title: Design method for multi-user workstations utilizing anthropometry and preference data.
abstract: Past efforts have been made to design single-user workstations to accommodate users' anthropometric and preference distributions. However, there is a lack of methods for designing workstations for group interaction. This paper introduces a method for sizing workstations to allow for a personal work area for each user and a shared space for adjacent users. We first create a virtual population with the same anthropometric and preference distributions as an intended demographic of college-aged students. Members of the virtual population are randomly paired to test if their extended reaches overlap but their normal reaches do not. This process is repeated in a Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the total percentage of groups in the population that will be accommodated for a workstation size. We apply our method to two test cases: in the first, we size polygonal workstations for two populations and, in the second, we dimension circular workstations for different group sizes.
authors.affiliation: Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address: jmm694@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Mahoney
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Nicolas A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kurczewski
authors.affiliation: Mechanical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
authors.forename: Erick W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Froede
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D016287:Computer Peripherals; D004867:Equipment Design; D006804:Ergonomics / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012737:Sex Factors
keywords: Engineering anthropometry; Group interaction; Workstation design parameters