Posts Tagged ‘ergonomics’
January 3rd, 2008 in Health No Comments
Ergonomic concerns have become a routine consideration when it comes to designing workspaces and purchasing equipment, and an impressive array of products have been designed to limit the stress of working long hours at desks and workstations. It is little wonder, therefore, that there has been real progress in alleviating problems ranging from eye strain and back pain to carpal tunnel syndrome. This article offers an overview of ergonomic progress in the traditional office and notes a trend toward closer examination
of ergonomics in nontraditional settings. It points out the role of company ergonomic programs in helping employees internalize ergonomics and foment improvements in health and productivity. (more…)
August 14th, 2007 in Health No Comments
We have entered into a modern age of new communication devices, micro-technologies and even nanotechnologies. This article identifies a new challenge that has arisen from the heat of this technological onrush – the ergonomic challenges that face the technology user.
To begin with, many users find themselves becoming stressed and intimidated by the new levels of almost constant contact engendered by the communication infrastructures currently being built by companies. Then there are repetitive motion injuries like “BlackBerry thumbs” and visual ergonomic risks associated with looking at their small screens under poor lighting conditions.
After a thorough discussion of current tech-based ergonomic concerns the article segues into the potential health problems associated with coming nanotechnologies and the need to develop safeguards to protect workers from the inevitable buildup of nanoparticles in the workplace.
Organizations like the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) are currently concluding studies but it will be years before any long-term effects are identified. This article calls for more attention to risk factors of new technologies and additional efforts to create “appropriate training modalities” for learning new technologies.
Source: Cynthia Roth, Occupational Hazards (Cleveland), Aug 2007
January 14th, 2005 in Office Management No Comments
If your office is too cold you might not be typing as accurately — or as much — as you could be, according to a study evaluating the influence of indoor environmental conditions on worker productivity. Conducted by Alan Hedge, director of Cornell University’s Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory, the study found a 74-percent increase in typing mistakes and a 46-percent reduction in typing output when office temperatures fell from 77°F to 68°F. The findings were presented at the 2004 Eastern Ergonomics Conference in New York.
The study investigated the link between changes in physical environmental conditions and changes in work performance. During the study, which was conducted at Insurance Office of America’s headquarters in Orlando, FL, nine workstations were equipped with a miniature personal environment sensor for sampling air temperature every 15 minutes for a full working month. Researchers recorded the amount of time that employees typed and the amount of time they spent making corrections.
“At 77°F, employees were keying 100-percent of the time with a 10-percent error rate, while at 68°F, keying went down to 54-percent of the time with a 25-percent error rate,” says Hedge. “Temperature is a key variable that can impact performance.” An abbreviated version of Hedge’s study is available at http://ergo.human.cornell.edu.
A study found a 74-percent increase in typing mistakes and a 46-percent reduction in typing output when office temperatures fell from 77°F to 68°F.
Source: Professional Safety; Jan, 2005
December 24th, 2004 in Furniture No Comments
In almost any aspect of daily life, people spend a great deal of time sitting down. Consider the following when choosing an office chair:
Seat height: The chair must not be so high that tissues in the back of the thigh are compressed and that the seat front edge does not reduce blood supply to the legs. This means that the front edge of the seat should be a bit lower than the distance from the floor to the underside of the thigh when seated.
Seat width: Fit is achieved when the seat width is wider than the width of the hips. This feature is important in ensuring that the worker will have flexibility to adjust their posture to relieve postural loading.
Seat depth: The back of the knee has relatively sensitive skin and little padding over the tendons, nerves and blood vessels; as a result, the seat depth should be slightly shorter than the worker’s upper thigh.
Seat angle: The seat angle should allow users to vary their posture forward and backward. This aids in ensuring good blood flow and to reduce loading on the spine and trunk muscles. It should also be lockable in various positions.
Trevor Schell is an ergonomist with the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers Inc., Sudbury Clinic.
Source: Trevor Schell, Northern Ontario Business; Dec, 2004 Copyright Northern Ontario Business Dec 2004
