dc.description.abstract |
The design of classroom desktop-chairs (one size fits all) in many institutions is usually
done with no consideration of anthropometric. This may cause musculoskeletal
disorders and affect learning effectiveness due to sitting for a long time in awkward
position. The main objective of this research was to use the concept of innovative
ergonomics to design and analyse a classroom desktop-chair for students in Uasin-
Gishu County. The specific objectives were: to collect anthropometric data for students
from four selected tertiary institutions; to design a desktop-chair using the collected
anthropometric measurements and to analyse the desktop-chair design using RULA
ergonomic analytical tool. The sample size of 382 was determined according to
Homkhiew et al. (2012). Anthropometric data was collected from a total of 382 students
of both genders from four selected institutions within Uasin-Gishu County. The
selected institutions for the survey were Moi University (MU), University of Eldoret
(UoE), Rift Valley Technical Training Institute (RVTTI) and The Eldoret National
Polytechnic (TENP). All fourteen (14) anthropometric measurements were taken
(stature, sitting height, shoulder height, popliteal height, hip breadth, elbow height,
buttock popliteal length, buttock knee length, thigh clearance, eye height, shoulder
breadth, knee height, body mass and forearm fingertip length) from students with the
help of anthropometric tools. The research applied fundamental engineering principles
of product design and was carried out in compliance with ISO 7250-1:2017. The
anthropometric data from four subject institutions were compared using one-way
ANOVA analysis. The data obtained was analysed using Minitab 17.0 statistical
package, to get the mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, 5 th , 50 th and 95 th
percentiles. Using the collected anthropometric data, a students’ desktop-chair was
proposed. The engineering design software, SolidWorks 2019, was used to develop four
different conceptual designs of the desktop-chair from which one option was selected
through Concept Scoring Method (CSM). To select the best option, relevant data was
collected from students through a survey. The best selected desktop-chair concept was
analysed using ergonomic software, Computer-Aided Three-dimensional Interactive
Application (CATIA) based on Rapid Upper Limb Analysis (RULA). The tests results
were failed to reject the null hypothesis (e.g., popliteal height p = 0.39), which meant
that there was no significant difference among the anthropometric data sets. The
analysed anthropometric data set was used to design, an innovative ergonomically
suitable classroom desktop-chair. The results show that the proposed desktop-chair
design gave better result where the final score was reduced from 4 to 1, which meant
the chances of musculoskeletal disorders could be reduced. In conclusion, one type of
ergonomically suitable classroom desktop-chair design was proposed to improve the
match between classroom desktop-chairs dimensions and students' anthropometric
characteristics. Further work on prototyping, usability and durability testing should be
carried out. |
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