Body Dimension Analysis

An ergonomic study using the 2012 US Army Personnel Survey to evaluate how two common household products — an oven/stove unit and a Tide Pods container — actually accommodate real body dimensions. Working with Silas Clark, the analysis cross-referenced product measurements against anthropometric percentile ranges to find where design breaks down. The oven clears most users technically but creates burn hazards for shorter individuals who have to reach over active burners. The Tide Pods container is more interesting: its restricted 3.5-inch opening excludes roughly half of male hand sizes — not by accident, but by design. Child safety won over universal access, and the numbers make that trade-off explicit.

Course: ENP-114