REDESIGNING THE

BU LECTURE HALL

Brian Doyle

Jacob Groezinger

Ethan Howe

Stephen Valvo

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Our team is going to enhance the ergonomics

of Lecture Hall 8 through a redesign of the

chairs and the flow of traffic to those chairs.

Current Chair Design

Current Flow of Traffic

DATA COLLECTION Think-Aloud Verbal Protocol

Consisted of a walkthrough by Jacob

Took a long time to go up and down stairs

Difficult to get to middle chairs if students are seated on

outside

Observation of Subject

Brian observed Jacob going through the lecture hall

Shuffled through the aisles while still periodically bumping

into the desk behind him

Ergonomics Analysis

In order to give back muscles a rest during class, Jacob had to

lean forward instead of resting his arms on an armrest, causing

compression on the L5/S1

The current seat design does

not provide an armrest causing

sitting through long lectures

very stressful on the lower back.

When walking down the

staircase, it takes a long time to

get down all the way from the

top of the lecture hall to the

desired row.

CHAIR DESIGN ANALYSIS Anthropometric data

Static and dynamic dimensions

Interface Pressure Measurements

Deals with uncomfortable pains due to fatigue

Postural Factors

Back seat pad and tilt

Cushioning

Cushion thickness, density, and angle at which

cushion is oriented

TRAFFIC FLOW ANALYSIS Adjacent Spacing Between Desks

No hassle getting into chair from the staircases

Ease of Sight

Making sure that everyone can see the Professor and board

from any position in the room

Emergency Situations

Efficient and methodical way of vacating the room

CHAIR REDESIGN Chair Redesign

Collapsible arm rest will be added to the side of the chair

Arm rest will be 6.5 inches in length, or 9 inches from the back

of the chair

Arm rest will be adjustable, with a range of 5 inches to 8

inches

-d = 15in

-b = 18in

-g = 9in

-5in < f < 8in

*f will be

adjustable

http://www.humanscale.com/products/product_detail.cfm?group=DiffrientSmart

Chair

TRAFFIC FLOW REDESIGN Flow of Traffic

Cut into balcony 36”

Have staircase going down the center at a height : width ratio

of 1 : 1.25

Staircase cannot be accessed by students sitting in back of

LH

Fifteen seats will need to be removed from the center of LH

rows

Class size in lecture hall will need to be reduced by just above

5%

Staircase leading down the

middle of the lecture hall from

the back balcony will provide

easier access to middle seats

for students, especially for

students walking in late.

Any Questions?