ANTHROPOMETRIC DESIGN OF FURNITURE FOR USE IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ABEOKUTA, SOUTH-WESTERN NIGERIA

摘要

Students sit for most of the time on school furniture in the classroom. However, the design of school furniture in Nigeria using the anihropometric data of the users has yet to be given adequate attention. This study was carried out to obtain anthropometric data of students in higher institutions of learning in Nigeria for the design of ergonomics chairs and tables for use by students in those institutions. Seven hundred and twenty (720) students in three selected institutions participated in the study. Various body dimensions (sitting elbow height, shoulder height, knee height, popliteal height, buttock-popliteal length, stature and body weight) of the students were measured using standard anthropometer and 5~(th), 50~(th) and 95~(th) percentiles of the data obtained were computed using a SPSS 16.0 statistical package. The existing furniture dimensions in the selected institutions were also measured. Based on the obtained anthropometric data, this paper proposes furniture design dimensions for seat height, seat depth, seat width, backrest height (upper), armrest and desk height for students in the selected tertian' institutions. The present study may be a pointer to the effect that in the design of tables and chairs for use in higher institutions, the anthropometric data of the Nigerian students were not considered. It is hereby recommended that similar study! should be carried out in other sections of the country.