A literature review of the anthropometric studies of school students for ergonomics purposes: are accuracy, precision and reliability being considered?

BACKGROUND: Despite offering many benefits, direct manual anthropometric measurement method can be problematic due to their vulnerability to measurement errors. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this literature review was to determine, whether or not the currently published anthropometric studies of school children, related to ergonomics, mentioned or evaluated the variables precision, reliability and/or accuracy in the direct manual measurement method. METHODS: Two bibliographic databases, and the bibliographic references of all the selected papers were used for finding relevant published papers in the fields considered in this study. RESULTS: Forty-six (46) studies met the criteria previously defined for this literature review. However, only ten (10) studies mentioned at least one of the analyzed variables, and none has evaluated all of them. Only reliability was assessed by three papers. Moreover, in what regards the factors that affect precision, reliability and accuracy, the reviewed papers presented large differences. This was particularly clear in the instruments used for the measurements, which were not consistent throughout the studies. Additionally, it was also clear that there was a lack of information regarding the evaluators’ training and procedures for anthropometric data collection, which are assumed to be the most important issues that affect precision, reliability and accuracy. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results it was possible to conclude that the considered anthropometric studies had not focused their attention to the analysis of precision, reliability and accuracy of the manual measurement methods. Hence, and with the aim of avoiding measurement errors and misleading data, anthropometric studies should put more efforts and care on testing measurement error and defining the procedures used to collect anthropometric data

Accuracy, precision and reliability in anthropometric surveys for ergonomics purposes in adult working populations: A literature review

Anthropometric surveys are the most common method of gathering human morphometric data, used to design clothing, products and workspaces. The aim of this paper was to assess how current peer reviewed literature addresses the accuracy, reliability and precision regarding manual anthropometric surveys applied to adult working populations in the field of ergonomics. A literature review was performed in two electronic databases for finding relevant papers. A total of 312 papers were reviewed, of which 79 met the inclusion criteria. The results shown that the subjects of these publications are poorly addressed, so that only 27 studies mentioned at least one of the terms and none of the studies evaluated all of the terms. Only one paper mentioned and assessed precision and reliability of the measurement procedure. Furthermore, none of the publications evaluated accuracy. Moreover, the reviewed papers presented large differences in the factors that affect precision, reliability and accuracy. This was particularly clear in the measurer technique/training, measurement tools, subject posture and clothing. Researchers in this area should take more rigorous approaches and explicit indicators with their results should be presented in any report. Relevance for industry: It is important that scientific literature related to manual anthropometric measurements uses methods for assessing measurement error, since these data are often used to design clothing and workspaces as well as to calibrate non manual methods such as 3D scanners.</p

The Average Man Does Not Exist

Public health will improve if the prevention means take care of the variation in human characteristics and do not only consider the average or reference man [...

Dutch students 1986 (DINED - anthropometric database)

This study is the result of a third year practicum with Delft Industrial Design Engineering students, measurements on students are done in three successive years

The GENIE workshop and their contribution to curricula for inclusive design

The GENIE (Gerontechnology Education Network In Europe) Thematic Network project was established to improve the quality of education in gerontechnology and to promote its acceptance across institutions of higher learning. A key component of the final GENIE meeting in Helsinki, August 2001, consisted of a number of Workshops spanning different age groups and disciplines. The purpose of these workshops was to provide an experimental and learning opportunity, enabling students to work together with older people to identify potential design solutions. The final outcome of the workshops was in the form of an idea for a new product, technology, service, system, or environment. Since the focus of the methodology used was to involve the user group of older persons in all stages of the design process: (i) obtaining information on a specific topic in relation to the users, (ii) identifying users’ requirements, (iii) translating them into realistic designs, (iv) discussing their utility and usability with the seniors, (v) refining the designs, and (vi) later assessing whether the needs are being met, these outcomes matched to the requirements of the seniors and resulted in valuable solutions for this user group. As an example of the methodology, the mobility theme will be treated. The paper will conclude with suggestions emerging from the workshop which can contribute to key knowledge and skills for curricula in inclusive design

Dutch adults (DINED - anthropometric database)

The most recent version of the DINED-series was based on two sources. The first is the Geron-project 1993-1998 of the TU Delft Ergonomics group (see also the Geron 1998 table), which provides the basic body dimensions. Second source is the Caesar-project from TNO Human Factors Soesterberg, which provides the circumferences. (2004

A comparison between Chinese and Caucasian head shapes

Univariate anthropometric data have long documented a difference in head shape proportion between Chinese and Caucasian populations. This difference has made it impossible to create eyewear, helmets and facemasks that fit both groups well. However, it has been unknown to what extend and precisely how the two populations differ from each other in form. In this study, we applied geometric morphometrics to dense surface data to quantify and characterize the shape differences using a large data set from two recent 3D anthropometric surveys, one in North America and Europe, and one in China. The comparison showed the significant variations between head shapes of the two groups and results demonstrated that Chinese heads were rounder than Caucasian counterparts, with a flatter back and forehead. The quantitative measurements and analyses of these shape differences may be applied in many fields, including anthropometrics, product design, cranial surgery and cranial therapy.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye