This document summarizes descriptive quantities for those responsible (e.g. scientists, safety engineers) for determination of postures for a seated person who is exposed to whole-body vibration. It is the intention that the results of different methods can be easily related to these quantities and that they allow for a common terminology between practitioners. The focus of this document is to offer a collection of ideas on how to measure postures in practice. The postures determined can also be used as a basis for further investigation or as a means of comparison for different methods. Although some of the approaches described here can be applied to standing or recumbent positions, additional considerations are likely to be required in these cases.

NOTE 1    This work is closely related to International Standards which focus on static postures (ISO 11226^[4]) or on radiologically accessible landmarks, i.e. points on the body (ISO 8727^[3]).

Additionally, this document deals with dynamic postures where body angles or associated movements are determined visually or by measuring points on the skin or clothing.

NOTE 2    Nevertheless, ISO 8727^[3] and ISO 11226^[4] put forward principles for further extensions of posture determination which are followed in this document, in particular for measurements of body angles.

This document does not specify sampling strategies or evaluation methods.