Design of an ergonomie classroom chair and desk for preschool students of selected public schools in Cabuyao City, Laguna

This study aimed to design an ergonomic classroom desk and chair that will be of comfortable use for the pre-school students of the selected public schools in Cabuyao City, Laguna. The sample consisted of 248 preschool students from four public schools. Nine dimensions each for the preschool students and the classroom furniture were taken. Findings showed that most of the students experience mismatch with the present design of the classroom chair and desk. Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) scores are high for the present design during their class activities. This indicated awkward postural patterns in the neck, trunk and arms area. The proposed design was based on the dimensions of the students with added ergonomic features. Post-evaluation included Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA), Mismatch evaluation and post - test RULA. CBA showed a huge increase in the cost but benefits in terms of postural improvement were attained based on the post RULA scores which decreased considerably. Mismatch evaluation revealed that the proposed design decreased the proportion of students experiencing mismatch. Students' posture particularly in the neck, trunk, and arms area were greatly improved as the measurements of the classroom chair and desk in the proposed design are more suitable to the anthropometric dimensions of the preschool students.