Arezoo Sammak Amani, Mohammad Amin Mououdi, Morteza Mahdavi, Fariba Ghaempanah,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: For many employees, students and “Behind the desk jobs”, most of the daily work is done while sitting on a chair and behind a desk. This happens while many studies are associating long-term sedentary posture with musculoskeletal and cardiovascular diseases, etc. The aim of the present research is to design a tool that helps to change the working posture of people who work at sedentary workstations from sitting to stand-sit posture.
Methods: The measurements needed to design a desk converter were extracted from the existing anthropometric data of the Iranian community between the ages of 6-19 and 20-60 for both sexes, using 4 anthropometric parameters of elbow (to floor) height sitting, eye height sitting, elbow height standing and eye height standing. These values were used to obtain the difference between the required work surface of the hand while sitting and standing (keyboard position) and the difference of the required work surface of the eye while sitting and standing (display position). Due to the adjustability of this tool, 5th percentile of women and 95th percentile of men were used to achieve the required range of changes.
Results: The desk converter constitutes two parts, 1. Top surface (meant for monitor) and 2. the keyboard tray. The difference in the height of these two surfaces was calculated 12cm. The maximum height of the desk converter (adjustable range) for both age groups was 68 cm due to changes in sitting and standing elbow height. The width and depth of the desk are set at 90 by 50 cm, and the keyboard and mouse surface, with a width equal to the desk’s and a depth of 20 cm, creates sufficient and comfortable space for users.
Conclusion: It is envisioned that by using this tool and changing the posture of individuals from an entirely sitting posture to standing and sitting alternation, a contribution to the reduction of musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, diabetes and cancer problems can be made.
Mrs Laleh Nazari, Dr Azadeh Shahcheraghi, Dr Iraj Etessam,
Volume 9, Issue 3 (12-2021)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Job satisfaction and improving employee performance due to direct relationships with individual and environmental factors is one of the most important issues in optimizing the industrial environment. Since the main lever of decreasing or increasing productivity is human resources, one of the issues that will engage the leading managers in the coming decade is trying to increase employee productivity. Regarding the disposal of some affairs to the private sector and lack of adequate health supervision, in some cases, we witness an increase in this disorder in our country. The physical environment of the built environment affects mental health directly and indirectly, meaning that the physical environment, such as the residence and workplace, is a place for human life and some of its psychological effects are unknown.
Methods: The purpose of this research is to explain the model optimization model of labor and the industrial environment through architectural standards. This research is an applied research. In this research, the opinions were gathered through interviews. Then using grounded theory and open, axial and selective coding, the model was developed. In the following, confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the validity of the items by Lisrel software.
Results: The results showed that indices such as environmental and physical ergonomics, visual contrast of space, environmental psychology, spatial separation of space, attention to voice and color are influential.
Conclusion: Psychological comfort is an inevitable aspect of user satisfaction studies. These findings help designers, architects, planners, and facility managers to develop workplace design principles.
Morteza Mahdavi, Arezo Sammak Amani, Mohammad Amin Mououdi, Hadi Asghari,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Providing safety for human resources in the industry is very important. Safety shoes are one of the most common PPEs that protect the foot against potential hazards. This study aimed to evaluate the discomfort and usability of safety shoes in different industries of Mazandaran province to find gaps in the quality of design and improve the design of safety shoes.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study and was conducted in 2021.This study included employees of 11 different industrial companies that used seven safety shoe brands. They answered two researcher-made questionnaires, LPD (discomfort and general satisfaction) and SFUQ (usability). Data analysis was performed with Spearman rank correlation coefficient while Pearson correlation coefficient, and ANOVA test were also performed.
Results: In total, 226 men with a mean age of 36.33 ± 7.4 years were included in this study. The participants reported the lowest usability for the brand G (3.3 and 3.99), and the least discomfort and the most usability index with the brand A (1.2 and 5.35). Overall, the highest satisfaction was reported for brand A and the lowest satisfaction to brand G.
Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that the main problem in comfort and usability is probably related to shoe molds because the manufacturers of safety shoes import molds from abroad that do not fit the anthropometric characteristics of Iranian users’ feet.
Solmaz Tabe Afshar, Sahar Toofan, Arash Saghafi Asl,
Volume 10, Issue 2 (9-2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Undoubtfuly, people spend a significant portion of their time in workplaces. Many factors affect the health and well-being of employees. The present study aimed to identify the architectural problems of the environment by examining the symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome and ranking the parameters influenced by five physical factors (thermal comfort, noise, lighting, layout-ergonomics and decoration).
Methods: The present descriptive-analytical research was carried out in the summer of 2021. The statistical population included 52 employees of Urmia Engineering Organization Building which is based on Morgan's table and a sample size consisting 46 people was randomly selected. The required data were collected through a questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation) and Friedman test.
Results: Considering the average ranks, symptoms of fatigue (4.47), muscle pain (5.47), headache (5.87), high stress (6.14) and poor concentration (7.45), along with some defined parameters for each of the factors, including overcrowding and lack of speech privacy (78.12%), the noise of people's conversation (62.93%), improper workplace temperature in winter (58.59%) and summer (49.91%), inappropriate placement of uses and allocation of inadequate space for people and equipment (49.91%) played the most significant role.
Conclusion: The results indicated that the inefficient design of the environment and non-observance of ergonomic principles as a result of unprincipled renovations regardless of the nature of the work and its requirements, inappropriate placement of uses, the non-standard distribution of employees in an inflexible environment, lack of speech privacy and crowding were identified as the most important causes of the symptoms.
Narges Adabi, Hassan Sabourimoghaddam, Abbas Bakhsheepour Roodsari,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Human factors are critical in the design and development of various products, but wideness and unclarity of different aspects of these factors make it difficult to extract demands of users. Studying emotional aspects of users' behavior in interaction with products, as well as interviewing them, is considered as an efficient tool in extracting design demands. This study aims to integrate the application of task analysis and the measuring of emotional aspects to determine the users’ emotional states in the different stages; and therefore extract the user satisfaction criteria.
Methods: This research has a descriptive/ exploratory approach. In this practical study, the use of two everyday tools for chopping onions is analyzed. 20 users of these tools were non-randomly selected to participate in the test and interview. Users performed the task with each tool, and the process was recorded by a camera. After performing the task, subjects completed self-assessment questionnaire and then, an interview was conducted about their experience of the tools usage. Parametric t test was used to evaluate results of the questionnaire and compare averages.
Results: Findings of the emotional questionnaire showed that the emotional states of people in different stages of task are significantly different from each other. The determined emotional states, showed the weaknesses and the advantages of the tools studied. By analyzing videos, interviews and surveys, users' demands were extracted. The extracted features were categorized based on the work steps.
Conclusion: Using this method can reveal precise details of users’ needs concerning product category, which can be used as a suitable tool for designers and researchers in the field of user experience.
Mahsa Niknezhad, Ali Faraji,
Volume 10, Issue 3 (12-2022)
Abstract
Objectives: Healthy air is free of any pollutants, including odors, harmful gasses, dust and viruses, especially corona. This healthy air is provided by a purifier device. One of the problems of metropolises is the lack of healthy air, which is one of the most important human needs. The aim of this study was to design a new home air purifier with interactive and ergonomic features.
Methods: The purpose and nature of this research are applied and qualitative-descriptive, respectively. A survey method is used to collect data. The most important tool in the field study is verbal-visual (researcher-made questionnaire) and has benefited from the analysis of relevant experts, Delphi group. Its design method was the so-called Design up (Tarrahi Nameh in Persian) where it is based on the interaction design and user-centered approach and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to evaluate the different stages of the project.
Results: The achievement of this research is a new home air purifier with interactive and ergonomic features with Nik mark. On the one hand, it is easy to use and accelerates the purification operation with a larger area than the existing devices through different filters, and on the other hand, it is easy to assemble, economical and optimally designed. It has automatic and manual adjustment of fan speed and remote control, it has the ability to be used standing and wall-mounted, and it is environmentally friendly.
Conclusion: Eventually this design offered effectiveness, efficiency, safety/comfortability, utility, learnability and memorability as elements of usability. It also demonstrates features such as visibility, feedback, constraints, adaptability and affordance as the goals of interaction design. Finally, this design conducted a satisfactory user experience.
Mohammad Amin Mououdi, Arezoo Sammak Amani, Mohammad Taghipour,
Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: Nowadays, workers are less mobile and more sedentary due to the use of modern technologies in the workplace, and the complications resulting from static work and fixed posture have caused numerous disorders, including musculoskeletal disorders. This study was conducted to evaluate the comfort and usability of the ergonomic sit-stand desk converter with the aim of preventing disorders caused by constant sitting in workers.
Methods: 30 employees and faculty members of a university voluntarily participated in this study and provided informed consent. After the necessary explanations, subjects were provided with two researcher-created questionnaires ( Local Perceived Discomfort (LPD) and Sit-Stand Desk Converter Usability Questionnaire (SSDCUQ)), two methods of posture analysis, two methods of Workstation evaluation and general satisfaction along with 20-8-2 software and an ergonomic desk converter. After the test period, the data was analyzed using SPSS version 22 software and statistical tests such as mean, standard deviation, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient and Pearson correlation coefficient.
Results: The overall mean LPD in the different body parts was 0.48 ± 0.87, indicating that the converter functions in the range of no problem to very little discomfort. The average overall satisfaction with the function of the converter was 3.18 ± 1.08 ,which is in the medium to good range. When analysing the different sitting and standing postures, a significant correlation was also found between the different situations of using the converter (P<0.0005), which indicates an improvement in sitting and standing posture while using the converter.
Conclusion: Height-adjustable workstations are a good choice to reduce sitting time and improve posture. Despite the improvement in sitting and standing posture when using the converter, there are limitations, such as ignoring the software warnings for sitting and standing in the mechanical converter studied.
Leila Sadat Razavi Manesh, Kamal Azam, Seyed Abolfazl Zakerian, Payam Khanlari,
Volume 11, Issue 3 (12-2023)
Abstract
Objectives: Signs and symbols are used to inform how different tools work. Considering that washing machines are a widely used device and tool in today's life, the present study was conducted to determine the level of comprehension of “Saraye-Irani” visitors regarding the symbols placed on Iranian washing machines.
Methods: The number of 300 people who referred to "Seraye-Irani" located in Qom city participated in this study. A researcher-made checklist based on the ISO 9186-1 2007 standard was used to collect the required data. After the checklist was approved by the experts, it was distributed among the participants and they were asked to write down the meaning of each symbol in front of it. The gathered data were analyzed in SPSS version 22 software using the Chi-square and Fisher's tests.
Results: The results showed that the symbol of "wrinkle-free washing" with a comprehension rate of 70% was the only symbol that the participants had a good comprehension of. However, the participants' comprehension of the other 13 symbols in question was below the standard level. The understanding of symbols of "extra rinse" (P=0.016), "cold water wash" (P=0.037), "child lock" (P=0.001), and "full power wash" (P=0.044) decreased with increasing age. Moreover, individuals with higher education levels had a better understanding of symbols (P=0.001).
Conclusion: Among the 14 symbols measured in the present study, only one symbol had an acceptable level of comprehension. Therefore, according to the widespread use of washing machines, to optimize the use of this tool, it seems necessary to design and implement the necessary training to familiarize and understand these symbols.
Seyyed Abbas Farjad Pezeshk, Farideh Aghahasani, Mohammad Yousefi,
Volume 12, Issue 2 (7-2024)
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Using a backpack with a hip belt limits hip movements and disrupts hip and trunk coordination. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effect of common mechanisms in the design of hip belts in mountaineering backpacks on the coordination between trunk and pelvis organs during walking.
Methods: The research method was semi-experimental and was conducted on 16 men. Three types of backpacks with different waist belts were used. Participants carried backpacks with a load of 13 kg. The continuous relative phase and its variability were used to check the coordination. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation and analysis of variance with repeated measures were used to compare variables in four cases.
Results: According to the results, there was a difference between the level of coordination in two conditions without a backpack and with a normal backpack, so in the condition of a normal backpack coordination decreased significantly (P<0.05). The results also indicated that the variability in coordination increases after using backpacks with movable hip belts and cross frames compared to walking without a backpack (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Based on the existing findings, backpacks with a cross-movable frame try to maintain the antiphase coordination between them by creating freedom of movement in the two organs of the trunk and pelvis. It also creates more flexibility by increasing variability in coordination.
