Ergonomic considerations for the design of women’s functional protective wear for the local construction industry

Abstract

This study highlights the preliminary findings of an investigation into ergonomic considerations in the design of women’s protective clothing. The study investigates the validity of an assumption that there is a dearth in the product offerings of women’s protective wear that are ergonomically designed with a good fit, and offer acceptable levels of comfort for women performing outdoors in the construction industry. The research employs a qualitative research method – including interviews with key actors such as women working in the construction industry, and manufacturers. Pertinent psychological and physiological factors relating to the current protective wear are also interrogated herein. For example, the unique morphological features associated with steatopygia and gynaeoid body types are common in the sub-region, and yet not fully accommodated in the design of contextresponsive work wear. The prevailing attitudes among selected manufacturers and suppliers to motivate them to offer superior products for women in the construction industry are explored. A higher adoption rate of the redesigned women’s protective wear could correlate to reductions in downtime associated with general occupational health and safety issues; as well as an impact of low levels of comfort, protection and garment fit. Similarly, the redesigned garments could inform the development of improved protective wear for women, and ultimately facilitate higher productivity in the work environment. Subsequently, a boosted self-confidence and higher levels of motivation occasioned by a positive body image of women workers would validate the efficacy of the intended ergonomic design intervention. Lastly, the thesis discusses sociotechnical strategies for generating high fidelity data for applications in new product development for women’s protective wear. Furthermore, the findings and recommendations are discussed herein; this is made possible by the data collected.