Pilot Study of Firefighter Three-Dimensional Anthropometry to Improve Seatbelt Safety.
Pilot Study of Firefighter Three-Dimensional
Anthropometry to Improve Seatbelt Safety.
(7117 K)
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation; Total Contact,
Inc.
NIST GCR 08-919; 143 p. November 2008.
Keywords:
seatbelts; fire fighters; anthropometry; fire fighting
equipment; statistics; sampling; design applications;
NFPA 2001; NFPA 1901; death; accidents; specifications;
seats; safety; technolgy utilization; surveys; human
beings; protective equipment
Abstract:
The second leading cause of line-of-duty deaths for US
firefighters is attributed to vehicular accidents, and a
number of those firefighters who died were not wearing
their seatbelt. It has been proven that many
firefighters are not physically able to reach, manage,
or maneuver their seatbelt such that they are safely
restrained within the fire engine. Seat belts have been
proven to save lives and yet this level of protection is
not offered to all firefighters. Current seat
specifications are inadequate due to outdated
anthropometry, inappropriate use of percentiles, and
lack of attention to the fact that the firefighter is
outfitted in equipment adding considerable bulk and
weight. Furthermore, US firefighters
are one of the few populations never characterized using
anthropometry. Fortunately, innovative methods used to
capture and appropriately measure a population to
improve their specific protective gear have been refined
to create optimum fit. Characterizing the firefighter's
volume, given the added bulk, required 3D anthropometry,
selective image analysis, and advanced statistical
solutions, all of which have been provided through this
study. The multi-dimensional space that describes the
shape and size of the seated, encumbered firefighter was
captured using 3D whole body surface scanning.
Additional postures with and without gear were captured
as well to better understand and quantify the "bulk
factor" added by the turnout gear. Traditional
anthropometry was measured such that this data base can
be compared and enhanced by other anthropometric
database information. This facilitates the ability to
characterize firefighters, for instance, with respect to
other occupations. The sampling strategy was designed to
carefully select each subject in order to most likely
capture the variability that is the firefighting
population. The success of this approach was highlighted
in a comparison with the large national survey of
thousands of civilians. Summary statistics were
generated for all measurements to provide an overview of
the population. Comparison of these statistics revealed
potential problems with the FAMA self-reported
anthropometric study. Anatomical landmarks on the
standing and seated unencumbered scans were located and
recorded for future modeling and measurement use. The
dimensions that relate to seat and restraint design were
identified and extracted from the seated, encumbered
scans in the form of bounding boxes. A principal
component analysis (PCA) was performed on these data and
multivariate models generated to most succinctly
describe and present cases (models) to use with
ergonomic designs of fire apparatus. A physical
representation of these models has been presented as an
innovative design tool for existing and prototyped fire
apparatus.
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899