Ergonomic design of classroom furniture for university students of Bangladesh

The desk-and-chair and chair-with-mounted-desktop furniture are widely used in the classrooms of Bangladeshi universities. However, an anthropometric survey showed that the fixed-type and side-mounted-desktop-chair used by university students in Bangladesh were not manufactured according to ergonomic considerations. The study evaluated the potential mismatch between university classroom furniture dimensions and anthropometric characteristics of 500 Bangladeshi university students. Fifteen anthropometric measurements and nine dimensions from the existing classroom furniture were measured and then compared together to identify any potential mismatch between them. The paper showed the variation between the anthropometric measurements of students and the dimensions of existing furniture. The results indicated that the seat height of both desk-and-chair and side-mounted-desktop-chair was high, while the desk height of desk-and-chair was high and that of side-mounted desktop chair was low for the students. The paper also recommends the furniture dimensions for both types, which are ergonomically fit.