Journal of Health and Safety at Work

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Introduction: Children have been known to spend most of their time at school. They learn their sitting habits in this period of time. Incorrect sitting postures and inappropriate school furniture can result in abnormalities in the vertebral column, back pain, neck pain, Fatigue and discomfort. Hence, this study was aimed to examine the match between students’ body dimensions and existing benches and desks dimensions in Hamadan female primary schools.

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Material and Method: In this study, 624 students of Hamadan female primary schools were investigated and some of their anthropometric dimensions including shoulder height, elbow height, knee height, popliteal height, popliteal-buttock length and hip breadth were measured. In this sense, a chair (with adjustable height, depth and elbow support) and a caliper with movable jaw were used for measurement of anthropometric dimensions. The measurements were performed in a way that thighs were in full contact with the seat, there was a right angle between the thighs and legs, the feet were in full contact with the movable pedal, the trunk was straight and the back and hips were in full contact with the backrest. Following, the match of the dimensions of existing benches and desks with the appropriate dimensions (based on the students’ anthropometric dimensions) were examined.

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Result: The results showed that the seat height, seat depth, seat width, back rest height, desk height, underneath desk height were in acceptable rangefor 10.1%, 17.3%, 5.6%, 53.5%, 1.9% and 31.1% of students, respectively.

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Conclusion: Despite differences in the body dimensions of primary school students, there is no regularity in using of school furniture. Overall, the dimensions of existing benches and desks are not matched with the anthropometric dimensions of students.

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Introduction: Accidents caused by children’s play equipment are considered a serious threat to children’s health. The aim of this study was to design slide, swing and see-saw based on national standards and children’s anthropometric data.
Material and Methods: The present study is an applied research, in which the design of children’s play equipment, including slides, swing and see-saw was done according to national standards No. 6436-2, 6436-3 and 6436-6, as well as measuring the anthropometric dimensions. All anthropometric data of 385 children aged 2 to 12 years were measured and equipment design was performed using Minitab software.
Results: In the national standards No. 6436-2, 6436-3 and 6436-6, the size of more dimensions required for the design of the slides, swing, and see-saw is not stated. In the present study, the ergonomic and standard design of these types of equipment is shown. Comparison of designed see-saw with see-saw available in parks showed that the length and width of the see-saw should be 0.37 and 0.25 meters, respectively. In the current study, however,  they were 0.24 and 0.35 meters, respectively. Also, the height, width and depth of the swing chair should be 0.2, 0.35 and 0.37 meters, while their actual size in the studied parks was 0.25, 0.42 and 0.31 meters, respectively.
Conclusion: The result of this study is helpful for standard and ergonomic designing of children’s play equipment and is very useful for urban planning. This study emphasizes the revision of national standards.
 

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Introduction: The purpose of the current study was to predict the percentage of the sway index from the static balance point based on the anthropometric dimensions of construction workers.
Material and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on 114 construction workers. First, the construction workers were asked to complete the demographic questionnaire and the inclusion criteria were determined. Then, the anthropometric dimensions were measured. Afterward, the static balance of participants was assessed with their open eyes and standing position using a Stabilometer device. The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression.
Results: 29.8% of construction workers were in weak and very weak classes in terms of static balance. The Pearson and spearman’s correlation coefficient showed a significant relationship between age, weight, and sway index of individuals. In addition, multiple linear regression showed that age, weight, and foot surface of construction workers can predict the percentage of the sway index from the static balance point among construction workers.
Conclusion: The results of the current study indicated that demographic information such as age, anthropometric parameters of weight, and foot surface are effective factors on static balance in a healthy construction workers’ community with a normal body mass index.