Quantifying Body Shape Variation for Harness Sizing Development for Female Workers

摘要

Updated fall-arrest-harness sizing configurations are needed to accommodate women in the current workforce, and the successful design of the configurations relies on quantitative data of human body shape variation. This study investigates body shape factors associated with harness-fit problems and develops a harness sizing protocol for women. An Elliptic Fourier Analysis (EFA) procedure with 123 coefficients was developed to quantify torso-shape effect on harness fit, using 3-dimensional torso scan data and harness-torso fit scores of 108 women. The EFA coefficients were then applied to 302 representative female body scans from a national database to establish a sizing system. Study outcome suggests a system of 3 sizes; the adjustment ranges of the back, chest, and cross-chest, and front straps are within the industry common practice length of 17 cm expectation, and the thigh and hip straps are in the 23 cm adjustment range. A sizing chart is proposed accordingly.