Anthropometry is defined as the description of physical variations in humans by careful measurement. It involves the measurement of dimensions and certain physical aspects of the human body.

The measurement can be obtained in 2 forms:

1. Static: This involves measuring the dimensions when the body is stationary.

2. Dynamic: Dimensions are measured when the body is involved in some physical activity. For eg. Driving a car, working at a desk etc.

Anthropometry is defined as the description of physical variations in humans by careful measurement. It involves the measurement of dimensions and certain physical aspects of the human body.

The measurement can be obtained in 2 forms:

1. Static: This involves measuring the dimensions when the body is stationary.

2. Dynamic: Dimensions are measured when the body is involved in some physical activity. For eg. Driving a car, working at a desk etc.

An anthropometric design has the following constraints:

1. Reach

When designing a work station it is necessary to locate all controls, storage bins, tools, etc. within easy reach of the operator. The objective is to establish maximum acceptable reach requirements. Reach dimensions should be selected to accommodate a small member of the population i.e. a member having body dimensions on the lower side.

2. Posture

Certain features of a work station have a strong influence on posture. For eg height of a work table is too low: worker has to flex his/her trunk indicating that the setup is too high: In order to tackle these constraints, an adjustable setup is recommended

3. Clearance

When designing a work station it is necessary to provide adequate headroom, elbowroom, legroom, etc. For eg door height, manhole diameter, etc. Clearance dimensions should be selected to accommodate a member having larger dimensions as compared to the rest of the population.

4. Strength

This is the fourth constraint that needs to be taken into consideration. It is concerned with the application of force in operation of controls and other physical tasks. Strength is a one way constraint that is it is limited to how much force a person from the lower half of the percentile spectrum can impart. That is a work setup should be designed such that a weak user can also use it without considerable efforts.