Evaluation of the Ergonomic Properties of Seats in Two Selected Faculties of Nigerian University

Abstract

Background: The pattern of various seat differs in many ways, however, the ergonomic design of chairs ensures proper weight distribution of the occupant. Therefore, for classroom furniture to perform the function for which it was designed, namely weight bearing and stabilisation of the body both in static and dynamic seating, it has to be ergonomically designed. Objective: To evaluate the ergonomic properties of furniture in two selected Faculties; the Faculty of Law (FL) and the Faculty of Health Science (FHS) of a Nigerian university. Materials and Methods: Forty furniture (20 furniture each from the two Faculties) in the University of Nigeria, Enugu State, South-east Nigeria were randomly selected. Ten parameters were measured. The mean, standard deviation, arithmetic difference, percentage match and mismatch were calculated using an established standard. Result: In five of the ten parameters considered, there are mismatch to (seat height, seat width, desk clearance, seat-to-desk distance and lumbar support) for FL and eight (seat height, seat depth, seat width, desk clearance, lumbar support, seat to desk, desk height, pan tilt) for FHS when compared to standard. Therefore, 50% match was seen in FL and 20% in FHS. T-Test shows significant difference between seat parameters in FL and FHS. Conclusion: More than 50% of the classroom furniture in FL was more ergonomically accurate compared to the 20% ergonomically accurate furniture in FHS. Furniture in the FL posed less ergonomic hazard than FHS. Replacement of these furniture are therefore recommended.