Ergonomics in Office Design

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Ergonomics in Office Design

• Business Procedures
• September 20, 2007

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What is ergonomics?
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• Derived from two Greek words
• ergon meaning work
• nomoi meaning natural laws
• Ergonomists study human capabilities in
  relationship to work demands

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• ergonomics(n.)The applied science of equipment
  design, as for the workplace, intended to
  maximize productivity by reducing operator
  fatigue and discomfort. Also called
  biotechnology, human engineering, human factors
  engineering

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• Ergonomics has a place in warehouses, health
  care, retail, construction, manufacturing, and of
  course, offices.

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Ergonomics Related to Computers

• Concerned with the interactions among a person
  using a computer, the work methods and tools
  employed when using a computer, and the work
  area.

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How does ergonomics affect the workplace?
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• Approximately 2.2 million injuries and illnesses
  resulted with days away from work, job transfers,
  or restriction of certain job duties.
• The manufacturing sector had the most injuries,
  accounting for 22 of the total, while health
  care and social assistance workers accounted for
  16 of injuries and illnesses, followed by the
  retail trade at 15.

information from ufcw.org/issues, data from 2004
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• The Liberty Mutual Insurance company estimates
  that workplace injuries cost U.S. employers 50.3
  billion - nearly 1 billion per week - in direct
  costs alone (medical and lost wage payments).
  Liberty Mutual data indicate businesses pay
  between 150.9 billion and 301.1 billion
  annually in direct and indirect (overtime,
  training and lost productivity) costs on workers'
  compensation losses.

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What can be done?
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• OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health
  Administration) has put out guidelines on how to
  avoid injuries while working at a computer

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Good Working Positions

• To understand the best way to set up a computer
  workstation, it is helpful to understand the
  concept of neutral body positioning. This is a
  comfortable working posture in which your joints
  are naturally aligned. Working with the body in a
  neutral position reduces stress and strain on the
  muscles, tendons, and skeletal system and reduces
  your risk of developing a musculoskeletal
  disorder (MSD).

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• Using your computer can be a pain in the neck -
  literally. If your monitor's too high, you may be
  tilting your head to view it, causing headaches
  or neck pain. A keyboard that's not positioned
  correctly can lead to discomfort in your wrists,
  while an improperly adjusted chair may cause
  lower back or leg pain.

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• The following are important considerations when
  attempting to maintain neutral body postures
  while working at the computer workstation

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• Hands, wrists, and forearms are straight, in-line
  and roughly parallel to the floor.
• Head is level, or bent slightly forward, forward
  facing, and balanced. Generally it is in-line
  with the torso.
• Shoulders are relaxed and upper arms hang
  normally at the side of the body.
• Elbows stay in close to the body and are bent
  between 90 and 120 degrees.

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• Feet are fully supported by floor or footrest.
• Back is fully supported with appropriate lumbar
  support when sitting vertical or leaning back
  slightly.
• Thighs and hips are supported by a well-padded
  seat and generally parallel to the floor.
• Knees are about the same height as the hips with
  the feet slightly forward.

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Selecting and arranging your workstation
components

• Appropriate placement of the components and
  accessories for the desktop computer workstation
  will allow you to work in neutral body positions,
  help you perform more efficiently, and work more
  comfortably and safe. A laptop workstation
  creates special challenges due to its computer
  design, size, and the variety of areas in which
  it is used. While many aspects of this eTool will
  be applicable to laptops, special considerations
  may be necessary when working with laptop units.

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Potential Hazards

• Computer work, whether it's for a job or for fun,
  may appear to be a low effort activity when
  viewed from a total body perspective, but
  maintaining postures or performing highly
  repetitive tasks for extended periods can lead to
  problems in localized areas of the body.

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• For example, using a mouse for a few minutes
  should not be a problem for most users, but
  performing this task for several uninterrupted
  hours can expose the small muscles and tendons of
  the hand to hundreds or even thousands of
  activations (repetitions). There may not be
  adequate time between activations for rest and
  recuperation, which can lead to localized
  fatigue, wear and tear, and injury. Likewise,
  maintaining static postures, such as viewing the
  monitor, for a prolonged period of time without
  taking a break can fatigue the muscles of the
  neck and shoulder that support the head.

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• Regardless of how good your working posture is,
  working in the same posture or sitting still for
  prolonged periods is not healthy. You should
  change your working position frequently
  throughout the day in the following ways
• Make small adjustments to your chair or
  backrest.
• Stretch your fingers, hands, arms, and torso.
• Stand up and walk around for a few minutes
  periodically.

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Possible Solutions

• Provide variation in tasks and workstations so
  there is time to recover from the effects of
  activity. There are several ways to provide
  recovery time for overused muscles.

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• Alternate tasks whenever possible, mixing
  non-computer-related tasks into the workday. This
  encourages body movement and the use of different
  muscle groups.

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• High repetition tasks or jobs that require long
  periods of static posture may require several,
  short rest breaks (micro breaks or rest pauses).
  During these breaks users should be encouraged to
  stand, stretch, and move around. This provides
  rest and allows the muscles enough time to
  recover.

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• Utilize an adjustable workstation so users can
  easily change their working postures. The use of
  easily adjustable furniture, for example, allows
  you to frequently change seated postures, which
  allows different muscle groups to provide support
  while others rest.

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• Ensure that there is enough work space so you can
  use each hand alternately to perform mouse tasks.
  This allows the tendons and muscles of the free
  hand to rest.

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• Substitute keystrokes for mousing tasks, such as
  CtrlS to save, CtrlP to print. Especially if
  your job is highly mouse intensive

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Exercises can help, too

• ExerciseUsing a monitor, like other close work,
  places such demands on your eyes that it is
  important to take brief (30-second to 2-minute)
  but frequent pauses throughout the time you are
  working with your computer. The recovery pause
  gives your eyes a chance to recover from fatigue.
  During your recovery pause, try some of the
  following exercises to help you feel refreshed.
  Note Don't do any exercise that feels
  uncomfortable or causes straining.

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• Do these exercises to help your eyes feel
  refreshed Yawning and blinking can help to keep
  your eyes lubricated.
• Changing focus can help to relax the muscles of
  your eyes. To try this, look at your fingertip
  with your arm stretched in front of you, then to
  a point far away from you, then back to your
  fingertip.
• Palming can help to relieve eyestrain. To try
  this, cover your eyes with your hands, while you
  breathe deeply.

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Do these body exercises during breaks

• Deep breathing can help relieve tension in your
  muscles.
• Hand and finger massages can help to keep your
  hands warm and reduce cramping and stiffness.
• The executive stretch is a good exercise for the
  entire upper body. To try this, clasp your hands
  behind your head and gently stretch your elbows
  back while taking in a deep breath.
• Shoulder shrugs can help to reduce tension or
  stiffness in the upper back and neck. To try
  this, gently pull your shoulders up toward your
  ears and then relax your shoulders downward.

From medword.com
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Do you know what the most common office injury is?
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The results may surprise you

• The most common type of office injury is a slip
  and fall.
• Wet floors with no signs
• File cabinets left open
• Computer wires and extension cords

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