DEVELOPMENT OF ERGONOMICS FURNITURE
FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MALAYSIA
1
NURUL ASYIQIN MOHD ALI, 2SHAMSUL BAHRI MD TAMRIN, 3MOHD SHARIZAL DOLLAH,
4
MOHD RAFEE BAHARUDIN, 5MUHAMAD AZHAR MOHD NOR,
6
VELU PERUMAL AND 7NORHISHAM SEYAJAH
1,2,3,4,5
University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia, 6LimKokWing University of Creative Technology, Malaysia.
7
University Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
ABSTRACT
The implementation of ergonomics improvement is a new concept in Malaysian
society. This study is mainly focused on improving primary school furniture
based on user centered design concept, hazard identification, risk assessment
and control (HIRARC), anthropometry and cognitive ergonomics. The result
from HIRARC assessment shows that ergonomics risk factors found to be
significantly associated in contributing to musculoskeletal disorders (MSD)
among school children particularly when using the existing furniture. From
the risks identified, development of ergonomics furniture was done by
identifying the preference of the student using a simplified questionaire.
Anthropometric data was collected to determine the specification of the
furniture based on the anthropometry of level 1 (standard 1 to standard 3
children) and level 2 (standard 4 to standard 6 children). Using all the important
information, several 2D sketches and 3D mock-up model were produced and
only one final design was selected based on the need of the students. The
specification of the furniture was finally intergrated with anthropometric data
for final design specification prior to final fabrication of prototype.
Keywords: ergonomics furniture, user centered design, cognitive ergono-
mics, design process and primary school
1. INTRODUCTION
Ergonomics is a science of adapting environment to human capacity. In
Malaysia recently, a rapid improvement has been done to improve the wellness
and health of either workers or people that have direct contact with interface.
In Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994, under section 4 – 5 (Part 1-2)
directly refers to the importance of ergonomics, “To promote an occupational
environment for persons at work which is adapted to their physiological
and psychological needs”.
Ergonomics improvement tends to increase the safety and health in a workplace
and in addition improve output such as productivity and outcome of a working/
environment setting. Therefore in Malaysia, many of the ergonomics
improvement tends to focus on industrial and occupational setting but lack of
ergonomics assessment for school environment. Although few researches had
been done in Malaysia that revealed poor ergonomics environment in Malaysian
schools, no action was taken by the government and Ministry of Education
(MOE) (Tamrin et al., 2004). In addition, currently no record of school
(infrastructures such as building, school layout, class room and the school
children) had been designed or promoted on application of ergonomics.
Therefore, the research group had proposed 3 main parameters for ergonomics
improvement in Malaysian schools viz; 1) school building and layout – minor/
low cost adjustment of school building and class room to fit 95% of
schoolchildren anthropometry and school safety such as traffic flow in and
out of school, 2) desk and chair (classroom furniture) – to fitting 95% of
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schoolchildren based on their anthropometry and finally 3) bag load – to
determine the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and the risk
factors among school children due to excessive weight carried and to design a
solution in reducing bag load. By implementing these 3 strategies, the researcher
will be able to 1) increase safety and health within and adjacent areas of the
school and 2) increase productivity of schoolchildren, teachers and staff.
However, this paper will focused on the development of ergonomics table and
chair for primary schools in Malaysia.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Ergonomics is the theoretical and fundamental understanding of human
behavior and performance in purposeful interacting socio-technical systems
and the application of that understanding to design of interactions in the context
of real setting (Wilson, 2000). In simple words, ergonomics is a science of
fitting environment, task or product with human capabilities.
In order to do so, the design of furniture, daily product or workplace setting
should adapt the ergonomics approach in daily life. The implementation of
ergonomics concept includes components such as cognitive ergonomics, design
based on target population anthropometrics features and user centered design
(UCD).
Cognitive ergonomics is a concept to fit between human cognitive abilities
and limitation with the product, task and environment (Chengalur et al., 2004).
UCD is a design process in which end-users influence how the design takes
shape (Abras et al., 2004). The main focused of this concept is incorporating
the user, task and environment into the design process. Anthropometry is a
science of measuring human bodies which includes measurement of body size,
shape, strength and working capacity (Pheasant and Haslegrave, 2006). The
combination of all the concepts will produce ergonomics product which can
increase comfort, safety, health and productivity in both working and non-
working environment.
Risk assessment is a process of evaluation of the risk to safety and health
arising from hazards (DOSH, 2008). The assessment includes hazard
identification, risk assessment and risk control (HIRARC). The main purpose
of HIRARC is to identify the factors that may cause harm to employees and
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others (the hazards), to consider what the chances are of that harm actually
befalling anyone in the circumstances of a particular case and the possible
severity that could come from it (the risks) and to plan, introduce and monitor
preventive measures to ensure that the risks are adequately controlled at all
times (DOSH, 2008).
3. MATERIAL AND METHOD
A cross-sectional study was done involving 843 primary schoolchildren aged
8 (representing level 1) and 11 years old (representing level 2) in 4 regions in
Peninsular Malaysia. Random sampling was used to select the states, districts
and schools. Four states were randomly selected from the list of thirteen states
viz Selangor (central region), Pahang (eastern region), Perak (northern region)
and Johor (southern region). Ten primary schools participated in this study.
The sampling frame of the schools was obtained from the Malaysian Ministry
of Education (MOE). Due to difficulties to separate the children from the
class, therefore the study randomly selects among the list of class from level 1
and level 2 in every school. The class and respondent name list were obtained
from the latest database of each school.
3.1 Questionnaire
A set of interviewed questionnaire was distributed to the respondents during
school hours. The questionnaire session was conducted in a group and prior
to the session, each group was briefed on the correct procedure of completing
the questionnaire. The respondents answered all the questions under the
supervision and guidance of research assistants.
The questionnaire includes socio-demographic and background information
such as ethnicity, gender, age, type of transportation, sports activities and leisure
activities such as playing video games and using personal computer. In addition
it was used to determine prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) and
risk factors including additional data to be used as part of design development.
The MSD questions include 9 body parts and also the overall MSD (any MSD
symptoms at any body parts) using translated modified NORDIC questionnaire
(Kuorinka et al., 1987). The body parts include neck, shoulder, elbow, arm,
upper back, lower back, hip and thigh, knee, leg and overall MSD. Questions
were given to students in level 1 and level 2 groups to ascertain the level of
severity between lifetime prevalence and within 7 days for acute MSD. Other
than that, the children were also asked regarding their perception whether the
existing furniture is the factor of reported pain complained.
The children were asked to determine the design material based on the
respondent preferences as an application of user centred design approached.
In determining the type of colour preferences, a simple colour group was given
such as 1) light coloured group and 2) dark coloured group. Four types of
light colours used were a) sea blue b) yellow c) red and d) bright green. The
dark colours were represented by a) dark blue b) dark green c) violet and d)
dark brown.
In addition to color preference, the type of material prefered was also proposed
to the schoolchildren. The type of materials used is an essential part in
determining the most suitable comfortable furniture developed for the student.
This concept is known as participatory ergonomics and user centered design
approch in which solution for improvement includes the preference by the
user (Marras and Karwowski, 2006).
The type of materials used is an essential part in determining the most suitable
comfort furniture developed for the children. The types of material proposed
include metal, wood, plastics and aluminium while material combinations
include metal – wood, metal – plastics, wood – plastics, aluminium – wood,
aluminium – plastic. In addition, the questionnaire also includes the previous
design of classroom furnitures, shapes, texture and the prefered classroom
setting.
and estimating risks from each hazard involved where the RA involves
calculating or estimating the likelihood of occurrence and severity of each
hazard identified, and 4) determining each of the risk identified and to decide
whether the outcome is acceptable or necessary control measures need to be
applied. The process of HIRARC was based on the guidelines by the Malaysian
Department of Safety and Health (DOSH) (DOSH, 2008).
3.3 Anthropometric Measurements
The respondents’ body weight and their school bag weights were measured
using the same digital electronic weighing scale. Body Mass Index (BMI) was
calculated as body weight in kilograms divided by the height in meters squared.
Measurement was taken thrice for each respondent and his or her school bag
in order to determine the average weight.
Anthropometric measurements were used using the Martyn type anthropometer
(Figure 1) and each of the respondents was requested to sit on a customized
made chair as shown in Figure 2. The anthropometrics measurement was based
on protocol by Pheasant & Haslegrave (2006). The customized chair was
designed in order to ensure that the measurement seat is not padded with any
soft materials and also to ensure that the student can seat at right angle and the
seat height can be adjusted based on their popliteal height.

3.2 Risk Assessment

Severity of the risk of MSD among the respondents was determined using the
odds ratio (OR) and risk assessment (RA) method. The OR was determined
by using binary logistic regression adjusting for body mass index (BMI), sport
activities and history of previous accident. The severity of the risk was
determined using the Hazard Identification Risk Assessment and Risk Control
(HIRARC) method with four main processes in sequence.

The sequence includes the following: 1) classification of school children

activities, 2) identify hazards through school’s daily activities that could pose
significant risks to the health and safety of students, 3) conduct RA by analyzing Figure 1: Martyn type anthropometer

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 using simple wood materials. Finally, the full scale school furniture prototype
was developed using real material preferred by school children. Figure 3 shows
the summary of furniture development process.

Figure 2: Customized anthropometry chair

3.4. Furniture Design and Measurement

The school furniture development process begins with the prioritization and
identification of ergonomics problem in selected classroom. The furniture
design and development process was based on methods and specifications
suggested by Chuankai & Yinghui (2004) and Hassan & Ahmad Rizal (2008).

Based on the problem identified, the idea of new design was created by
determining the concept and specification of the new furniture. The design
process began with proposed 5 idea sketches and only 1 sketch was selected.
In the next stage, the 2D layout of selected design idea was drawn and
technically drafted by hand and using Solid Works software.

The full scale 2D drawing integrated with proposed furniture dimension was
done to help in considering aspects of form, proportion and consideration of
accurate measurements and materials in the development of design. After that,
the 3D surfacing and details were done using Solid Work software. With the
2D and 3D drawing established, a real mock-up size model was developed Figure 3: Furniture Design and Development Process

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3.5 Quality Control and Data Analysis Table 1: Respondents Background Information

Each of the standard operating procedures (SOP) was followed to maintain

quality control. The questions used in this study showed good reliability
(Cronbach alpha of 0.918). This study uses univariate analysis in determining
the prevalence of MSD and in determining the measurement of anthropometry
while the risk factors were determined using HIRARC and statistical analysis
of binary logistic regression. The statistical test was analysed using statistical
package of social sciences (SPSS) version 13 software.

The ethics of this study had been approved by Faculty of Medicine and Health
Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia Ethics Committee [Ref: UPM/FPSK/
PADS/T7-MJKEtikaPer/F01 (LECT_Oct11)].

4. RESULT

4.1 Background Information

From the total respondents, 48% were males, 52% were females with the mean
body weight of 29.48 ± 10.12 kg, and mean height was 128.25 ± 10.59 cm.
The average BMI was 17.2 kg/m2. Most of study respondents were from Malay
ethnicity (92%) and the average parents’ income was RM 1,612 ± 1397.

Over 93% of the school children played sports either during school or after
school hours. The most popular sport was football (30%), followed by cycling
(23%), badminton (13%), netball (12%) and other sport activities such as
swimming and martial arts (9%). In addition, most of the children reported
having indoor activities (94%) such as playing computer game and watching
television before or after school hours.

A high majority of them (64%) reported that they travelled to school by vehicle
such as car, motorcycle and bus, only 10% of them cycled to and back from
school and a small fraction of the school children walked the whole way (to
and fro from school). Table 4.2 summarizes the overall demographic
information.

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4.2 Prevalence of MSD
The result shows that the overall prevalence of MSD (life time) is very high
and above acceptable level (66.5% for level 1 and 73% for level 2). The study
revealed that for life time prevalence of MSD, 33% of the children reported
that they had knee and leg pain (KLP) once in a life time followed by shoulder
pain (SP) 32%, neck pain (NP) 31%, arm pain (AP) 20%, hip and thigh pain
(HTP) 17%, upper back pain (UBP) 16%, elbow pain (EP) 14% and 11% of
them reported lower back pain (LBP) at least once in their lifetime. The study
also shows that KLP (32%) was the highest complaint among level 1 children,
but level 2 children showed that NP was the highest (35%) compared to the
other body parts.
Musculoskeletal complaints of within the seven days of interviewing also
showed slightly lower prevalence of MSD and the same trend was observed.
The result showed that the highest prevalence was KLP (16%), followed by
NP and SP (13%), AP (9%), HTP (8%), EP (7%), while both UBP and LBP
reported 6% of the total samples for at least a day or more within 7 days of
MSD complaints preceding completion of the questionnaire. The study also
showed the highest prevalence of KLP among level 1 (17%) and 2 (16%)
compared to the other body parts. Details are shown in Table 2.
Table 2: Prevalence Of MSD For Malaysian Primary School Children
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4.3 Risk Assessment
From the assessment, the study revealed that 4 ergonomics parameters were
found to be hazardous to pupil namely; 1) un-ergonomically designed furniture
2) awkward posture 3) prolong sitting 4) excessive loading. There are 7
locations involving pupil main activities during school hour which are 1)
classroom, 2) sciences laboratory, 3) living skills workshop, 4) music room,
5) audio visual laboratory, 6) canteen and 7) sanitary facilities.
Among the children working activities, classroom learning indicates the highest
risk level of 15 (high risk) compared to others. Through observation, all levels
of school children ranging from standard 1 up to standard 6 were found using
the same design of school furniture regardless of their body anthropometric.
The same design of chairs and tables was found in all classrooms, science
laboratories and workshops. Table 3 shows the summary of ergonomics hazard
identified in classroom environment.
The high risk indicated an immediate response that requires action taken to
control the hazard as in the hierarchy of control. As required in HIRARC by
Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), any corrective or
intervention program must be documented and further ergonomics assessment
follow up is well encouraged.
4.4 Risk Factors
In determining the risk factors of MSD among the primary school children in
Malaysia, Binary Logistic regression analysis (BLR) was used. Using each
body part and determinating risk, controlling of sport activities, history of
previous accident and body mass index, the risk factors indicated that furniture
and school bag showed an increase in odd ratio/risk from 1.67 (leg) to 5.25
(shoulder). This would indicate that the risk of developing leg pain was 1.67
times higher for those who carried heavy school bag (>10% body weight)
compared to those who carried less and the risk of developing shoulder pain
was 5.3 times higher among those who carried heavy school bag compared to
those who carried less. The result also indicated that the risk of developing
upper back pain was 4.6 times higher among those who used un-suitable
furniture (Table 4).
22
 Table 3: Risk Level Assessed Among Primary School Children
4.5 Design Material based on Student Preference
The result shows that majority of the schoolchildren (76%) prefered light colors
to be used as furniture colors. Therefore, the developed furniture will be chosen
from the 4 colors proposed to the pupils. The result revealed that majority of
the students prefered wood component as the major material used and the
combination of metal and wood to be the most prefered combination of
materials as shown in Table 5.
Table 4: Association between Risk Factors and Complain Of MSD
Table 5 : Type Of Materials Prefered By The School Children
4.6 Furniture Dimension
For seat anthropometric needs, 6 measurements were used namely; 1) sitting
height, 2) sitting shoulder height 3) popliteal height 4) buttock to popliteal
length 5) sitting elbow height and 6) hip breadth. As design principle, height
measurement used 5th percentile of the school population while seat length
used 95th percentile as recommended by Pheasant & Haslegrave (2006).
Corrective measure for shoes was also included (40mm). In addition for table
height, 2 parameters were used namely 1) sitting elbow height and 2) sitting
height with the design principle of 5th percentile. For the whole Peninsular
Malaysia, a total of 640 anthropometric data was collected. Table 6 shows the
furniture parameters and anthropometrics dimension used.
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 Table 6: Furniture Dimension

4.7 Furniture Development

The design concept was based on the ergonomics problem of the current
existing furniture. Therefore, the furniture must be designed to reduce static
posture, awkward posture (bending, bending and twisting, bending of the neck
and shoulder), able to reduce the bag load carried by the student and equally
match with the anthropometry of the schoolchildren. A total of 5 initial sketches
had been proposed. From the sketches, only a single design was chosen by the
overall team after a series of discussion. This is to ensure that the design
would maximize the safety and health theme and their comfort ability.

The next step is to convert the sketches into 2D and 3D designs and also to
incorporate the anthropometric measurement for both level 1 and level 2. In
the 2D and 3D designs, all the relevant measurements were used as part of
design and development.
With the 2D and 3D model established, a real mock-up size model was
developed using simple wood materials. The mock-up model was made several
times with adjustment and modification until the final design suit the entire
research group especially in fitting the size and also to determine a better
method of improving safety issues such as accident that can cause bodily
injuries (Figure 5). Figure 4: Selected sketches for ergonomic school furniture

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Development of prototyping was one of the major parts of the research, in
which the first prototype (PR Ver. 1) was based on the final data on the mock-
up model. The final prototype was also assessed by the team members in order
to determine any major defect and flaw of the final mock-up measurements.
The development of one set of PR Ver. 1 was done within the approximately
time frame of 2 weeks. The basic prototype used most of the given information
in order to follow the preference of the school children. Figure 6 shows the
PR Ver. 1 of school furniture.
Figure 6: School furniture prototype (PR Ver. 1)
Figure 5: Model mocking using anthropometrics furniture dimension
5. DISCUSSION
Recently, many studies had been done in identifying the MSD complaints and
risk factors of MSD problem among children (Haselgrove et al., 2008, Murphy
et al., 2007; El-Metwally et al., 2007; Navuluri et al., 2006; Grimmer et al.,
2006). The example of ergonomics risk factors that exist among children from
previous studies are classroom posture, school bag load, school furniture and
anthropometrics parameter (Smith & Leggat, 2007; Murphy et al., 2004;
Trevelyan & Legg, 2006 and Philippa and Stephen, 2004).
In an attempt to understand the severity of MSD among Malaysian primary
schoolchildren, a preliminary study was done to determine the prevalance of
MSD and to prioritize the risk using regression analysis and Hazard
Identification, Risk Assessment and Control (HIRARC) as tools in determining
the severity.
The overall findings of this study in identifying the risk factors and risk
assessment of ergonomics problem in school environment showed that school
children were highly exposed to early stage of MSD due to improper design
and dimension of classroom furniture especially chair and table used by the
children. The same findings were found in study by Gouvali et al. (2006) and
Parcells et al. (1999). Un-ergonomics furniture may lead to awkward posture
during school session as reported by Troussier et al. (1999).
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While study done by Kratenove et al., (2007) found a significant occurrence
of poor posture between children aged 7 years old and 11 years old.
Another study by Chung and Wong (2007) also revealed poor ergonomics
application in school setting. It highlights the ergonomics problems found in
Hong Kong primary school classroom. In theory, the application of ergonomics
concept will increase safety and health in daily life (Mokdad and Al-Ansari,
2009; Chengalur et al., 2004; Wilson, 2000). Therefore, based on result of
prevalence of MSD, HIRARC and risk factors, the findings conclude that the
current furniture used have many flaws and weaknesses that may contribute to
ergonomics problems such as MSD and CTD cases. Hence, ergonomics and
design solution is needed as a corrective measure in reducing the health effect
of Malaysian primary schoolchildren. Molenbroek et al. (2003) also found
that school furniture size for European children does not cover the entire target
population.
Various types of furniture were used by all the schools. From our observation,
the usage of school furniture was non-standardized where basically two main
size specifications were used (Level 1 and level 2). From the measurement of
the existing furniture, the result concluded that the current seat did not match
with both Level 1 and Level 2 anthropometric measurements.
In the development of ergonomics furniture, the industrial design process was
integrated with ergonomics concept in order to produce new ergonomics
furniture for primary school in Malaysia. The industrial design process was
based on ergonomics problem and safety identified in the classroom and it
comprised of proposing design concept followed by developing mock-up model
and fabricating of prototype Version 1.
Development of prototyping was one of the major parts of the research, in
which the first prototype (PR Ver. 1) was based on the final data of the mock-
up model. The final prototype was also assessed by the team members in order
to assess any major defects and flaws of the final mock-up measurements. The
development of one set of PR Ver. 1 was done within (the time frame of
approximately) 2 weeks. The basic prototype used most of the information
asked in order to follow the preference of the school children.
According to Hassan & Ahmad Rizal (2008), the important aspects in industrial
design include quality of the product, aesthetic value, colors, ergonomics,
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technology, safety, standard and regulation. The criteria of the proposed
furniture include design based on user-centered and cognitive ergonomics
where such research had been done before the design process started to
determine the risk factors of MSD problem, elimination of weaknesses of
existing furniture, and design based on the children preferences.
In order to increase the comfort and reduce the ergonomics problem, the
furniture was designed based on Malaysian school children anthropometrics
dimension and the table top was designed to be adjusted into 4 levels which
are, flat (normal table), 5o increment, 10o increment and 15o increment. The
criteria were set up to fit 95% of primary school children and to reduce the
flexion of neck, upper back and shoulder during writing and reading. Other
than that, the proposed adjustable table top for school table and arm rest for
school chair is a new ergonomics improvement introduced by this study.
The evaluation studies on the effectiveness of PR Ver. 1 included posture
analysis and school bag weight measurement. The manufacturer was given a
duration of 1 month to fabricate and manufactured a quantity of 80 sets of
ergonomics furniture consisting of 40 sets of PR Ver. 1 for Level 1 (primary 2)
and another 40 sets for Level 2 (primary 5). To ensure that the furniture could
easily be transported, it was built as single parts. The ergonomics furniture
was then reconstructed again in the field. The evaluation study of PR Ver. 1
indicated that the total rapid upper limb assessment (RULA) score was reduced
from more than 5 to less than 3. This indicated that the new furniture was able
to reduce the risk from un-ergonomic furniture.
6. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this study proposes new design and concept of school furniture
in primary school. The findings in this study can benefit the Ministry of
Education in improving the standard and to promote awareness in terms of
safety and health and ergonomics of Malaysia schools. In addition, the findings
in this study will be used to formulate the most cost effective ergonomics
improvement program for Malaysian schools in reducing the risk and
preventing MSD among children. Finally, this research is very important since
it will translate research finding into profit from commercialization and benefit
not only UPM but also to the National wealth in general.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This study was supported by Universiti Putra Malaysia under the Research
University Grant Scheme (RUGS) (04/01/07/0128RU). The author would like
to extend gratitude to Malaysian Ministry of Education (MOE) for the support
and the schools that participated in this study. We also would like to
acknowledge Mr. Muhamad Faizal Che Leh for his contributions in this project.
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