Current anthropometric data in standards: indispensablefor occupational safety and health

Anthropometric data are required in numerous areas, including that of the safe and healthy design of products. These data must therefore also be included in standards. The recent KAN Report 44 on the subject of “Anthropometric data in standards” provides information on how complete and up-to-date information can be added to the body of standards in the interests of occupational safety and health.

People in Germany are becoming taller and broader. This observation was recently confirmed scientifically by a series of anthropometric measurements (measurement of approximately 13,000 Germans on behalf of the automotive and garments industries). Anthropometry is the “study and measurement of the physical dimensions and mass of the human body and its constituent (external) parts“ (DIN EN ISO 15535 (2008): “General requirements for establishing anthropometric databases“). Anthropometric data (e.g. eye level, grip circumference, etc.) have an important function in the context of occupational safety and health. They are required in all standards which contain information on the interface between human beings and work equipment, and contribute to products being dimensioned (for example the level of inspection windows and the diameter of operating levers) such that the safety and health of users is not at risk.

Study cuts through the thicket of data

Body height and waist circumference are just two of 130 anthropometric dimensions for which values are determined and included in standards. Of these 130 anthropometric dimensions, 56 can be found in the generic standard EN ISO 7250. The remainder are distributed over a large number of other standards. The study, conducted by Institut ASER on behalf of KAN (Dr H. Gebhardt, Institut ASER, Wuppertal: KAN Report 44 Anthropometric data in standards (pdf)), provides an overview of the anthropometric dimensions contained in standards.

Tables make these anthropometric data more accessible. At the same time, however, defi cits are evident, indicating the need for review of whether amendments and updates are necessary.

Standards development requires up-todate and representative data

The fact that the data are distributed over such a large number of standards is one of the main problems cited by the study: this situation leads to the data not always being comparable and in some cases being contradictory, for example in terms of the survey methods and the population upon which they are based.

A further problem is the currency of the data.

More recent and more comprehensive data can be found only in a national standard (DIN 33402, containing data from 1999-2002), and relate solely to the population resident in the Federal Republic of Germany. For the “European population“ and “world population“ groups, no concrete information is available on the period over which the data were recorded; they probably date back to the period 1965-1985.

Based upon these findings, the following recommendations have been formulated for further improvements to the body of standards in the area of anthropometrics:

• Generic standards: It would be desirable for all anthropometric values and definitions to be made available within a small number of generic standards. To date, the generic European and international standards contain only a subset of the anthropometric data required for standardization. As a result, product standards often refer to data which are out of date or of uncertain origin.
• Product standards: During the development of product standards, anthropometric data should wherever possible be taken from the generic standards; where this is not the case, at least the source, the point in time of the survey and the user group studied should be stated.
• DIN Technical Report: A DIN Technical Report should be produced to assist in the application of anthropometric data. It should provide an explanation to all standards experts and designers of how anthropometric factors are to be considered for certain purposes. This includes, for example, allowances for clothing (e.g. for safety footwear or protective helmets), room for movement or special groups of persons.
• Updating: Standards containing anthropometric data which were published over 10 years ago should be brought into line with up-to-date anthropometric data. For this purpose, all available anthropometric data should be employed, or if appropriate new data obtained.

KAN Report 44 is can be downloaded (in German, summary in English) (pdf) or ordered free of charge from the KAN Secretariat.

Dr. Anja Vomberg
vomberg@kan.de