engleski

Chair Selection Based on Evaluating Seating Parameters

Sitting down for long periods of time can lead to health problems. While sitting, the pressure is present at contact surfaces due to the basic principle that the body weight is distributed through bones and soft tissue onto the seat and vice versa. This pressure acts on big muscles and big bones so its continuous influence can cause changes in the soft tissue and in bones. Research was done at several workplaces with five different shapes of seats. Testing sample included 37 male and 33 female participants who work while sitting down. Participants were of different age groups and gender. Their anthropometrical characteristics were measured: height, weight, sitting pressure, hip and chest circumference, and body posture while working. Seat characteristics were also analyzed, including: seat dimensions (width, length), seat shape, seat inclination, seat hardness. The main goal of this research was to determine, out of available seats, which seat is acceptable for the given group of participants based on comfort (pressure magnitude and distribution while sitting). The paper uses an original model for evaluating seating parameters when selecting an acceptable chair. Evaluating model uses the theory of graphs in analyzing evaluation criteria. Defining a weighing factor for each analyzed parameter lead to establishing a hierarchy of chairs. The chair with the highest combined weighing factor represents an acceptable type of chair for the given criteria.

chair selection; anthropometrics; contact; pressure distribution; evaluation

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