This user-centered design project highlights the importance of human factors in product development. It introduces two adjustable bathrooms, which address the needs of the human life cycle. These bathrooms reflect the social and inclusive philosophy of universal design.
This user-centered design project highlights the importance of human factors in product development. It introduces two adjustable bathrooms, which address the needs of the human life cycle. These bathrooms reflect the social and inclusive philosophy of universal design.
This user-centered design project highlights the importance of human factors in product development. It introduces two adjustable bathrooms, which address the needs of the human life cycle. These bathrooms reflect the social and inclusive philosophy of universal design.
PROCEEDINGS of the HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS SOCIETY 45th ANNUAL MEETING - 2001 801
Bridging The Gap Between Human Factors and Environmental Design:
A Universal Bathroom Case Study
Abir Mullick
Associate Professor of Architecture
RERC on Universal Design
State University of New York at Buffalo
This user-centered design project highlights the importance of human factors in product
development. It introduces two adjustable bathrooms, Movable Fixtures Bathroom and
Movable Panels Bathroom, which resulted from this research and design project.
Unlike existing bathrooms, which are designed primarily for independent users, these
bathrooms consider the needs of the human life cycle and address dependent use and
care-providing alongside independent use in the bathroom. These bathrooms reflect the
social and inclusive philosophy of universal design and they have the potential to unify
diverse population groups so no one user is excluded by their design.
Introduction
Aceording to Sanders and McCormick,
human factors focuses on human beings and their
interaction with products, equipment, facilities,
procedures, and environments in work and everyday
living, The emphasis, in human factors, is placed on
human beings and on how the design of things
influences people. It questions the things people use
and strives to change environments in which people
use these things to better match the capabilities,
limitations and needs of people, While the
discipline of human factors is design-focused,
human factors specialists seldom engage in the
design of things and environments. Produets and
places and designed by specially trained product
designers and architects, and they either use human
factors information or work closely with human
factors specialists in ensuring that designs are
usable by people. Manufacturers and builders rely
on design teams, consisting of professional
designers and human factors specialists, to ensure
that manufactured products and constructed
buildings are usable by human beings.
Most human factors specialists are trained
scientists, engaged in scientific investigation about
human capabilities, limitations, characteristics,
behavior and motivation, to discover relevant
information about humans and their responses to
things, environments, systems and information. The
result of their investigations offers a basis for
‘making design recommendations and for predicting
the probable effects of various design alternatives.
Human factors specialists also evaluate designs to
ensure that they satisfy their intended objectives.
Product designers and architects are creative
individuals, engaged in the form making process of
products and buildings, the primary users of their
designs being human beings. While most designers
are sensitive to human needs, they are not trained to
conduct investigation into human requirements and
considerations. They can find human factors
information, know how to apply them, and they rely
on the work of human factors specialists for theit
expert guidance. In situations that require critical fit
between users and designs, designers team up with
‘human factors specialists to produce designs that
best fit users and maximize efficiency
Universal Bathroom, a human factors and
environmental design project, employed human
factors techniques to study bathroom use by
independent users, dependent users and caregivers,
and employed user-centered design approach to
develop bathrooms usable by a wide range of users.
Alexander Kira (1963) researched sociological
aspects of bathroom use by independent users to
develop two theoretical bathroom designs, one with
shower and another with a bathtub. Kira’s project
did not employ scientific or empirical method and it
did not include dependent users and caregivers in
determining bathroom information and design. The
Bathroom for the Elderly, a design project by
Robert Graffe (Singer, 1988), focused on
transforming a bedroom closet into a bathroom for802 PROCEEDINGS of the HUMAN FACTORS AND ERGONOMICS SOCIETY 45th ANNUAL MEETING - 2001
‘elderly users and people with disabilities so as to
reduce trip distance and offer convenience.
Metaform Bathroom, developed by Design
Continuum for Herman Miller, consisted of
modular components to address people's change of
needs overtime. It was designed to blend with
existing architecture and details, and reduce labor
and cost to install, maintain and repair. The
Universal Bathroom project first employed an
empirical method to develop human factors
information of bathroom use by a wide range of
people living at home. The human factors
information was then employed to conceptualize
‘wo universal bathrooms. The bathroom
development constantly involved user experts so as
to ensure that that these environments offered best
user-environment fit and a high degree of user
customization.
Method
Bathroom is the most critical room in the
home. It is the most frequently used room in the
hhome and everyone uses it. Bathroom users are
people of all ages, of various statures and of many
types of physical conditions. They are independent
users or those who operate on the own, dependent
users or those who need assistance, and caregivers
cor those who assist dependent users. Bathroom
usability is greatly affected by bathroom design and
hhuman factors of bathroom users. Gender
differences, use pattern and personal habits impact,
usability. Environmental considerations such as
fixture design, fixture placement and spatial layout
add to the complexity of bathroom use. With built-
in heating, plumbing and drain technology,
bathroom is the most technological and inflexible
environment in the home. Unlike other
technological environments such as the automobile,
the bathroom is a static environment in which the
environment does not adjust to user demands.
Bathroom users vary greatly in age, shape and
physical condition, and they need to constantly
adjust their posture and use pattern to suit the
environmental demands of the bathroom,
Environmental fit in the bathroom, a state of
‘equilibrium where an individual's capabilities are in
balance with the demands of the environment, is
ctitical to the maintaining privacy, dignity and
independence and everyone aspire for best fit, since
bathroom independence is affected by this fit
Unfortunately, many people, due to the inflexible
nature of bathroom designs, are unable to attain this
fit and they are unable to maintain bathroom
independence. They experience a loss of self-
confidence and personal esteem.
The human factors research in the Universal
bathroom project employed empirical method to
study whether accessible bathrooms are universal
and if they benefit many user groups. Two full-scale
bathrooms, one was accessible (code complying)
and the other conventional (not within code
compliance), were simulated to evaluate their
design effectiveness. Specialized measurement tools
developed by Edward Steinfeld and Gary Scott
Danford (1997) were used to systematically
evaluate performance and observe their impact on
functional independence. The research involved a
broad range of users living at home that included
people with mobility impairments, elderly, young,
adults, children, pregnant women and overweight
people. Five sets of attributes typically addressed in
accessibility standards were systematically varied to
provide two distinct levels of challenge as contexts
for the subjects’ performance. Three measurement
tools, Enviro-FIM, Usability Rating System and
Functional Performance Measure were employed to
collect data on functional performance. These tools
were used to 1) obtain self-reports on the ease or
difficulty of a person's functional performance of
entering, toileting, grooming, bathing and exiting,
2) assess a person's functional independence during
performance of these activities, 3) assess a person's
level of effort expended toward functional
performance of these activities, 4) assess a
caregiver's burden in assisting the person when
functional independence is compromised, and 5)
distinguish differences across bathroom
environments with varying conditions of
environmental demand. Bathroom use was
documented using videotape and the data was
analyzed as numerical scores.
The development process of the Universal
Bathroom project employed unique environmental
design strategy to bridge the gap between human
factors information and environment design. First,
bbuman factors research identified and involved