BS EN ISO 10551:2019

What is ISO 10551-Ergonomics of the physical environment about?

ISO 10551 discusses the ergonomics of the physical environment. ISO 10551 is an international standard on ergonomics of the physical environment to improve the environment.

ISO 10551 specifies principles and examples of practical application for the construction of appropriate subjective scales for use in the assessment and evaluation of the physical environment. ISO 10551 does not standardize particular scales.

ISO 10551 considers scales of perception, comfort, preference, acceptability, expression form and tolerance, and environmental components such as thermal, visual, air quality, acoustic, and vibration.

Note1: ISO 10551 does not consider other scales such as:

• Scales related to the effects of the environment on the ability to read displays or signs, on manual performance, or psychological conditions such as mood, etc
• Scales related to pain or scales related to stimuli that can lead to injury

Note2: ISO 10551 does not present principles of surveys or questionnaire design. However, the scales that are developed using this document can be incorporated into surveys or questionnaires.

Note 3: ISO 10551 does not standardize particular scales.

Note4: Environmental surveys are described in ISO 28802. ISO 28802 includes scales that are complementary to, and based upon, the principles of scale construction that are described in ISO 10551.

Who is ISO 10551-Ergonomics of the physical environment for?

ISO 10551 on ergonomics of the physical environment is useful for:

• Ergonomists
• Health and safety departments
• People conducting an environmental survey
• Environmental psychologists

Why should you use ISO 10551-Ergonomics of the physical environment?

People are exposed to a range of physical environments which can affect their health and safety, comfort, and performance. An important method for assessing physical environments, particularly when considering psychological constructs such as comfort or satisfaction, is to use subjective scales.

ISO 10551 provides you with a description of principles of scale construction and procedures for use. ISO 10551 also provides examples of commonly used scales across environmental components. ISO 10551 establishes specifications on methods for measuring and estimating the characteristic physical parameters of environments and methods to assess stress in environments.

The information provided in ISO 10551 can be used to construct valid subjective scales for use to determine how people feel in their physical environment, assist in the construction of questionnaires, and ensure validity and reliability of response to maximize safety, efficiency, and well-being of the environment.

What’s changed since the last update?

BS EN ISO 10551:2019 supersedes ISO 10551:1995. BS EN ISO 10551:2019 has some technical changes with respect to ISO 10551:1995. These include:

• The title has been changed and the Scope has been reworded
• New references have been added to Clause 2. New entries have been added to Clause 3
• In 5.2.1, a unipolar scale has been added. Annex B has been changed