Seated For Success
As an engineering student, navigating the academic landscape at the University of Southern California (USC) comes with its fair share of hurdles. Apart from the demanding coursework, there are a plethora of projects and exams constantly testing your resilience and ability to learn. While it’s definitely an environment that keeps you on your toes and intellectually engaged, it can also be quite overwhelming at times, pushing you to your limits as you strive to excel academically while also looking after your well-being amidst all the pressure.
Yet, among the academic troubles, I have frequently found myself in classrooms where students are seated so closely that there is barely a centimeter separating you from your seatmate, leading to the awkward and physically uncomfortable experience of inadvertently touching knees.
The physical proximity not only disrupts the comfort necessary for focused learning but also raises questions about the implications on academic performance and physical well-being. This scenario emphasizes the importance of ergonomics — the science of designing workspaces to fit the users’ needs — in addressing these concerns. Defined as “the study of aligning the needs of a job with the ability of the worker and work environment to provide the most efficient workspace possible” [1], ergonomics aims to reduce work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and enhance efficiency, quality, and comfort. In the specific context of USC, applying ergonomic principles involves the use of chairs designed to support the human body effectively, promoting good posture, comfortable sitting, and optimal working conditions through features like adjustable height, lumbar support, and armrests.
While USC boasts a diverse array of seating options, including task chairs, stackable seminar chairs, and versatile swivel chairs, I’m going to focus on one of the seating arrangements at USC that I believe urgently needs improvement and truly goes against all ergonomic principles at hand — the fixed auditorium seating.
The fixed seating arrangement consists of floor-mounted furniture, anchored securely to the floor with bolts. When not in use, these seats can fold up into a compact profile, and the tables associated with them can also be folded to the side, optimizing space and maintaining a streamlined appearance. While these chairs save lots of space, it comes with its fair share of drawbacks that severely goes against ergonomic principles.
To me, I believe that the seat, tables, and spacing are the three biggest issues with the fixed auditorium seating, and these issues are commonly shared amongst other chairs at USC.
But is this concern unique to my experience? To get to the bottom of this, I interviewed Athena Sy Kuzuhara, a sophomore computer science student at USC, aiming to get her insights on the fixed auditorium seating to incorporate her feedback into my analysis of the three primary issues. Also, to highlight all the ergonomic aspects that this seating fails to adhere to and improvements that could be made, I personally went and took measurements for this type of seating and here is what I found out.
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Seating Issue:
When I sit down, there’s approximately a 7-inch gap between my knee and the back of the chair in front of me.
A significant aspect of ergonomic design is anthropometry, the study of the measurements and capabilities of the human body. Good ergonomic practice involves designing for a wide range of body sizes and shapes to accommodate as much of the population as possible. Typically, products are designed to cater to individuals from the 5th percentile female to the 95th percentile male, covering approximately 90% of the population. This approach ensures that most people can use the space or product comfortably and safely [2].
However, the fixed seating arrangement, with a mere 7 inches of space between my knee and the back of the chair, illustrates a significant oversight in anthropometric considerations. As someone who falls within the 95th percentile, I find the limited space not only uncomfortable but also significantly hampering my concentration, mainly due to insufficient legroom and inadequate cushion support tailored to my body size.
This limited seating also becomes problematic when individuals need to move past seated attendees, potentially leading to discomfort and disruption for both the person moving and those seated. So trying to navigate to a seat in the middle of a row becomes increasingly difficult as people fill up the seats closer to the aisles.
Athena’s experience further highlights this issue. When asked if the seating conditions have impacted her ability to focus or participate in class, she mentioned, “sitting down creates a squeaky noise which can be irritating and a distraction at times.”
Proposed Solution for Seating:
To improve the seating experience, I propose that the seats should be redesigned, particularly by increasing the space between rows of seats. Instead of a mere 7 inches, there needs to be at least 12 to 18 inches of space, based on the relative sizes of different percentile humans. This range considers the need for additional legroom to accommodate individuals from the 5th to the 95th percentile comfortably, ensuring that everyone has enough space to sit without feeling cramped or causing disruption when moving in and out of rows.
Additionally, incorporating adjustable features such as seat height, backrest tilt, and armrest height adjustments can significantly enhance comfort and support for a diverse range of body types. These adjustments allow users to tailor the seating to their ergonomic needs, promoting better posture and reducing the risk of discomfort during prolonged periods of sitting.
Eliminating the folding aspect of the chairs would also contribute to reducing auditory distractions. By removing the hinges and bolts that enable the seats to fold, this can eliminate the source of squeaky noises that students like Athena find irritating and distracting. This change would not only enhance the auditory environment but also potentially improve the durability and stability of the seating.
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Table Issues:
The width of the table is 12.5 inches, and the height of the table is 12 inches.
It is recommended by the University of Kansas in their ‘General Characteristics of Learning Spaces’ that tables in classrooms should ‘allow for a minimum of 30” of linear work surface space per user’ [3]. However, the table provided by USC falls significantly short of this guideline, not even reaching half of the recommended value.
The current standard laptop screen sizes range from 14”, which are the most common size on the market [4]. As an engineering student today, most classes necessitate the use of a laptop for note-taking. Simultaneously, there is often a need to take handwritten notes or use the laptop for accessing additional materials. This situation presents a challenge when the laptop takes up almost all of the table’s surface, leaving insufficient room for it. Personally, I often find myself needing to occupy two tables to accommodate my laptop and notes, which directly impacts the efficiency of the learning space. It not only reduces the available seating and workspace for other students but also encroaches on the overall comfort and accessibility of the environment.
This issue is further intensified by the small tables contributing to posture challenges and angle issues. The fixed design of laptops, with their non-adjustable screens and keyboards, limits posture variability, leading students to adopt “an awkward posture to operate the laptop computer” [5]. Moreover, it’s been observed that “the forward head inclination posture adopted by all laptop users…was more than 30° greater than the recommended neck posture.” This places the head inclination angle between approximately 44.0° to 49.6°, far exceeding the ergonomists’ recommendation that the head and neck should not bend forward more than 15° to avoid fatigue [5].
When asked about the table room, Athena mentions that “we barely have desks and are forced to sit in these classrooms because we are assigned this. On the other hand, Marshall has a whole area where they have rolling seats and big tables, giving them a lot of room to write in comparison.” Continuing to endure such cramped conditions and small workspace without addressing these issues can result in long-term musculoskeletal problems.
Proposed Solution for Tables:
To address the issues with the current tables, a redesign should consider constructing a single, long table that spans about the length of the classroom in front of the students. Instead of providing individual tables, this unified approach would enhance the stability of the work surface, significantly reducing the shakiness experienced when writing or typing. This stability is needed, given that the current tables are flimsy, being supported on one side only. This design flaw contributes to students being distracted by the difficulty of typing on an unstable surface.
A long table design also means that students wouldn’t need to occupy two desk spaces to accommodate all their materials while also needing to shift their posture to the left or right side. This not only improves space efficiency but also supports better posture. With the table directly in front of them, students can maintain an ergonomic position where their forearms and upper arms form an angle between 90° and 110°. This angle is essential for preventing musculoskeletal problems by reducing the risk of trauma caused by postural straining and immobilization.
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Spacing Issues:
Measuring the space between chairs, there is only a 3-inch gap from one to the next. Yet, within this specific room, there is a substantial expanse — nearly 98 inches — from the edge of the last chair to the wall.
While this spacious arrangement does adhere well to ergonomic design principles, especially considering that designing for wheelchair use requires extra floor space (given that the standard wheelchair has an overall width of 22.5–27.0 inches), the minimal 3-inch gap between the chairs really fails to accommodate the variability in body sizes and movements, potentially leading to accessible and comfort issues for all users [1], neglecting personal space preferences.
This setup overlooks the necessity of providing wheelchair users with an accessible table. The lack of appropriately positioned tables forces individuals to place their devices or materials in their laps, which is significantly lower than ideal for eyesight, leading to potential neck and eye strain. The narrow spacing between chairs also raises concerns for emergency evacuation, as the 3-inch gap could become a safety risk in a densely packed room.
When asked about the spacing issue, Athena says that she tries “to sit far away from people, either at the edge or the back of the room,” highlighting an attempt to navigate these challenges individually.
Proposed Solution for Spacing:
To fix the spacing issue, increasing the gap between chairs by a few inches would enhance mobility aid access and overall accessibility. Additionally, utilizing lightweight, movable chairs that can be easily reconfigured to meet the specific needs of each class or event would offer greater flexibility. This adaptability facilitates quick adjustments for emergency evacuation routes. Furthermore, allocating a designated area within the 98 inches of space, equipped simply with a table, could significantly improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
Athena also suggests that “Making more class times available so that classes aren’t so crowded would help a lot.”
If expanding the physical space is not feasible, creating more class schedules and increasing faculty could distribute the student population more evenly across available time slots and prevent overcrowding. With fewer students in each class, instructors can provide more individualized attention, creating a more engaging and supportive learning atmosphere. This divided attention in a smaller crowd can lead to a deeper understanding of the material, improved student participation, and a more personalized educational experience.
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For a school known for its higher tuition rates, it’s imperative that the institution invests its resources in ways that directly benefit the students’ well-being and academic success. Ensuring student comfort is not a luxury but a necessity that can significantly impact their learning experience and overall performance. Creating appropriate learning environments not only reduce physical strain and the potential for long-term health issues but also foster an atmosphere conducive to concentration and engagement.
Efforts to enhance ergonomics should not be seen as an inconvenience or as making things excessively comfortable to the point of detriment. Instead, they should be regarded as removing one less worry for the student.
While completely renovating entire buildings may not be the simplest or most immediate solution, it’s certainly an option worth considering because when it comes to supporting student success, no stone should be left unturned — or in this case, no seat left unimproved.
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Works Cited
[1] C. Edwards, N. Fortingo, and E. Franklin, “Ergonomics,” in StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing, 2024. [Updated 2022 Jul 28]. Available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK580551/.
[2] S. Openshaw, E. Taylor, G. Minder, W. Witherow, T.J. Long, and M. Ford, “Ergonomics and Design: A Reference Guide,” Allsteel Inc., 2006. [Online]. Available: https://ehs.oregonstate.edu/sites/ehs.oregonstate.edu/files/pdf/ergo/ergonomicsanddesignreferenceguidewhitepaper.pdf.
[3] The University of Kansas, “General Characteristics of Learning Spaces,” 2024.[Online] Available: https://classrooms.ku.edu/general-characteristics-learning-spaces#:~:text=Seat%20count%20and%20configuration%20should,aisles%20should%20be%2036%E2%80%9D%20minimum.
[4] Stone, Refurb. Latest Refurbished Laptops. 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.stonerefurb.co.uk/which-screen-size-should-i-choose.
[5] C. Harris and L. Straker, “Survey of physical ergonomics issues associated with school childrens’ use of laptop computers,” International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 337–346, Sep. 2000. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-8141(00)00009-3.
