• Best ergonomic data source?

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  • Looking for a good book or website that supplies ergonomic figures for all kinds of activities: best table height, diameter of tool handle, space needed for steering wheel, height to put swicthes, etc.

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    Question by kevin kelly
    11/26/2012

Henry Dreyfuss and his office spent more time measuring humans for industrial design purposes than anyone else, so I think their text is still the gold standard: The Measure of Man and Woman: Human Factors in Design

Answer by mr_s
11/26/2012

Try MIL-STD-1472 "This standard establishes general human engineering design criteria for military systems, subsystems, equipment and facilities." This is the guide that military hardware is designed to.

Answer by neilgg
11/26/2012
Answer by dbourbon
11/26/2012

This is only for buildings (thus no steering wheel,etc.), but I love it:

Materials, Structures, and Standards: All the Details Architects Need to Know But Can Never Find by Julia McMorrough

Answer by gamercer
11/26/2012

OK, I got four great answers! Is anyone familar with all four sources and can suggest which of them is more complete, more useable, than the others?

Answer by kevin kelly
11/26/2012

The Measure of Man is spectacular and is a book that is a standard to work from. It's also gorgeous. #industrialdesigner http://www.amazon.com/The-Measure-Man-Factors-Design/dp/B0007EB84G

Answer by freds4hb
11/26/2012
Answer by eric moore
11/26/2012

I second The Measure of Man (which is now called The Measure of Man and Woman). It's very comprehensive and a true pleasure to look at.

Answer by ninetek
11/27/2012

Nomadic Furniture 1 and 2 by Hennessee and Papanek: (http://www.weareheavyduty.com/2008/08/04/nomadic-furniture-book-diy-cardboard-chair/)

Answer by jasonforjustice
11/27/2012

I liked Woodson's book Human Factors Design Handbook when I was in school. But it's from that era (showing my age), and really hasn't kept up with the times. But then again, what HF book has? Multitouch, anyone?

NASA's Man-Systems Integration Standards are freely available on the web: http://msis.jsc.nasa.gov/. Very interesting stuff--how to make a graspable handle in zero g, that sort of thing.

Answer by jhom
11/30/2012
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