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State of the Science Conference
September 15-16, 2005
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Pilot Study on Reach and Grocery Retail Workstations
Slides On This Page
- Introductions
- Program Background
- Importance of the Problem
- Literature Review
- Research Questions
- Research Questions
- Research Questions
- Mixed Methods Approach
- Sample Strategy
- Research Methodology
- Research Methodology
- Research Methodology
- Data Analysis
- Preliminary Findings
- Preliminary Findings
- Preliminary Findings
- Preliminary Findings
- Preliminary Findings
- Preliminary Findings
- Future Research
- Acknowledgement
Introductions
Pilot Study on Reach and Grocery Retail Workstations
Workplace Accommodations: State of the Science Conference
September 2005
David Ringholz
Assistant Professor of Industrial Design
GA Tech College of Architecture
Design Development Project Director
Workplace RERC
R.L. Grubbs
Research Program Manager
CATEA and Workplace RERC
Program Background
General Workstations Development Initiative within the Workplace RERC
Program Goal:
The General Workstations Program is conducting research to aid in the development of new designs for workstations in environments where accessible workstations are not available.
Importance of the problem
Why Target Grocery Retail?
- High projected job growth
- Nature of the activity
- Potential for impact
- Corporate partner
- Transferable knowledge
Literature Review
- What did we learn from the Literature?
- Detailed anthropometry and reach studies of individuals without functional limitation
- One study on reach comparisons involving people who use wheelchairs
- Limited studies on women who are pregnant, and older individuals
Graphic: A woman standing and working on a kitchen platform.
Call out text:
- Shoulders and arms
Keep the shoulders erect - not "shrugged up" or "slumped down"
Keep your arms close to your body
Keep work slightly below elbow height
- Head and neck
Avoid situation that requries twisting the neck or bending it forward, backward or to the sides.
- Back
Stand Straight - avoid situations that require bending(forward or backward), leaning to the side or twisting
For work performed while sitting a back rest will help maintain a proper posture
- Hand and Wrists
Keep the wrist straight in line with the forearms - avoding twisting the wrists or bending them up, down or to the sides.
- Feets and Legs
Placing a foot on a foot rest or other support will promote comfort
Research Questions
How do the functional differences between
people with and without disabilties effect the
application of available inforamtion?
Is there an area of overlap in these
characteristics that would suggest some optimum
position for frequently used system components?
Research Questions (cont.)
What is the impact of design changes on
secondary users [customers] at the checkout?
In what ways can the benefits of workstation
optimization be quantified; ease of use,
increased efficiency, increased throughput,
decreased fatigue and injury, etc?
Research Questions (cont.)
The scope of the research was limited to reach and comfort at this point.
Working Hypotheses:
Workstation height has an impact on participant reach range.
Item position has an impact on participant comfort and task completion.
Mixed Methods Approach
- The nature of the research questions necessitated a mixed methods approach to data gathering.
- Quantitative Methods included anthropometry collection, reach, motion and time measurement.
- Qualitative Methods included the observation, interview and focus group discussion to collect subjective data during and following the test procedure.
Sample Strategy
A purposeful sample strategy was developed to include a diverse range of participants with physical characteristics most likely to be limiting
given the current checkout configuration.
- 6'0" and taller 5'0" and shorter
- Poor stamina or low energy
- Difficulty reaching or manipulating objects
- Inability to use upper or lower extremities
- Limited balance and head movement
- Pregnant women
Research Methodology
- Introduction
- Collect anthropometric data
- Prepare participant for motion capture
- Complete typical grocery checkout tasks on a
height adjustable test fixture designed to
simulate various workstation configurations
- Conduct follow up group interview
Research Methodology (cont.)
Graphic: A picture of a kitchen
Research Methodology (cont.)
Graphic: A bird eye shot of a man sitting on his desk and working
Data Analysis
Qualitative:
Content Analysis of group discussion and participant
comments
Quantitative:
Dartfish: Software package used for motion analysis
Statistical Analysis: Correlation, Stepwise Regression
and Univariate Analysis of Variance
Preliminary Findings
Qualitative:
Content Analysis of group discussion
- Adjustable workstation is appealing
- Problem with space adequacyprimary/
secondary users
- Cash drawer operation is problematicfor
seated/pregnant/balance
- Monitor placement-secondary users
- Payment system-secondary users
- Self checkout-problems
Preliminary Findings
Qualitative:
Participant reaction to workstation height was almost perfectly distributed, and highly correlated to descriptive category.
Graphic: People sitting around a table
Preliminary Findings
Quantitative:
Dartfish: Software package used for motion analysis
Graphic: A bird eye view of a person sitting at his desk with overlaid markers drawn using dartfish software
Preliminary Findings
Quantitative:
Dartfish: allowed the monitoring and measurement
of the following variables
- Center of Mass coordinates [x,y]
- Reach coordinates and distances [x,y,cm]
- Shoulder coordinates [x,y,z]
- Time to complete each trial [min:sec]
Preliminary Findings
Quantitative:
Preliminary Statistical Analysis was conducted to
determine relationships between the variables.
- The statistics indicate that workstation height does
impact center of mass deviation and reach distance.
Preliminary Findings
Quantitative:
- At a certain height for each user, COM deviation is
minimized and reach is maximized.
- Further statistical analysis will enable the
prediction of a more exact workstation height for a
specific user, and allow the determination of
potential impact on other users.
Future Research
Plans for Future Research
- Test 40 more participants
- Convert customer requirements to design criteria
- Leverage College resources to support concept
development
- Continue to test statistical model to develop
prediction tool and fit mapping
- Additional Studies to compare experience levels
- Develop Digital Human Persona
Acknowledgement
This research project is supported by grant
#H133E020720 from the National Institute on
Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR),
U.S. Department of Education
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