Functional and Inclusive Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Pant Anthropometric Needs for Blueprint Development

Academic literature and safety organizations have documented challenges women face with personal protective equipment (PPE) sizing and fit. The major contributing factor for these challenges is relevant anthropometric data and how that data is applied to product blueprints. For example, in order to draft an accurate blueprint for pants, 33 specific anthropometric measures are needed. When considering a highly referenced standard and anthropometric databases utilized for PPE pant development - ISO (2017), CAESAR (2002) and ANSUR (2012), only 6%, 21%, and 21% of the measures depicted were included, respectively. This research will demonstrate what anthropometric measures are needed to draft a functional PPE pant blueprint, while highlighting issues when these measures are not included.