When we discussed the importance of comfort in daily activities, of course, we agree when the body also requires the convenience to perform the functions of organs such as the movement of the body and its effects on the body. In the assessment of the comfort of a product that you have to pay attention to one of them by way of measurement. This measurement of the human body is what we later call anthropometry. With the right knowledge of anthropometry, we can optimally design a product, such as industrial, furniture, fashion, ergonomic or architectural products.
Later with the right measurements in a product design plan, it is expected that the equipment you produce will meet ergonomic principles. Because when you pay attention to the importance of ergonomics in the products you make, it will indirectly impact on increasing the selling power of the product.
Ergonomic considerations in products require anthropometry. With this anthropometric science, the ergonomic element in a production process will be fulfilled. Therefore every product design, both simple and complex products must be guided by the wear anthropometry.
What is the definition of Anthropometry?
The word anthropometry itself comes from the Greek words “anthropos” (human) and “metron” (size). Generally explained, anthropometry is a study that is closely related to the measurement of the dimensions of the human body. And anthropometry itself is part of ergonomics that is specialized in studying body size.
Anthropometry is generally used to consider ergonomics or whether the product design or work system. The anthropometric application itself has long been used by humans for product assessment so that the product still holds the ergonomic principle in design and work system.
So what is the function of anthropometry to produce product designs?
The anthropometric aspects in a product design process are important factors in supporting the increase in comfort and safety of the production process. The point is that every product should be guided by anthropometry and ergonomics as much as possible. In calculating the data, there are various kinds of factors that influence the anthropometric data produced, such as Age, Gender, Ethnicity (Ethnicity), Occupation.
These measurements can be said to be relatively easy if the individual data is taken. But the problem is that the more the number of people, the more visible the variation is. Therefore we need anthropological measurement tools that can help us in collecting data, here are examples of these tools:
1. Goniometer
A tool used to measure the scope of motion of a joint. Goniometry is related to measuring angles, especially angles produced from joints through the bones of the human body. The point of this tool is used to collect anthropometric data focusing more on the human body curves.
2. The Anthropometric Chair
The Anthropometry Chair is used to measure human data in a sitting position. The data obtained is usually used to design furniture products.
With this data from the anthropometric chair, the products that are made will have the right size with the users and are expected to make users feel comfortable and safe so that they feel comfortable to linger with your products.
Then what is the connection between the anthropometric chair and the furniture product?
For those of you who explore several fields such as industrial design, architecture, interior design, and furniture products, of course, understand that measurement is very important. Because in these fields, body dimension data is needed to produce optional products.
According to Sutalaksana (1979) and Sritomo (1995) in anthropometry, there are 3 basic philosophies for the application of anthropometric data to design furniture products that are guided by ergonomics:
1. Designing products with extreme sizes.
An example is the determination of the minimum size of the width and height of the emergency door.
2. Designing products that are operated in a certain size range.
An example of this philosophy is the design of a car seat that can be moved forward or backward, and the angle of the backrest can be changed.
3. Designing a product with an average size.
With examples of the design of public facilities such as public toilets, waiting chairs, and lobby tables.
To obtain an optimal design of furniture products, then the things that must be considered are factors such as the length of the body dimensions of both the static and dynamic positions. The measurements themselves include the standing position, sitting position, and face area. So we can conclude that anthropometric data can determine the shape and dimensions of the product you are designing. In this case, the product design must be able to accommodate the dimensions of the largest population that will use the product you designed.
But at the moment, there are more furniture product manufacturers that we encounter, but there is still little awareness of the importance of ergonomic principles. Then you want to know how to make a product that is valuable?, so you are expected to be able to create a product that will be loved by customers.
