Overview
ISO/TR 9241-514:2020 - Ergonomics of human‑system interaction - Part 514 - provides guidance on the use of anthropometric data within the ISO 9241-500 series. It helps designers and ergonomics professionals apply population measurements (height, reach, breadth, etc.) to estimate how well workplaces, furniture and interactive systems will accommodate intended user groups. The technical report focuses on statistical approaches to determine accommodation percentages and on practical methods for multivariate and univariate analysis.
Key topics
- Scope & purpose: Guidance for applying anthropometric data in ISO 9241-500 series requirements and recommendations.
- Definitions: Key terms such as anthropometric accommodation, univariate and multivariate accommodation, percentile, user population, and weighting.
- Population samples & weighting:
- Importance of defining the intended user population.
- Need for representative sample sizes (note: BIFMA guidance cited suggesting large samples - e.g., ~1 000+ per gender for precision in distribution tails).
- Use of statistical weighting when sample demographics differ from the target population (with limits on when weighting is appropriate).
- Univariate accommodation:
- Using percentile values (e.g., 5th or 95th percentiles) to estimate accommodation for single dimensions such as height or finger breadth.
- Multivariate accommodation:
- Virtual Fit Test (VFT): Count individuals in a sample whose multiple measurements simultaneously meet design limits - straightforward, distribution-free, implementable in spreadsheets.
- Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and boundary cases: Reduce dimensions to principal components to define ellipsoidal bounds that contain a target percentage of the population; identifies boundary manikins for design extremes.
- Additional methods mentioned: handling limited data, estimating concurrent accommodation for multiple variables, and the use of z-score multipliers.
Applications and users
Who benefits:
- Ergonomists, human factors engineers, industrial designers, product and workplace designers, safety professionals, and standards writers.
Practical uses:
- Designing seating dimensions, control panels, workstations, cabin and room clearances, guards and openings (e.g., machine guards sized by finger breadth percentiles), and any spatial layout requiring simultaneous accommodation of multiple body measurements.
- Translating anthropometric datasets into concrete design limits and accommodation percentages for inclusive design.
Related standards
- ISO 9241 series (human-system interaction)
- ISO 26800 (system concept of ergonomics)
- ISO/TR 7250-2 (anthropometric reference data) - referenced for percentile examples
- ANSI/HFES 100:2007 and BIFMA G1 (guidance cited for sampling and methods)
Keywords: ISO/TR 9241-514:2020, anthropometric data, ergonomics, accommodation estimates, virtual fit test, PCA, ISO 9241-500 series, anthropometry, workplace design.
Open preview (PDF)Ergonomics of human-system interaction — Part 514: Guidance for the application of anthropometric data in the ISO 9241-500 series