title: Ergonomic design of a barber's workstation.
abstract: Long hours of work while standing have been known to cause health problems for humans. Such professions include that of the barber. A survey was conducted of barbers from different barber shops in Saudi Arabia to determine their discomfort level. A prototype workstation was then designed and constructed in which the barber sits and performs work. The workstation was tested by nine barbers in the Human Factors Laboratory in the Systems Engineering Department at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. These barbers were among those surveyed earlier in their shops. Their discomfort level was again taken and an experiment was conducted to design the shape of the footrest. The discomfort levels obtained while standing and sitting were statistically analysed. From the results, it was concluded that the mean of the discomfort levels while standing is significantly (alpha = 0.01) higher than that while sitting.
authors.affiliation: Systems Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: al-Haboubi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baig
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001505:Beauty Culture; D001827:Body Height; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006804:Ergonomics; D006801:Humans; D007374:Interior Design and Furnishings; D011187:Posture; D012529:Saudi Arabia