Investigation of chair design and muskuloskeletal discomfort of office workers

사무 좌식 작업자의 골격근육계 불편함 분석 및 의자 설계에 관한 연구

The objectives of this study are twofold : (1) to investigate musculoskeletal discomfort for sedentary workers in offices ane (2) to revise the Korean Standard for the design of office chairs in order to reduce or eliminate the physical discomfort or the office workers. Two hundred seventy-one office workers from nineteen different companies companies were selected to evaluate the musculoskeletal discomfort and indibidual features of chair design. A statistical analysis of the survey rebealed that the office currently being used had two major deficiencies such as insufficient adjustability and inappropriate design specifications in ergonomic sense. A stepwise regression analysis showed that the deficiencies on the musculoskeletal discomfort of the workers. Based on the ergonomic design pronciples, was debeloped to revise the Korean Standard for the design specifications of office chairs. An application of the methodology was made amend the design specifications of the four factors such as seat pan height, seat pan width, and seat pan inclunation. Their effects were evident in the musculoskeletal discomfort of the workers.