Anthropometry in ergonomics (Answer in 150 words)

- Anthropometry in ergonomics (Answer in 150 words)
Introduction
Ergonomics fits equipment and workspaces to the user rather than the reverse, and anthropometry supplies the dimensions on which that fitting depends.
Body
1. The measurements: structural dimensions such as stature, sitting and eye height, elbow rest height, popliteal height and grip diameter, taken to standard landmarks with anthropometer and calipers; and functional dimensions such as reach envelope, grip strength and joint range. Data are expressed as means and as percentiles.
2. Design principles served: design for the extreme, with clearances such as legroom set by the 95th percentile and reaches such as control placement by the 5th; design for adjustability across that range in seats and workstations; and design for the average only where neither constraint binds.
3. Applications and errors: workstation layout, tractor and vehicle cabs, hand tools, school furniture and protective equipment sizing. Using European or American data for Indian workers produces systematic mismatch, and the secular trend in stature makes old surveys unsafe.
Conclusion
Ergonomics fails where the population measured is not the population served. Locally collected, current percentile data are the precondition for design that reduces fatigue and injury.