Abstracto

Mismatch between Office Furniture and Anthropometric Measures in Ghanaian Institutions

George Adu, Sylvia Adu

Workers spend about six to eight hours per day sitting down while doing their institution work.Mismatch between anthropometric dimensions and consumer products may cause health problems in human body.This study aimed to investigate whether institutions furniture dimensions match with Ghanaian worker’s anthropometric characteristics in the Kumasi district of the Ashanti region in Ghana. A sample of 261 workers ( 163 males & 98 females ) ageing between 24 to59 years were selected and analyzed on the basis of their anthropometry, it was found that the five different models of furniture used were made without any anthropometric considerations and were found to be incompatible with the user population.. It is possible that the high mismatch percentage found between furniture and workers’ anthropometry can be associated to the fact that the acquisition and selection of the furniture was made without any ergonomic concern or criteria.