Carpet Safety and Ergonomic Benefits: Werner Braun

Werner Braun: Research Shows Carpet’s Ergonomic Benefits - Carpet as a Safety Issue

With school starting again, Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braun’s weekly column titled "Carpet as a safety issue" addresses the benefit carpet offers to schools and workplaces in terms of ergonomic comfort. In an article published in the Dalton, Georgia Daily Citizen, Mr. Braun says, “I am innately aware of the benefits carpet offers, and the role it plays in not only my children’s learning environments, but also the impact it will have as they move into the workplace.” He says the carpet industry has responded to the public’s demand for walking comfort combined with function in a way similar to the athletic shoe industry.

For teachers and others who must stand throughout the day, Braun points out that ergonomic comfort is especially important:

Walking creates an impact force averaging 1.3 times one’s body weight with each step. Carpet’s cushioning effects reduce that stress on the legs and back, and diminish fatigue, all of which contribute greatly to a more productive atmosphere.

Research on the ergonomic effects of various floor coverings conducted by Dr. Mark Redfern, Director of the Human Movement Analysis Laboratory and assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, looked at three areas of critical measurement: standing comfort, slip and fall prevention, and sound control. Based on these criteria, his research confirms reduction in leg and back fatigue as well as increased morale and productivity on the part of those who utilize carpet.

“Falls are more likely to occur on hard surfaces than soft surfaces, and those falls are more likely to produce injury. Data shows that nearly 87 percent of falls occur on hard surface floors and of those falls nearly 91 percent received injuries. In contrast, only 13 percent of falls occur on soft surface flooring. Of those, only 15 percent sustain injuries.

Excessive noise and reverberation interfere with speech intelligibility, resulting in reduced understanding and therefore reduced learning. In United States’ classrooms, the speech intelligibility rating is 75 percent or less. That means that, in speech intelligibility tests, listeners with normal hearing can understand only 75 percent of what is read from a list. Imagine trying to understand!

…to reduce reverberation time in a classroom: either the volume must be decreased or the sound absorption must be increased. Sound absorption is one of carpet’s…benefits.

Just remember as you drop of your children next week and see carpet in the learning environment exactly what an important role it plays in your child’s productivity.”

Thank you, Werner!

Has anyone noticed that carpet is easier to stand on for long periods? Are there other ergonomic benefits of carpet you’d like to mention?

~Bethany