Bad Designs on Campus - Submission
Are You Sure You're Short Enough?
Problem description: The male restroom in the Nuclear Engineering Department (Cooley Building) has a shelf which is poorly designed. The shelf is located right behind the right urinal as shown in figures 1 and 2. According to the anthropometric data calculation, the clearance of the shelf which is 61 inches is too short for most males. Most males would have a high risk of bumping their heads onto the shelf when they turn around from the urinal after finishing their “business”. This problem would be eliminated if they turn to their left instead to their right. However, instinctively, people would turn to their right instead to their left, since the distance to the left urinal is very close.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Proposed solution: Considering the upper extreme of male stature height, the 95th percentile of male standing height should be taken into account in this case. Following the anthropometric data table found in the textbook, An Introduction to Human Factors Engineering, 2nd Edition, the 95th male stature height is calculated to be 72.98 inches (obtained by applying the formula X = M + F*s = 68.7 + 1.645 * 2.6 = 72.98). Assuming that most males use a shoe height of about 1 inch, the total standing height of a tall male is 73.98 inches above the floor (72.98 + 1 = 73.98). To ensure safety of the users, the minimum clearance height of the shelf should be 73.98 inches as shown in figure 3.
Figure 3
References
Wickens, Lee, Liu, Becker (2004). Introduction to Human Factors Engineering, 247-252.