Floor Mats

During standing work, some surfaces are better than others. This study is a continuation of our previous study (Rys and Konz, 1989a).

In Experiment 1 we evaluated responses of standing on concrete, on a “Footsaver” mat, a San-Eze II mat and an Optimat mat. The 20 subjects stood for 1.5 h on each of the four mats. The criteria were: foot length, width, circumference, forefoot thickness, skin instep and calf temperature. The comfort criteria were a modification of Corlett and Bishop's scale. Based on those criteria all three mats were significantly more comfortable than concrete. Comfort seems to be inversely related to mat compressibility.

In Experiment 2 we investigated the relationship of abdominal endurance and lumbar flexibility to fatigue and discomfort during a simple standing task. Twelve male subjects were tested for physical characteristics. Height, limb length discrepancies, abdominal strength, and flexibility were the best predictors of comfort during 2 h standing work. Higher foot and leg temperature and lower heart rate corresponded to higher productivity.