BS 3044:1990

Gives guidance on the ergonomics principles important in the design and selection of office furniture to enable both purchasers and designers to understand and use ergonomics information in their work. Indicates how designers and purchasers can ensure that the needs of end-users are paramount in creating places where work can be carried out comfortably and efficiently. Includes suggested check lists of stages in selection of office furniture and in a design project. Illustrates gaussian curve, common posture when writing, influence of desk layout in posture, main dimensions for seat/desk design, some awkward postures in auxiliary tasks in office work and graph showing how to approximate ranges from combined populations.

This British Standard provides guidance on the ergonomics principles important in the design and selection of office furniture to ensure that it will avoid any undue strain on the user. The approach taken has been to provide the information necessary to give a general framework which will enable both purchasers and designers to understand and use ergonomics information applied to their work. The standard does not provide a fixed set of prescriptive rules and, as a consequence, does not include detailed dimensional recommendations: such details are given in BS EN 527-1 and BS EN 1335-1 and BS EN ISO 9241-2. The standard indicates how designers and purchasers can ensure that the needs of the end-user are at the centre of their decisions, thus creating a situation where work can be carried out comfortably and efficiently. NOTE The titles of publications referred to in this standard are listed on the inside back cover.