Bad Designs on Campus - Submission
Your Shoulder Says: “OUCHHH!!! &%@^%%$*!!!! IT HURTSSS!!!”
Problem description: The tables in classroom 1940 of Nuclear Engineering Department, as shown in figure 1, are standing at 32.5 inches. They are higher than the recommended height which is supposed to be slightly lower than the average seated elbow height. This may cause localized muscle fatigue, particularly on the shoulders, and other related health problems in the long run, especially since students tend to spend long periods of time in same position during classes.
Figure 1
Proposed solution: The best solution in this case is to have individual, height adjustable tables for each student to match their unique body dimensions. However, this is obviously too costly to implement. Since the height of the table above the ground is recommended to be slightly lower than the average seated elbow height, the next best alternative would be to lower the tables. As mentioned in the textbook, An Introduction to Human Factors Engineering, the average seated elbow height of the mixed population is 9.3 inches from the chair. The height of the ground to the seats used in the classroom is 19 inches. Hence, the appropriate table height should be 28.3 inches as shown in figure 2.
Figure 2
References
Wickens, Lee, Liu, Becker (2004). Introduction to Human Factors Engineering, 247-252.