SEATING COMFORT SATISFACTION LEVEL OF OFFICE WORKERS AND THEIR EXPECTATIONS FROM AN OFFICE CHAIR
Year 2020,
, 72 - 77, 30.06.2020
Münire Sibel Çetin
,
Gülseren Karabay
,
Hasan Öztürk
,
Gülseren Kurumer
Abstract
Seating comfort is related with the individual’s office chair features, user features and the time that is spent sitting on an office chair. The increase of the working hours at the offices leads to a variety of musculoskeletal disorders caused by the lack of improper workplace design and business equipment. The aim of this study is to investigate the discomfort complaints about the office chairs and the expectations of participants from an office chair and to determine the significate user and task features which affect the overall satisfaction from the office chair. This study is part of a continuing project, which seeks to design an office chair considering the discomforts and expectations in terms of structural design and textile design. Based on the results of the survey, an office chair which would is prospected to satisfy the expectations of the respondents will be designed. A survey was applied to randomly selected 382 respondents to determine the overall satisfaction level of respondents from their own current office chairs, the features of current their office chairs, the textile materials used on their office chair and their expectations from an office chair. It was found out that 74.89% of women and 58.05% of men were not satisfied with their office chairs. 68.75 % of the staff, who were not satisfied with their chairs, thought that their discomforts were caused by their office chairs. Besides, the results stated that textile materials used on office chair affect the comfortability of the chair and it is also determined that there are some expectations from the textile materials which have to be covered.
Supporting Institution
Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Destekleme Birimi
Project Number
2013.KB.FEN.36
Thanks
This study was completed as part of the first author’s doctoral dissertation at Dokuz Eylul University the Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences. This work was supported by Dokuz Eylul University Department of Scientific Research Projects Funding (Project No.:2013.KB.FEN.36).
We thank to Olgun ALTAY, M.Sc. student of Mechatronics Engineering, for his assistance in the survey.
We thank to Dokuz Eylul University, Statistic, Risk and Actuary Applied Research Center (IRAMER) which contributed to the reliability analysis and evaluation of data of the survey.
References
- Adu G, Adu S, Effah B, Frimpong-Mensah K, Darkwa NA (2014) Office furniture design – correlation of worker and chair dimensions. International Journal of Science and Research, 3(3), 709 – 715.
- Askew R, Carlberg S (2016) Office chairs in circular business models. Master of Science Thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Buell J, Merchant M, Oeser M, Smith J, Spilka J, Wood J, Wydysh J (2014) Descriptive analysis of seat ergonomics among Utica College population. Doctoral Dissertation, Utica College, Utica, New York, United States.
- De Looze MP, Kuijt-Evers LF, Van Dieen JAAP (2003) Sitting comfort and discomfort and the relationships with objective measures. Ergonomics, 46(10), 985-997. https://doi.org/10.1080/0014013031000121977
- Dhingra HS, Tewari VK, Singh S (2003) Discomfort, pressure distribution and safety in operator's seat-a critical review. Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR Journal of Scientific Research and Development, 5, 1-6.
- Goossens RHM, Netten MP, Van der Doelen B (2012) An office chair to influence the sitting behavior of office workers. Work 2012: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation, 41, 2086-2088. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2012-0435-2086
- Helander MG, Zhang L (1997) Field study of comfort and discomfort in sitting. Ergonomics 40(9), 895-915. https://doi.org/10.1080/001401397187739
- Hwang SC, Choi Y (2011) Modular design of a product to maximize customer satisfaction with respect to body size: A case study for designing office chair. International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing, 12(5), 791-796. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-011-0105-9
- Mueller GF, Hassenzahl M (2010) Sitting comfort of ergonomic office chairs—developed versus intuitive evaluation. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 16(3), 369–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2010.11076853
- Pheasant S, Haslegrave CM (2006) Bodyspace: Anthropometry, Ergonomics, and the Design of Work. Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315375212
- Robertson M, Amick III BC, DeRango K, Rooney T, Bazzani L, Harrist R, Moore A (2009) The effects of an office ergonomics training and chair intervention on worker knowledge, behavior and musculoskeletal risk. Applied Ergonomics, 40(1), 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2007.12.009
- Runkle V (1994) Benchmarking Seat Comfort. SAE Technical Paper 940217. https://doi.org/10.4271/940217
- Taifa IW, Desai DA (2017) User requirements customization and attractive quality creation for design improvement attributes. International Journal for Quality Research, 11(1), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.18421/IJQR11.01-08
- Vlaović Z, Domljan D, Župčić I, Grbac I (2012) Thermal Comfort While Sitting on Office Chairs-Subjective Evaluations. Drvna Industrija, 63(4), 263-270. https://doi.org/10.5552/drind.2012.1222
- Zakaria NHB (2015) Evaluation of the ergonomics checklist for office chair, Project report, University of Tun Hussein Onn
OFIS ÇALIŞANLARININ OTURMA KONFORUNDAN MEMNUNIYET DERECELERI VE BIR OFIS SANDALYESINDEN BEKLENTILERI
Year 2020,
, 72 - 77, 30.06.2020
Münire Sibel Çetin
,
Gülseren Karabay
,
Hasan Öztürk
,
Gülseren Kurumer
Abstract
Oturma konforu; bireyin sandalyesinin özellikleri, kullanıcının özellikleri ve sandalyede oturularak geçirilen zamanla ilişkilidir. Ofiste çalışma saatlerinin artması, yanlış işyeri ve iş ekipmanı tasarımı; çeşitli kas-iskelet sistemi rahatsızlıklarına yol açmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı; katılımcıların bir ofis sandalyesinden beklentilerini belirlemek, ofis sandalyeleri ile ilgili rahatsızlıklarını araştırmak ve ofis sandalyesinden genel memnuniyeti etkileyen önemli iş ve kullanıcı özelliklerini tespit etmektir. Bu çalışma, yapısal tasarım ve tekstil tasarımı konusundaki rahatsızlık ve beklentileri göz önünde bulundurarak bir ofis sandalyesi tasarlamayı amaçlayan, devam etmekte olan bir projenin parçasıdır. Anket sonuçlarına göre, katılımcıların beklentilerini karşılaması beklenen bir ofis sandalyesi tasarlanacaktır. Rastgele seçilmiş 382 katılımcıya, kendi mevcut ofis sandalyelerinden genel memnuniyetlerini, sandalyelerinin sahip olduğu özellikleri, sandalyeleri üzerinde kullanılan tekstil malzemelerini ve bir ofis sandalyesinden beklentilerini belirlemek için bir anket uygulanmıştır. Kadınların %74,89'unun ve erkeklerin %58,05'inin ofis sandalyelerinden memnun olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Sandalyelerinden memnun olmayan personelin %68,75'i, rahatsızlıklarının ofis sandalyelerinden kaynaklandığını düşünmekteydi. Ayrıca, ofis sandalyesinde kullanılan tekstil malzemelerinin sandalyenin rahatlığını etkilediği ve sandalyelere kaplanan tekstil malzemelerinden bazı beklentilerin olduğu tespit edilmiştir. |
Project Number
2013.KB.FEN.36
References
- Adu G, Adu S, Effah B, Frimpong-Mensah K, Darkwa NA (2014) Office furniture design – correlation of worker and chair dimensions. International Journal of Science and Research, 3(3), 709 – 715.
- Askew R, Carlberg S (2016) Office chairs in circular business models. Master of Science Thesis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Buell J, Merchant M, Oeser M, Smith J, Spilka J, Wood J, Wydysh J (2014) Descriptive analysis of seat ergonomics among Utica College population. Doctoral Dissertation, Utica College, Utica, New York, United States.
- De Looze MP, Kuijt-Evers LF, Van Dieen JAAP (2003) Sitting comfort and discomfort and the relationships with objective measures. Ergonomics, 46(10), 985-997. https://doi.org/10.1080/0014013031000121977
- Dhingra HS, Tewari VK, Singh S (2003) Discomfort, pressure distribution and safety in operator's seat-a critical review. Agricultural Engineering International: the CIGR Journal of Scientific Research and Development, 5, 1-6.
- Goossens RHM, Netten MP, Van der Doelen B (2012) An office chair to influence the sitting behavior of office workers. Work 2012: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment, and Rehabilitation, 41, 2086-2088. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2012-0435-2086
- Helander MG, Zhang L (1997) Field study of comfort and discomfort in sitting. Ergonomics 40(9), 895-915. https://doi.org/10.1080/001401397187739
- Hwang SC, Choi Y (2011) Modular design of a product to maximize customer satisfaction with respect to body size: A case study for designing office chair. International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing, 12(5), 791-796. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-011-0105-9
- Mueller GF, Hassenzahl M (2010) Sitting comfort of ergonomic office chairs—developed versus intuitive evaluation. International Journal of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics, 16(3), 369–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/10803548.2010.11076853
- Pheasant S, Haslegrave CM (2006) Bodyspace: Anthropometry, Ergonomics, and the Design of Work. Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315375212
- Robertson M, Amick III BC, DeRango K, Rooney T, Bazzani L, Harrist R, Moore A (2009) The effects of an office ergonomics training and chair intervention on worker knowledge, behavior and musculoskeletal risk. Applied Ergonomics, 40(1), 124–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2007.12.009
- Runkle V (1994) Benchmarking Seat Comfort. SAE Technical Paper 940217. https://doi.org/10.4271/940217
- Taifa IW, Desai DA (2017) User requirements customization and attractive quality creation for design improvement attributes. International Journal for Quality Research, 11(1), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.18421/IJQR11.01-08
- Vlaović Z, Domljan D, Župčić I, Grbac I (2012) Thermal Comfort While Sitting on Office Chairs-Subjective Evaluations. Drvna Industrija, 63(4), 263-270. https://doi.org/10.5552/drind.2012.1222
- Zakaria NHB (2015) Evaluation of the ergonomics checklist for office chair, Project report, University of Tun Hussein Onn