Effect of Flooring on Discomfort and Behavioral Responses to Prolonged Standing
| Autor: | Neal Wiggermann, Monroe Keyserling |
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| Rok vydání: | 2010 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. 54:783-787 |
| ISSN: | 1071-1813 2169-5067 |
| Popis: | Prolonged standing is a common requirement in the workplace and is a well-known cause of discomfort. This experiment investigated the effect of material properties of flooring surfaces on perceived discomfort during prolonged standing. Behavioral responses to prolonged standing such as fidgeting (or weight-shifting between feet) were also analyzed. Participants stood for four hours on each of four “anti-fatigue” mats and a hard surface (control condition) while discomfort ratings and in-shoe pressures on the feet were recorded. Results showed that discomfort ratings did not significantly differ among mats, but all mats were more comfortable than the hard floor during the fourth hour of standing. The frequency of fidgeting was affected by flooring surface and was correlated to discomfort. The results indicate that if differences in discomfort between these mats exist, they require a longer standing duration to be observed. The behavioral results provide a possible proxy measurement for discomfort, as well as information that can be used to direct future physiological and biomechanical research. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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