Ergonomics sometimes has a negative connotation as it is seen to be connected to illness or guidelines that limit innovations. This paper is focused on the positive aspects of ergonomics in improvement of the working environment. It consists of a part that studies the literature on success factors in the process towards higher productivity and greater comfort, the formulation of a model and a hypothesis, which is illustrated by four cases.The model distinguishes the success factors in 'goal', 'involvement' and 'process'. Goals: evidence is found in the literature that a positive approach has benefits in terms of shareholder value and productivity, and for comfort. Involvement: the literature shows that participation of end-users and management contributes to success. Process: in the process it is essential to have a good inventory of the problems, a structured approach, a steering group responsible for the guidance, and end-users involvement in testing of ideas and prototypes.It is hypothesized that the chance of success increases by empowerment (making the end-user responsible for deciding on the next step in the process) and positive experiences of end-users with the potential improvement (end-users feel or see the benefits). The four cases illustrate that the hypothesis can be used in evaluating cases.

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The purpose of this study was to determine, using a systematic review, whether the design and/or dimensions of school furniture affect the students' physical responses and/or their performance. Of the review studies, 64% presented positive results, i.e. proven effects; 24% presented negative effects or no change/effect; and the remaining 12% showed an unclear effect. The compatibility between school furniture dimensions and students' anthropometric characteristics was identified as a key factor for improving some students' physical responses. Design characteristics such as high furniture, sit-stand furniture, and tilt tables and seats also present positive effects. Finally, we concluded that further research should be conducted exploring various aspects of those variables, particularly focusing on more objective measures complemented by controlled and prospective design. Practitioner Summary: A systematic review of the literature presents a clearly positive effect of school furniture dimensions on students' performance and physical responses. Similar results appeared when school furniture design was tested. However, studying the effects of design and dimensions together produced an unclear positive effect.

Improving the toilet environment holds promises for increasing the quality of life for elderly and disabled persons. This is one of the goals of the Friendly Rest Room (FRR) project.The study described in this article explored the preference and use of supports in the toilet environment during the entire toilet ritual.An adjustable test frame was built with a toilet and three types of supports. Fourteen subjects were asked which positions they favoured for each support. After using all three supports they were asked which support they found most comfortable.In general, the preferred positions depended on personal preferences more than on dimensions of the body. It was concluded that there is a preference for vertical supports for sitting down and standing up. During toilet use the side supports were equally appreciated.Keywords: support, toilet, elderly IntroductionFor many elderly and disabled persons using the toilet is a problem: when help is needed their quality of life often drastically decreases. This research is part of the Friendly Rest Room (FRR) project which aims to study problems with existing rest rooms and to develop a friendly toilet environment: friendly to the largest possible group of users, for use at home, in homes for the elderly, hospitals or public environments. The FRR project is supported by the EU within the 'Quality of Life and Management of Living Resource' programme and Key Action 6: 'The Ageing Population and Disabilities' of the European Union.Ageing people in general deal with decrease of physical, psychomotoric and sensory capacities (Molenbroek, 1987). Because sitting down and getting up require postural control, the elderly are likely to have more trouble than younger people (Mourey et al., 1998).The most frequently applied method to deal with sitting down on and rising from toilets is the installation of a raised toilet. This possibly introduces other problems, such as increased straining and time on the toilet due to an unfavourable posture (Dov Sikirov, 2003). Kirvesoja et al. (2000) found indications for discomfort during prolonged sitting on elevated chairs.The method of using supports is the topic of this study. Supports allow the muscles of the legs to be assisted by the muscles of the arms and enlarge the footprint, enabling a more stable sequence of movements while sitting down and standing up. Raised toilets and supports are often combined to decrease problems with toilet use. 2Hand supports to assist toilet use among the elderlyThe ultimate friendly rest room will adapt to the user, as opposed to a toilet environment that the user has to adapt to. Within the FRR project an extensive search (Buzink et al., 2005) was conducted to find relevant literature for determining support types and positions.The most relevant publication (Bosman, 1999) reported that slightly more than half of the elderly prefer getting up with a pulling motion. A quarter of the subjects favoured a combination of pulling and pushing. The overall conclusion from this article is that the eld...

In this study an anthropometric design process was followed. The aim was to improve the fit of school furniture sizes for European children. It was demonstrated statistically that the draft of a European standard does not cover the target population. No literature on design criteria for sizes exists, and in practice it is common to calculate the fit for only the mean values (P50). The calculations reported here used body dimensions of Dutch children, measured by the authors' Department, and used data from German and British national standards. A design process was followed that contains several steps, including: Target group, Anthropometric model and Percentage exclusion. The criteria developed in this study are (1) a fit on the basis of 1% exclusion (P1 or P99), and (2) a prescription based on popliteal height. Based on this new approach it was concluded that prescription of a set size should be based on popliteal height rather than body height. The drafted standard, Pren 1729, can be improved with this approach. A European standard for school furniture should include the exception that for Dutch children an extra large size is required.