate class room furniture in the elementary schools. Over-
crowding and increase in student population is also one of the
major problems facing numerous elementary schools (Rumberger,
2002; Ready et al., 2004). It should also be noted that anthropo-
metric dimensions of children such as stature, weight, and body
mass index (BMI) have increased over the years. This is due to
changes in their standard of living, eating habits and lack of
adequate exercise (Figueroa-Colon et al., 1997; Jung, 2005; Jackson-
Leach and Lobstein, 2006). In the quest of designing effective
ergonomic-centered classroom furniture for elementary school
children, it will be very important to examine the design of the
existing furniture in the school by performing general inspections.
In this research, a local elementary school was selected and the
existing furniture was examined based on the functional efficiency,
ease of use, comfort, as well as health and safety (Pheasant, 1998).
Examination of the current furniture in the elementary school
revealed several design inadequacies such as the lack of cushion on
the hardwood benches, and ergonomic concerns such as elongated
benches and desks which do not have back rests. Other observed
problems include overpopulation, where at least 6 children seated
on a bench which was initially designed to seat only 3 or 4 children.
In addition to this, several children complained of body aches and
pains, which could be an indication of the ergonomic problems and
design flaws identified during the inspection of the classroom
furniture.
In order to provide a tangible justification for this study, 126 first
graders, 66 boys and 60 girls (average age of 6.5 years) were
randomly selected from three additional elementary schools and
each student was given a questionnaire to complete. In order to
protect the confidentiality of the investigation, the names of the
children were not required on the questionnaire. The result
obtained from the survey is similar to the survey conducted by
Parcells et al. (1999). The survey revealed that the majority of the
children (95%) attended classes more than three times a week and
were seated in the classroom for more than four hours daily (93%).
This shows that children spend a huge part of their school hours in
the classroom. Storr-Paulsen and Aagaard-Hansen (1994) observed
that 8 and 9 year old children often tend to sit for more than an
hour within any given hour and half. According to Dillon (1976),
nursery school children are seated for almost 40% of their time in
the classroom. Sitting still for a long period of time can cause the
blood to move more slowly. Blood pools in the larger veins of the
legs, and clots may form leading to a medical condition known as
deep venous thrombosis (DVT). A large number of the students also
claimed that their classroom furniture was not comfortable.
Additionally, approximately 58% of the children claimed to have
been absent from school at least once in the last 4 weeks, primarily
due to aches and pains. The rating of the severity of the aches and
pains and how often the aches and pains occurred revealed that
over 50% of the children experienced pains and aches in each of the
following major areas of their body: neck area, low back, hips,
buttocks, thighs, wrists, knees, hands, and the ankles. The degree of
pain ranges from slight to unbearable, and often occur either
everyday or sporadically. The result of this survey provided suffi-
cient justification for further research based on the need to provide
effective recommendations for the design of ergonomic-oriented
classroom furniture for the first graders since school children have
been found to often spend over 30% of their time at school (Linton
et al., 1994).
2. Literature review
Several researchers have proposed numerous methodologies for
various furniture designs in the past. Until recently, the design of
school furniture for children has received little or no interest. The
focus of ergonomic design of furniture has been traditionally based
on the design of work furniture based on the anthropometry and
biomechanics of the human body. In order to effectively design the
classroom furniture for first graders, it is important to acquire the
necessary background information which would be useful in
proposing the experimental design methodology. Numerous
researches investigated prolonged sitting in the work place and
proposed design principles for chairs and desks, especially for the
computer workstation (Cook and Kothiyal, 1998; Kumar, 1994;
Burgess-Limerick et al., 1999).
Several research studies have shown that children often remain
seated in the classroom for a considerable amount of time (Linton
et al., 1994; Kumar, 1994). Prolonged sitting position and static
posture in a forward bending manner have been found to be the
major cause of low back pain (Salminen, 1984; Balague et al., 1988;
Troussier et al., 1994). The problem of back pain is not limited to
adults only, as studies have indicated that a huge number of school
children have been reported to have back pains and neck pains
(Niemi et al., 1997; Olsen et al., 1992). All over the world, increasing
population of school children are now noted to be at severe risk of
musculoskeletal injuries, postural stresses and strains which could
occur due to increasing body size, prolonged sitting position and
awkward postures (Evans et al., 1992; Mokdad and Al-Ansari,
2009). Awkward sitting position and posture puts extreme strain
on the muscles, the ligaments and on lumbosacral joints (L5/S1) as
well as other vertebral discs (Bendix, 1987; Brunswic, 1984).
Mandal (1985) and Evans et al. (1992) argued that the occurrence of
low back pain among school children could be linked to improper
designs of school furniture.
The classroom furniture plays a very important role in the
maintenance of good sitting position. Yeats (1997) indicated that
the classroom furniture design serves a vital part in the long-term
sitting posture of children. Unlike adults, proper sitting posture is
found to be more important to children since sitting habits acquired
at this stage may be extremely difficult to change later in life.
Knight and Noyes (1999) identified the major functions of the
school furniture in their research. Classroom furniture is known to
provide support to the children when during class activities or
when writing on the table. In addition to ensuring that distractions
are minimized, comfortable classroom furniture have been noted to
enhance effective learning, since the performances and behaviors
of children can be easily monitored when seated. When designing
classroom furniture, easy mobility of the children should be
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considered since localized muscle fatigue could set in due to pro-
longed immobility (Laville, 1985).
Tichauer (1978) investigated the dynamics of sitting by studying
the mechanics of the human body with respect to the furniture. The
investigation showed that 75% of the entire body weight is sup-
ported by the ischial tuberocities, which are the weight bearing
parts of the pelvis. Excessive compressive stresses occur at this
point; the center of gravity of the seated individual might not be
directly aligned with the tuberocities. As a result of this, the
tuberocities might not be able to provide the full support needed
for the body weight. Branton (1969) argued that the use of the legs
and the back are needed to provide the balance needed when an
individual is seated. Leg support helps to distribute and reduce the
loads in the thighs and buttocks (Nag et al., 2008). Chaffin et al.
(2006) emphasized the need for the feet to be firmly rested on
the floor or foot support in order to prevent the thighs from sup-
porting the weight of the lower leg. Proper sitting posture is
necessary to prevent the backward rotation of the pelvis and
lumbar kyphosis. Support to the sacrum and pelvic areas are
needed by the lumbar lordosis in order to maintain the weight on
the ischial tuberocities. The lumbar lordosis is the normal anterior
curve of the lumbar vertebrae which distributes as much as
a quarter of the weight to posterior thighs (Drummond et al., 1982).
Sitting-up straight is recommended in order to maintain a lumbar
curvature which is assumed as the ideal sitting posture. Unfortu-
nately, this sitting position cannot be fully maintained for a long
period of time (Mandal, 1981). The sit-up straight requirement has
been adopted in the design of school furniture in the United
Kingdom (Karvonen et al., 1962). Sitting in an erect position
without adequate back rest may be difficult to achieve.
Several design standards and guidelines have been proposed for
the development in the classroom furniture in the past. An early
effort in the development of a general standard and guidelines for
the designs of ergonomic-centered classroom furniture includes
the ISO 5970 e1979 (Standards for tables and chairs for educational
institutions). ISO 5970 e1979 was developed by the International
Standards Organization (ISO) based on the need to ensure good
seating postures while in the classroom. Although quite out-dated,
recent researchers have continued to compare their analysis with
the ISO 5970 e1979 anthropometric database (Jung, 2005). In an
effort to improve the level of seating comfort, Bendix et al. (1983)
developed a forward inclined seat at 5
and a table whose height is
a little above the elbow height. A tilted desk with an inclination of
35
e45
was recommended. Although the sloping desk improved
the posture of the subjects studied, the design did not accommo-
date a larger population of school children of different body sizes
and statures. Wall et al. (1991) investigated sitting posture by
developing a desk which was inclined at 10
. Although the design
improved the position and erection of the head and trunk by 6
and
7
respectively when the desk was used, the fixed nature of the
design made it difficult to adjust the angle of inclination for ingress
and egress. Hence, there is a need for the incorporation of adjust-
ability in the design.
The incorporation of adjustability in the design of school
furniture has been emphasized for increased accommodation of
variations in anthropometric measures, and individual differences
in ethnicity and cultural background (Evans et al., 1988; Parcells
et al., 1999). Jeong and Park (1990) emphasized the need to
effectively obtain children's anthropometric measures. Anthropo-
metric measures for children vary across different age groups,
genders, cultures, races and ethnic backgrounds. As a result of this,
it is possible for children's anthropometric dimensions to vary not
only within age groups but within the same class, since a class
could be comprised of children of different races, ethnic back-
grounds, statures and weights. Therefore, it may be impossible for
afixed furniture design to accommodate a large population of
children.
Gender differences should also be considered when designing
classroom furniture based on anthropometric measurements.
Jeong and Park (1990) conducted an observation with school chil-
dren of different gender. They observed that sexual differences
between stature, body mass index (BMI) and other body dimen-
sions played a very significant impact on the results of the exper-
iment. The findings revealed that most boys required higher desk
and chair heights than girls while girls required larger chair depths
and breadths than boys of similar stature. Therefore, in addition to
accommodation of larger population of users, Yeats (1997) sug-
gested that adjustability is also necessary to improve ease of use,
increased comfort, and decrease cases of body aches and pains.
In order to determine the accommodation range and adjust-
ability, anthropometric measurements are necessary. Anthropo-
metric measurements are an important factor that should be taken
into account in school furniture design. In the design of classroom
furniture, specific anthropometric measurements, such as popliteal
height, knee height, buttock-popliteal length and elbow height are
needed for the determination of the furniture dimensions which
are important to achieve the correct sitting posture (Knight and
Noyes, 1999; Parcells et al., 1999; Miller, 2000). Yeats (1997)
argued that good sitting posture is enhanced by classroom activi-
ties, the anthropometric measures of school children as well as the
measures and design features of classroom furniture.
Although adjustability is always incorporated in the design of
the overall height of chairs, unfortunately, the “one-size-fits-all'
methodology is still being used in the design of the seat, arms and
back rests of most chairs. This is often due to the need for low cost
in manufacturing and sales. In 1993, Lane and Richardson con-
ducted an investigative study to determine whether classroom
furniture manufacturing companies in the United States relied on
anthropometric data in their manufacturing processes. The results
of their survey showed that a majority of the furniture manufac-
turers did not base their designs on the appropriate anthropometric
measurements and the ergonomic considerations of their intended
users. Existing designs have remained the same for decades,
despite changes in the individual body sizes of the children.
In developing countries, most classroom furniture has been
found to have caused more distractions and injuries to the children
than the provision of learning support. Hui Zhu et al. (1998) noted
that most classroom furniture in developing countries lacked
quality and are often manufactured with woods which offer very
rough writing surfaces. It is therefore important to design class-
room furniture based on the necessary anthropometric measures.
For the design of desks/ tables, several researchers have incorpo-
rated measurements obtained from the elbow height in their
designs (Parcells et al., 1999). If the elbow height exceeds the height
of a desk or table, the users may tend to reach for the writing
material or the computer keyboard by bending forward. As a result
of this, spinal flexion occurs and the body weight is distributed to
the arms, thereby leading to kyphotic spinal posture with round
shoulders. Chaffinet al. (2006) recommends a shoulder flexion
angle of 25
and a shoulder abduction angle of between 15
and 20
when performing deskwork on a workstation.
In developed European countries like England, Germany and
France, several efforts have been made to introduce uniform
classroom furniture design guidelines and standards. For example,
in England, the New British and European Educational Furniture
Standard, also known as the New European Standards for Class-
room Furniture (EN1729, Parts 1 and 2) was introduced in 2007 for
the design of tables, chairs and workstation desks, based on the
anthropometric measurements of over 1500 children in the United
Kingdom in 2001. This New British and European Educational
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Furniture Standard has been considered as the only compelling
standard for classroom furniture, since it was the first time in over
forty years that an extensive research was conducted in order to
update the anthropometric measurement database of school chil-
dren in the United Kingdom. According to the British Standard
Institute (2007), the first part (Part 1) of the standard ensures
that the size and dimensions of the furniture is in compliance with
the set guidelines. This is necessary to prevent awkward seating
postures which could lead to back pain. The second part (Part 2) of
the standard ensures that the furniture is durable in terms of
strength and stability. Since classroom furniture is often used
continuously, it is important to make sure that the product is
capable of withstanding rigorous use.
The increasing rate of computer usage in the classroom made it
necessary to consider adequate measurements when designing
a workstation. Harris and Straker (2000) found out that over 60% of
children suffer some form of discomfort or the other when using
a desktop computer or a laptop. The findings of the research work
indicated that many school computers are set up without the
necessary ergonomic considerations such as typing postures, and
key board height. This increases the risk of children developing
cumulative trauma disorders such as carpal tunnel and tendonitis.
In an effort to design a desk or a workstation which would be
appropriate for writing and the use of computer at the same time,
Laeser et al. (1998) conducted an experiment based on the evalu-
ation of elementary school children. The results of the study
revealed that most desk/workstations are often too high when
typing on the computer or when looking at the monitor. Several
awkward postures were observed for 95 children in 11 elementary
schools. In a related research study, Saarnia et al. (2009) examined
the sitting postures and its effect on the spine and mobility of
school children when working on computer workstation. Unfor-
tunately, their research indicated that additional improvement to
the existing workstation did not affect the level of comfort of the
children. This paper therefore, intends to draw upon the current
literature by the obtaining the relevant anthropometric measure-
ments of first graders, and proposing design parameters and
dimensions for ergonomics-oriented classroom furniture in order
to reduce back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders.
3. Methodology/experimental design
It may be unrealistic to attempt to develop a classroom furniture
design that “fits all”since children continue to grow and often leave
for the next grade at the end of the academic session. It is therefore,
unwise to design specific or custom made furniture for a particular
elementary school student. This research intends to propose guide-
lines and parameters for thedesign of ergonomic-oriented classroom
furniturewhich would accommodate at least90% of all first graders in
elementary schools across the United States. Twenty (n¼20) chil-
dren,12 males and 8 females, between the ages of 6 and 7 years old,
typically first graders from three elementary schools in the central
Pennsylvania region were randomly selected for the experimental
analysis. Prior to the experiment, an informed consent form stating
the title of the investigation, the objective of the investigation,
procedures to be followed, possible discomforts or risks associated
with the experiment, the benefits of conducting the experiment, the
possible duration of time of the procedures, right to ask questions,
statement of confidentiality, any payment for participation, contact
details of the investigator, nature of participation (voluntary or obli-
gated),as well as injury/litigation (liability) clausewas given toeach of
the subjects and were required to be signed by the subjects aswell as
a parent/guardian. The signed consent forms were collected before
the commencement of the experiment. The experiment was esti-
mated to last 2e3 hours in time duration. Standard anthropometric
measurements were used in obtaining the body dimensions of each
subject and in accordance to measuring techniques proposed by
Parcells et al. (1999), all anthropometric measures were taken with
the subject in a relaxed and exact posture on a flat surface. Excessive
clothing suchas jackets, overalls, socks, and shoes were removedand
the subjects were measured in T-shirts and shorts.
The weight scale was set to zero at the beginning of the exper-
iment in order to reduce measurement errors. In order to maintain
the accuracy in the stature measurement, braids, or hairstyles that
might interfere with the readings were brushed aside or flattened
as much as possible. To obtain the weights, the subjects were toldto
step onto the weighing scale and look straight ahead. For the
stature or height measurement, the subjects were measured
against a board or vertical flat surface (wall) from the top of the
head to the feet. Then a point marker was used to note the highest
point at the top of the head. In addition to stature and weight, other
relevant anthropometric dimensions which are necessary for the
seat and work surface design was obtained using the United States
Army Anthropometric Survey (ANUSR) definition and anthropo-
metric measuring techniques. In 1988 the United States Army
developed over 240 anthropometric measures in order to conduct
a military anthropometric survey of uniformed men and women.
The ANSUR statistical data is based on over 40 anthropometric
surveys of United States military personnel between 1945 and 1988
which comprises of over 75,000 past and present military
personnel (Clauser et al., 1988). An adjustable chair was used to
obtain the seated anthropometric dimensions for each subject
when sitting at a knee flexion angle of 90
. In addition to stature
and weight, the following anthropometric dimensions which are
necessary for the seat and work surface design were obtained.
1. Sitting Height: This is the vertical distance from the tip of the
head to the surface of the sitting object (stool). Using an
anthropometer, the subjects were measured when sitting erect
with their heads in the Frankfort plane, with their thighs
parallel and the feet in line with the thighs, at a knee flexion
angle of 90
. The subjects' shoulders and upper arms are
relaxed and the forearms and hands are extended forward
horizontally with the palms facing each other (Clauser, et al.,
1988). The sitting height is shown in Fig. 1.
2. Eye Height: This is the vertical distance from the sitting surface
to the ectocanthus landmark on the outer corner of the right
eye (ANSUR, 1988). The eye height is shown in Fig 1.
3. Shoulder Height: This is the vertical distance from the top of the
shoulder at the acromion process to the subject's sitting surface
(ANSUR, 1988). The shoulder height is shown in Fig. 1.
4. Elbow Height: This is the vertical distance from the bottom of
the tip of the elbow (olecranon) to the subject's seated surface
(ANSUR, 1988). The elbow height was measured at an elbow
flexion angle of 90
. The elbow height is shown in Fig. 1.
5. Thigh Clearance: This is the vertical distance between a surface
of the stool and the highest point on the top of the right thigh.
Using an anthropometer, the thigh clearance of the subjects
was measured when sitting with their thighs parallel and the
feet in line with the thighs, at a knee flexion angle of 90
. The
thigh clearance is shown in Fig. 1.
6. Popliteal Height: This is the vertical distance from the popliteal
space which is the posterior surface of the knee to the foot
resting surface (Clauser, et al., 1988). The popliteal heights of
the subjects were measured at a knee flexion angle of 90
. The
popliteal height is shown in Fig. 1.
7. Knee Height: This is the vertical distance from the foot resting
surface to the top of the knee cap (Clauser, et al., 1988). This is
measured just above the patella at a knee flexion angle of 90
.
The knee height is shown in Fig. 1.
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8. Buttock-Popliteal Length/Thigh Length: This is the distance from
the posterior surface of the buttock to the posterior surface of
the knee or popliteal surface (Clauser, et al., 1988). The buttock-
popliteal length was measured at a knee flexion angle of 90
.
The buttock-popliteal length is shown in Fig. 1.
9. Hip Breadth: The hip breath is the distance between the right
side of the pelvic and the left side, measured when seated
(Clauser, et al., 1988). The hip breadth is shown in Fig. 1.
10. Knee-to-Knee Breadth: This is the distance from the left end of
the left knee to the right side end of the right knee (Clauser,
et al., 1988). The knee-to-knee breadth is shown in Fig. 1.
11. Upper Arm Length: This is the difference obtained between the
elbow height and shoulder height (Clauser, et al., 1988).
4. Results and discussion
The analysis of the obtained anthropometric data and compu-
tation of descriptive statistics (Mean, Range, Standard Deviation
and Standard Error of the Mean) was conducted using Microsoft
Excel for Windows Operating System/Platform. Table 1 shows the
descriptive statistics of the obtained measurements of the body
dimensions of the subjects.
4.1. Furniture design guidelines
4.1.1. Seat design
For the seat design, three factors of accommodation limits are
considered. These are the seat depth, width and height. In order
to obtain the seat depth, width and height, the following equa-
tions or regression relationships (Equations (1)e(3)) are proposed.
It is assumed that stature is a good predictor of the popliteal
height (PH), and the buttock-popliteal length (BPL) while the BMI
is a good predictor of the hip breadth. The BMI was obtained by
multiplying the weight of each subject by the square of their
respective statures. In establishing a relationship between the
body dimensions, the stature was chosen as the primary predictor
of the other body segments. This is in accordance with the
analysis conducted by Roebuck et al. (1975) which showed that
some of the body segment lengths could be expressed as
a proportion of stature. The seat height is assumed to be
proportional to the popliteal height. Although measured, popliteal
height could also be determined as a function of the stature
(Equation (1)).
Popliteal height ðPHÞ¼aþb*Stature þNð0;sÞ(1)
Fig. 1. Anthropometric measures for furniture design.
Table 1
Anthropometric measures of the body dimensions of the subjects.
Body Dimension Minimum Maximum Mean Range Standard
Deviation
Standard
Error
Stature (cm) 106.68 138.07 120.19 31.39 8.84 1.98
Weight (kg) 19.51 34.03 25.67 14.52 3.76 0.84
Body Mass Index
(BMI)
11.90 21.97 17.98 10.07 2.11 0.47
Elbow Height (cm) 16.43 20.88 18.56 4.45 1.29 0.29
Sitting Shoulder
Height (cm)
36.50 45.11 40.17 8.61 2.55 0.57
Upper Arm
Length (cm)
19.84 25.04 22.36 5.21 1.33 0.30
Hip Breadth (cm) 19.69 27.97 23.42 8.28 2.45 0.55
Sitting Knee
Height (cm)
30.40 38.38 34.13 7.98 2.25 0.50
Sitting Popliteal
Height (cm)
26.14 32.99 29.31 6.86 1.86 0.42
Buttock-Popliteal
Length (cm)
27.20 34.34 30.75 7.14 1.93 0.43
S.A. Oyewole et al. / International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics xxx (2010) 1e11 5
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aand bare constants and N(0, s) indicates that the data is obtained
from a normal distribution.
From the relationship in Equation (1), the seat height can be
determined (Equation (2)).
Seat Height ðSHÞ¼aþb*PH þNð0;sÞ(2)
The seat depth is assumed to be proportional to the buttock-
popliteal length (BPL). The BPL is assumed to be a function of the
stature. Therefore, a relationship between the stature and the BPL
could be established (Equation (3)).
Buttock-Popliteal Length ðBPLÞ¼aþb*stature þNð0;sÞ(3)
In order to determine the seat width, the seat width is assumed
to be proportional to the hip breath (HB). The hip breath is assumed
to be a function of the BMI; therefore, a relationship could be
established to obtain the seat width as shown in Equation (4).
Width or Hip Breath ðHBÞ¼aþb*BMI þNð0;sÞ(4)
In order to determine accommodations for larger population of
users, the following criteria are suggested.
1. The hip breadth (HP) should be shorter than the furniture
width (the shaded area in Fig. 2 shows the anticipated pop-
ulation accommodation).
2. The buttock-popliteal length (BPL) should be bigger than the
depth of the seat (the shaded area in Fig. 3 shows the antici-
pated population accommodation).
3. The seat height (SH) should be greater than the popliteal height
should (the shaded area in Fig. 4 shows the population
accommodation).
In addition to the assumptions made above, the arm rest and the
back rest design are also based on the relationship between the
stature and the shoulder height (for back rest) as well as the rela-
tionship between the stature and the elbow height (for the arm rest).
4.1.2. Work station/desk design
For the design of the workstation desk, it was assumed that the
knee height is proportional to the table height, knee height is
assumed to be a function of the stature. When incorporating adjust-
ability tothe desk design, the preferred angle of inclination shouldbe
between 15
to 20
as recommended by Chaffinetal.(2006).Thiswill
also accountfor the eye level inclination (viewing angle)when gazing
at the computermonitor. Further analysis, using regressionequations
(R
2
-values ranging from 0.70 to 0.93; p<0.0001) of the anthropo-
metric measures provided the following equations:
Popliteal Height ðPHÞ¼0:2705 þ0:24*ðStatureÞ(5)
Buttock-Popliteal Length ðBPLÞ¼0:7188 þ0:2426*ðStatureÞ
(6)
Hip Breadth ðHPÞ¼0:6444 þ0:4729*ðBMIÞ(7)
Shoulder Height ðSHÞ¼0:4416 þ0:3274*ðStatureÞ(8)
Elbow Height ðEHÞ¼0:4142 þ0:21645*ðStatureÞ(9)
Knee Height ðKHÞ¼0:4416 þ0:3274*ðStatureÞ(10)
When designing classroom furniture for children, it is important
to ensure that the undesirable effects of sitting for long periods of
time is reduced by endeavoring to make the furniture fit the user
(Shackel et al., 1976). In some cases, fitting a population rather than
an individual could be much more complex (Melzer and Moffitt,
1997). A design may not fit most of a target population, especially
if the design is based on the average dimensions of the population.
For example, the seat width and height of a particular group of
children may vary based on the individual differences highlighted
earlier on. It is therefore important to consider a better way of
setting the accommodation criteria in order to design for a larger
population size. The design guidelines for the proposed ergo-
nomics-centered classroom furniture was obtained using the
growth charts for boys and girls (2e20 years) developed by the
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the National
Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. The
Fig. 2. Hip breadth accommodation.
Fig. 3. Buttock-popliteal length accommodation.
Fig. 4. Seat height accommodation.
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growth charts are based on the Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age
percentiles (See Figs. 5 and 6).
4.2. Population accommodation guidelines
In order to design the classroom furniture that would accom-
modate a larger population sample (90% of the population of first
graders in the United States), regression equations (5)e(10) were
used for the furniture design limits, taking into consideration the
assumptions made and the necessary constraints. Since adjustability
is incorporated, then the accommodation range is assumed to be
from 5the95th percentile. This means the design intends to fit 90%
of the entire population of first graders in the United States. Using
the growth charts in Figs. 5 and 6, the percentile range and the
following values were obtained as shown in Table 2.
4.2.1. BMI-for-age calculation
The traditional method of BMI calculation was used to deter-
mine the BMI-values for the 5th to 95th percentile first graders. The
5th percentile weight was computed and divided by the square of
Fig. 5. Growth Chart: Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age Percentiles (Boys 2e20 years).
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the 5th percentile stature. This was done for all the age range,
gender and percentiles. The derived BMI-for-age computation is
shown in Table 3.
4.2.2. Accommodation limits
The accommodation limits could be obtained by using the
values for the growth charts in Figs. 5 and 6. The obtained chart
values for the respective percentiles were then incorporated into
the regression equations (5)e(10) in order to determine the
dimensions limits of the classroom furniture. From Table 2 above
(although not very significant), in terms of stature, the 5th
percentile 6 year old male value (105.41 cm) is lesser than the 5th
percentile 6 year old female (106.68 cm). For the 95th percentile
values for 6 year old children; the male value for stature
(124.46 cm) is slightly higher than that of the 95th percentile 6 year
old female (123.19 cm). Another major observation is that of the
weight limits, the 5th percentile value for 6 year old male (16.33 kg)
is slightly higher than the 5th percentile female (15.42 kg).
Fig. 6. Growth Chart: Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age Percentiles (Girls 2e20 years).
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However, the 95th percentile values for 6 year old male and 95th
percentile female for statue are the same (27.22 kg).
For the 7 year olds, a stature measure for the 5th percentile male
(113.03 cm) is the same for the 5th percentile 7 year old female
(113.03 cm). For the 95th percentile values for 7 year old children;
the male value for stature (130.81 cm) is slightly lesser than that of
the 95th percentile 7 year old female (132.08 cm), not a very
significant difference. For weight limits, the 5th percentile value for
7 year old male (18.14 kg) is the same for the 5th percentile female.
Also, the 95th percentile values for 7 year old male and 95th
percentile female for statue are the same (30.84 kg). It should be
noted that when accommodating for 90% of the population, the
values of the lowest 5th percentile and the values of the highest
95th percentile should be considered for stature and weight. Using
the regression equations obtained, the lower limit and the upper
limit could be determined. Tables 4e9show the values obtained
when the lowest 5th percentile and the values of the highest 95th
percentile should be considered for stature, weight and BMI. The
minimum and maximum adjustability ranges to accommodate 90%
population of 1st graders are highlighted in Tables 4e9.
5. Conclusion
The results of the analysis indicate that appropriate ergonomics-
oriented classroom furniture could be designed based on the data
obtained from the intended users. In most cases, improper desk e
chair combination are often the major reasons why children
experience some level of discomfort while in the classroom. Initial
examination of the existing furniture indicated several anomalies
in the design of the classroom benches and desks such as lack of
cushion on the hardwood benches, and lack of backrests. Based on
several complain of body aches and pains from the children,
a survey was conducted to obtain additional information which
could be helpful for the research analysis. Findings from the
questionnaire showed that a large majority of the 126 first graders
surveyed (95%) attended classes more than three times a week and
were seated in the classroom for more than four hours daily (93%).
Also, 58% of the children acknowledged they had been absent from
school at least once in a month due to aches and pains often
associated with their sitting postures while in the classroom.
Table 2
Growth chart values for 1st graders.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
Stature-for-age (cm)
Boys 6 years 105.41 107.95 111.76 115.57 118.11 120.65 124.46
7 years 113.03 115.57 118.11 121.92 125.73 128.27 130.81
Weight-for-age (kg)
Boys 6 years 16.33 17.24 18.60 20.41 21.77 24.49 27.22
7 years 18.14 19.05 20.87 22.68 25.40 28.12 30.84
Stature-for-age (cm)
Girls 6 years 106.68 109.22 111.76 115.57 118.11 120.65 123.19
7 years 113.03 115.57 118.11 120.65 125.73 129.54 132.08
Weight-for-age (kg)
Girls 6 years 15.42 17.24 19.05 20.41 22.68 25.40 27.22
7 years 18.14 19.05 19.96 22.68 25.40 29.03 30.84
Table 3
BMI-for-age for first graders.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
BMI-for-age
Boys 6 years 14.69 14.79 14.88 15.28 15.61 16.83 17.57
7 years 14.20 14.26 14.956 15.26 16.07 17.09 18.03
Girls 6 years 13.55 14.45 15.25 15.28 16.26 17.45 17.93
7 years 14.20 14.26 14.31 15.58 16.07 17.30 17.68
Table 4
Recommended dimension for the seat height adjustability range.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
Popliteal height (cm) efor seat height
Boys 6 years 25.83 26.44 27.36 28.27 28.88 29.49 30.40
7 years 27.66 28.27 28.88 29.79 30.71 31.32 31.93
Girls 6 years 26.11 26.75 27.36 28.27 28.88 29.49 30.10
7 years 27.66 28.27 28.88 29.49 30.71 31.62 32.23
Table 5
Recommended dimension for the seat depth adjustability range.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
Buttock-popliteal length (cm) efor seat depth
Boys 6 years 27.41 28.02 28.93 29.87 30.48 31.09 32.03
7 years 29.24 29.87 30.48 31.39 32.33 32.94 33.55
Girls 6 years 27.71 28.32 28.93 29.87 30.48 31.09 31.70
7 years 29.24 29.87 30.48 31.09 32.33 33.25 33.86
Table 6
Recommended dimension for the seat width adjustability range.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
Hip breadth (cm) - for seat width
Boys 6 years 19.28 19.41 19.51 19.99 20.37 21.84 22.73
7 years 18.69 18.77 19.61 19.96 20.93 22.17 23.29
Girls 6 years 17.91 19.00 19.96 19.99 21.16 22.61 23.16
7 years 18.69 18.77 18.82 20.35 20.93 22.40 22.86
Table 7
Recommended dimension for the back rest adjustability range.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
Shoulder height efor back rest
Boys 6 years 35.64 36.47 37.72 38.96 39.80 40.61 41.86
7 years 38.13 38.96 39.80 41.05 42.29 43.13 43.94
Girls 6 years 36.04 36.88 37.72 38.96 39.80 40.61 41.45
7 years 38.13 38.96 39.80 40.61 42.29 43.54 44.37
Table 8
Recommended dimension for the arm rest adjustability range.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
Elbow height efor arm rest
Boys 6 years 16.28 16.71 17.32 17.96 18.36 18.80 19.43
7 years 17.55 17.96 18.36 19.00 19.63 20.04 20.47
Girls 6 years 16.48 16.92 17.32 17.96 18.36 18.80 19.20
7 years 17.55 17.96 18.36 18.80 19.63 20.27 20.68
Table 9
Recommended dimension for the desk height adjustability range.
Percentile 5th 10th 25th 50th 75th 90th 95th
Knee height efor desk height
Boys 6 years 30.12 30.86 31.98 33.07 33.81 34.54 35.66
7 years 32.33 33.07 33.81 34.93 36.02 36.75 37.49
Girls 6 years 30.51 31.24 31.98 33.07 33.81 34.54 35.28
7 years 32.33 33.07 33.81 34.54 36.02 37.11 37.85
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In summary, this paper analyzed anthropometric information
obtained from the subjects to provide adequate guidelines for the
design of adjustable classroom furniture. This was based on the need
to reducethe level of mismatch betweenthe first graders and thetype
of furniture provided for their use.One of the major objectives of this
research was to propose ergonomic design guideline for classroom
furniture that would accommodate at least 90% of the entire pop-
ulation of elementary school first graders in the United States. Values
from relevant growth charts which comprises of stature-for-age and
weight-for-age percentiles limits for boys and girls of ages 2 to 20
years old was obtained and incorporated into anthropometric equa-
tions (see Equations (5)e(10)) in the quest of obtaining adjustability
ranges for the classroom furniture. In order to accommodate at least
90% of the population of first graders, the following dimensions
obtained from Table s 4e9are recommended (based on a recom-
mended clearance of 1 to 2 cm): Forseat height (25.83e32.23 cm);
seat depth (27.41e33.86 cm); seat width (17.91e23.29 cm); back rest
(35.64e44.37 cm); arm rest (16.28e20.68 cm); and desk height
(30.12e37.85 cm).
Based on the recommended dimensions of the elementary
school furniture design for first graders, it will be easier to produce
adjustable ergonomics-oriented classroom furniture within the
recommended design limits. Even though adjustability could
increase the cost of production, a major benefit of incorporating
adjustability into the furniture design is the opportunity to increase
the accommodation limits. Based on the variability in the body
sizes and dimensions of the students, individual classroom furni-
ture for the children is recommended, as this would provide the
opportunity for each of the children to adjust their desk/worksta-
tion based on their preference or comfort level. This will ultimately
enable the reduction of the severity rate of pains and aches expe-
rienced by the children.
5.1. Future work and limitations of the study
Further evaluations would incorporate additional anthropo-
metric data from other age groups of young elementary school
students, from different parts of the world, with more gender mix
in the experimental design. More gender mix and other individual
differences such as race, age, and more data from multiple
elementary schools would have also improved the quality of the
experiment. In the future, a comparison of the results obtained in
this analysis and the data obtained from ISO 5970 e1979 and the
New British and European Educational Furniture Standard (EN
1729). Although the results of this experimental study show that
stature is a good predictor of a number of other body dimensions
such as popliteal height, elbow height, etc, efforts could be made
to determine other possible predictors such as weight or BMI. In
terms of the hip breath, the body weight could have also been
analyzed as a possible predictor and the relationship obtained
could have been used to compare to that obtained when the BMI
was used.
Although this study proposed classroom furniture design
guidelines to accommodate approximately 90% of the population
of first graders in the United States, significant increase in the
overall accommodation could have been obtained if further
analysis was conducted to investigate the possibility of increasing
the height adjustability limits. This would have further provided
accommodation for extreme individuals within the population.
This design recommended adjustability for all the dimensions of
the classroom furniture. Incorporating too much adjustability
could be extremely costly which could lead to a difficulty in
affordability. The accuracy of the experiment would have also
been improved if the number of experimental subjects had been
increased.
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ARTICLE IN PRESS
Please cite this article in press as: Oyewole, S.A., et al., The ergonomic design of classroom furniture/computer work station for first graders in
the elementary school, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics (2010), doi:10.1016/j.ergon.2010.02.002
