• Project number: F 2446
• Institution: Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA)
• Status: Completed Project

Description:

Anthropometric data support the design of ergonomic products and work systems. Thus, they make an important contribution to occupational safety. The aim of this research project was to provide high-quality, up-to-date and long-term usable anthropometric data for Germany. 

In the course of this project, methods for the generation, processing, analysis and utilization of anthropometric data were developed. Initially, a validation study was conducted to analyse the differences between the manual measuring method and 3D body scanning. Based on these findings, new subject data were collected using a 3D body scanner to optimise an existing dataset from a previous project.

In this context, standard operating procedures (SOP) were developed and multivariate analysis approaches were presented to the (professional) public. In addition, the use of machine learning approaches to close data gaps was investigated in a feasibility study, weighting algorithms and the latest reference data were evaluated, and privacy-compliant publication options for the final weighted anthropometric raw data were established, see for example https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8042777.

Ultimately, the project provided an anthropometric dataset for ergonomic design and evaluation processes, which was collected with the help of an innovative study design and therefore can be used in the long term. The generated data were anonymised and published via established data repositories. The dataset and the methods developed in this project facilitate ergonomic design and evaluation processes, e.g. in the design of products and work systems. In the future, methods for using the complex 3D scan data will be intensified and interactive tools will be further developed to promote the distribution and utilization of anthropometric data.