Development of an anthropometric database for Hong Kong Chinese CAD operators

With the increasing popularity of using computer-aided design (CAD) in Hong Kong, it is time to look into the design of a suitable workplace for the CAD operators working in the industries. This can be achieved by applying anthropometric data into the design for enhancing performance and reducing musculoskeletal problems. In order to avoid any mismatches in anthropometric dimensions, which is believed to be one of the main causes of fatigue and occupational illness among workers, in the workplace design for them, eleven relevant body dimensions from a group of 150 Hong Kong male adults with ages ranging from 18 to 28 years were collected and analyzed to develop a computerized anthropometric database for Hong Kong CAD operators. The eleven anthropometric dimensions measured were: shoulder rest height, elbow-fingertip length, shoulder breadth, hip breadth, sitting eye height, elbow rest height, third lumbar disc-pan length, thigh clearance height, popliteal height, buttock-popliteal length, and stature. The computerized database can provide some useful statistics such as mean, standard deviation and relevant percentiles of all the measured dimensions. With the aid of these statistics, a new workplace for CAD operators was designed which improved performance substantially.