Safety at work can depend on an effective or comfortable fit between the physical workplace or the tools of work, and the worker. A seatbelt becomes impractical if it can’t be latched securely or comfortably. The safety that firefighters’ gloves provide is compromised if the gloves are too big, hampering dexterity and movement in a hectic and physically risky situation. Whatever the example of fitting today’s workplace to the worker, one thing is certain—anthropometric research can help. Anthropometry is the science of defining human body dimensions and physical characteristics. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts anthropometric research to prevent work-related injuries and deaths by studying how work spaces and equipment fit today’s diverse worker population. This includes the fit of machines, vehicles, and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Although some anthropometric data have been published in recent years based on the body sizes and shapes of modern military personnel, most data available today were collected in the 1950s and 1970s from military personnel and the general population from that era. These decades-old data do not represent, on average and collectively, the sizes and body types of today’s workers, who are much more diverse in age, gender, and ethnicity. NIOSH research has shown workers have unique shapes and sizes for specific occupations. For instance, research revealed that truck drivers are heavier and wider than the average worker in the U.S. population, which has prompted many in the truck manufacturing industry to redesign truck cabs to support truck driver safety.