I have excerpted some relevant sections of McClelland & Ward, 1982.
First, the study supports the suggestion of longer seats.
The apertures of the nonstandard seats used in this
study were 0.07m
longer than the currently recommended aperture. Longer apertures were
clearly an improvement over recommended ones in terms of access.
This confirms the suggestion made as a result of the previous
anthropometric survey that a longer aperture would be more
appropriate for toilet use. An enlarged seat aperture incorporated
into future standards for the design of toilet seats would
necessitate a longer bowl aperture than currently recommended.
If the bowl aperture were not extended to be coincident with the seat,
then at some point the rim would come within the aperture of the seat,
and soiling of the bowl might result.
Two consequences would result from the to the most negative responses.
adoption of a longer seat aperture as standard, and these would be of
great importance for the design of toilet sanitary ware and the
related facilities. First, a longer aperture would require a major
reappraisal of existing toilet designs by the sanitary-ware industry;
this undoubtedly would involve considerable development and expense.
The second consequence involves water economy. If a longer aperture
were adopted, then the internal surface area of the bowl would
probably increase or at least change in profile. This raises the
question as to whether the demand that toilet bowls be flushed
effectively with less water is compatible with a longer aperture.
This paper is not the appropriate platform for a lengthy discussion
of these topics, but if a new standard for toilet bowls is to be
established that satisfies ergonomic criteria, then it is clear from
this study that the question of the aperture length for both toilet
seat and bowl needs to be resolved. In the authors' view, this would
only be possible if a further study were undertaken, which would be
based on the evaluation of fully operational toilet units.
Secondarily, the results suggest that people, especially women,
prefer seats that support the buttocks and thighs well.
Given the similarities of seated positions adopted by
men and women,
the differences in preference may be due to the well-known anatomical
differences that exist between men and women with respect to the
pelvic region, in particular the differences in bi-ischial diameter
and the distribution of flesh around the buttocks and thighs. These
differences may require different emphasis on the support provided by
toilet seats. However, as already noted, in terms of the psychometric
scales used, both Seat 3, for men, and Seat 4, for women, were
acceptable. Thus, given the constraint of selecting one seat type for
both men and women, the results suggest that improvements in seat
comfort may be obtained by providing greater support for both buttocks
and thighs.
Finally, nobody had brought up the height of the seats, but I have to
mention their findings on this matter
It is clear that the most significant difference in
height
requirement is between men and women. The overall seat heights
derived from this study (HI) were, for men, a mean of 0.43m,
standard deviation 0.030 m, and for women, mean 0.40 m, standard
deviation 0.033 m. Accepting the premise that only one type of toilet
bowl and seat can be considered for general use by adults, a toilet
seat height of 0.4 m is recommended for the U.K. adult population.
This height is, of course, based on the preference of unshod
subjects. To take account of "average" indoor shoe heel heights,
a value of, say, 0.050 m could be added, giving a figure of 0.450 m
for seat height. This would be 0.020 m higher than the seat height of
0.430 m calculated to be the current British standard. The adoption
of a seat at this height (0.450 m) would, however, militate against
its suitability for the shorter members of the population, for
example, small women wearing low-heeled footwear. The preferred
height (Table 2) of the 2.5th percentile unshod female subjects was
0.338 m. A seat height of 0.450 m would thus be 0.112 m greater than
that preferred by them and would, in fact, accord with the height
preferences for only the 50th percentile female wearing heels of at
least 5 em. A seat height of 0.450 m would be 0.030 m lower than the
preferred overall height of 50th percentile male subjects if 0.050m
is added for "average" shoe heel height (Table 2); it would be 0.050m
higher than the preferred height of the 2.5th percentile male subject
unshod. Because of the considerable body of opinion, already referred
to, on the advantages of the squat rather than the seated posture,
particularly for defecation, seat height favoring a comfortable
seated posture for the smaller members of the population and a more
squat posture for taller people, is to be preferred to one that was
too high for smaller individuals in the seated posture. It is
therefore suggested that a seat height of 0.40 m (the mean height for
women, unshod) would be better than 0.45m as a fixed height to
accommodate the adult population; 0.40 m would also be closer to the
needs of the young than would 0.45 m. This height is approximately
0.03m lower than the height of a toilet seat set on a toilet bowl
both of which conform to the current British standards (British
Standards Institution, 1971, I977a, 1977b).
Tom
On 13 Jan 11:38, Jehan Tremback wrote:
Definately plastic
On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 11:37 AM, Patrik D'haeseleer <patrikd(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
> On Tue, Jan 13, 2015 at 11:12 AM, Thomas Levine <_(a)thomaslevine.com>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> I think new seats would also create a sense of maintenance/neatness that
>> would encourage people to be neat themselves. Also, if we do get new
>> seats,
>> we might consider the findings of Ian McClelland and Joan Ward regarding
>> the toilet seat preferences of different sexes.
>>
>> Ian L. McClelland and Joan S. Ward (1982). The Ergonomics of Toilet Seats.
>> Human Factors, 24(6): 713—725.
>>
>> That paper is proprietary, unfortunately, but I can recount it for anyone
>> who is interested.
>>
>
> Please do! Any recommendations regarding open vs closed front, wood vs
> plastic?
>
> Patrik
>
>
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