DESIGNING ERGONOMIC POST-COVID-19 SCHOOL FURNITURE

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7166/33-2-2515

Keywords:

Ergonomic design, school furniture, primary school students, COVID.

Abstract

Inappropriately designed classroom furniture that does not take children’s anthropometric measurements into account has a negative effect on children’s musculoskeletal systems. In this study, which kept Covid-19 pandemic policies in mind, students’ static anthropometric dimensions were measured and their descriptive statistics calculated, using mean, standard deviation, percentiles, and statistical tests, including the t-test and one-way ANOVA. A new design for ergonomically oriented classroom furniture for primary school students is proposed that takes into consideration the measured anthropometric dimensions for students’ safety, health, and well-being, and for post-Covid-19 policies. Given the results of the study, school managements must consider the gender and age of students, and take post-Covid-19 policies/protocols into account when procuring classroom furniture.

Author Biography

Cetin Onder INCEKARA, BOTAS General Directorate

graduated from Industrial Engineeering Department as Honour Student (graduated within top 5%)

He got four M.Sc.; first one in METU Earthquake Engineering, second one in Eng-MBA in Industrial Engineering, third one in Occupational Health and Safety, fourth one in Occupational Health and Safety, Construction Contracts, Arbitration Law and Energy Law at Ankara University Faculty of Law. His Industrial Engineering’s Ph.D. thesis subject is "Developing Energy Optimization Models for the Establishment of Turkey’s Sustainable Strategic Energy Policies and its Action Plan: Related Implementation Steps".

Dr. Incekara is working in ergonomics studies, energy modeling, fuzzy systems, energy resource planning, energy strategies & policies, energy technologies, and has many publications about them. He is the member of “Middle East Technical University Alumni Association Energy Committee”, “World Energy Council Turkish National Committee”, “UNECE-United Nations Energy Committee for Europe”, “The Institute of Internal Auditors”, “U.S. International Exchange Alumni Association”. He is PMP & CCSA and the expert Reviewer/Referee in SCI (Science Citation Index) Journals, i.e. Elsevier Journals (New York/U.S.A.); Energy Policy, Energy, Ecological Engineering, Mary Ann Liebert (New York/U.S.A.); Environmental Engineering Science, Springer (New York/U.S.A.); Environment, Development and Sustainability, Environmental Science and Technology.

Dr. Incekara has more than 40 published articles.

Downloads

Published

2022-07-29

How to Cite

INCEKARA, C. O. (2022). DESIGNING ERGONOMIC POST-COVID-19 SCHOOL FURNITURE. The South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 33(2), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.7166/33-2-2515

Issue

Section

General Articles