Ergonomics
http://www.articlefit.com/Ergonomics/a5436_1
H. Knowlton
By H. Knowlton
Published on 11/7/2008
Repetitive strain injuries (RSI), being one of the leading issues faced in the workforce, can lead to long-term disability, which in the end costs everyone both monetarily and personally.
Simple User's Guide
Consumer products are saturated with "ergo" items from chairs to footrests and even staplers. There are numerous books and resources to pass the ergonomic litmus test on your own as well as specialists to hire for an evaluation. Many workplaces pay for these evaluations to prevent injury, loss of productivity, and save from increased insurance rates when either the worker or the company suspects risk of repetitive strain due to repetitive motion.
The bottom line is that repetitive strain injuries (RSI), being one of the leading issues faced in the workforce, can lead to long-term disability, which in the end costs everyone both monetarily and personally.The pain is not only physical but mental as well, in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the study also revealed that employees with pain scored more than 45 percent lower on an overall rating of physical health, compared to those without pain, and were five times more likely to report health-related limitations in job performance. The more severe the pain, the greater its effect on productivity. Pain was also linked to a 23 percent reduction in their mental health score.
Ergonomics, also called human engineering or human factors engineering, is aninterdisciplinary science that studies the relationship between the worker's capabilities, the task to be performed, and the design of the workspace or work environment in order to assure health, safety, and more efficient productivity. It takes account of the worker's capabilities and limitations in seeking to ensure that tasks, equipment, information and the environment suit each worker. Repetitive job activities coupled with poor worker posture and incorrect design and placement of work tools has led to an increase in repetitive strain injury claims filed with the US Department of Labor. In 1994 over forty five million workers' compensation claims were filed for repetitive injuries at computer workstations, and by 1997 the claims filed doubled.
With the increase of repetitive strain injuries (RSI), occupational therapists have been moving in to the field of ergonomics thus making it one of the top 10 professions of the coming decades. Though ergonomics promises to be an almost fail-safe measure to increased production, and activity, while saving the workforce from burn-out and debilitating injuries, only some companies are requiring mandatory use of this science while other companies leave it up to the worker to seek training or evaluation. If you were to ask the average worker how important ergonomics was to them in the workplace, few would know the answer as this subject may not always be addressed in detail or as a requirement by the company. How can a worker monitor whether or not he or she is ergonomically correct while at the same time ensuring top productivity in the tasks they perform?
Ergonomics, ergo meaning "work" and nomos meaning "law" dates back as far as the Hellenic period of Ancient Greece, and has a long history of contributors to this science who were responsible for selecting and developing tools, machines, and work processes to better suit the worker and the task. There are five principles of ergonomics that can help in the design and redesign of products: safety, comfort, and ease of use, productivity/performance, and aesthetics.
There are three branches or domains of ergonomics, which go to make this a very well rounded science that address basic needs in the workplace and beyond. The three are: physical ergonomics, cognitive ergonomics, and organizational ergonomics. Physical ergonomics is concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity. Cognitive ergonomics is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system.
Organizational ergonomics: is concerned with the optimization of sociotechnical systems, including their organizational structures, policies, and processes.Since it's beginnings, the goal of ergonomics was to meet the needs of both worker and industry, and thus would herald a methodology that would forever change design and production. This goal has sprouted numerous methodologies, theories, and studies. There are three basic steps to ergonomics, which are the same no matter which branch. The first is to conduct an evaluation. The second is to educate the worker, company, and designers. Finally, to be proactive.
On techniques developed in ergonomics, the Alexander Technique lists three principles that will help maximize the effectiveness of this science. The Alexander Technique is a method, which can help you perform all your usual activities without unnecessary tension. It can be applied to sitting, standing, walking, lifting, speaking - to whatever you do during your day (The Complete Guide To The Alexander Technique). There are three principles to the Alexander Technique that make it an effective tool for evaluation, education, and being proactive: all work activities should permit the worker to adopt several different, but equally healthy and safe postures; where muscular force has to be exerted it should be done by the largest appropriate muscle groups available; work activities should be performed with the joints at about mid-point of their range of movement. This applies particularly to the head, trunk, and upper limbs.Why do we care to know any of this? What happens when we ignore the warning signs? You don't have to be working in a manual labor setting to develop workplace ailments. In an office setting for example, sitting down in a chair that is not properly matched to your body, looking for long periods of time at a computer monitor that is either very high or very low from eye level while at the same time not moving your head can cause strain, fatigue and eventually injury.
Sitting down for long durations without standing up and taking a break, does not allow for the blood to flow through the muscle thus hindering the cleansing of lactic acids from muscle. The lactic acid built up causes discomfort, fatigue, and pain, which can lead to injury. These symptoms are not only for legs and feet but neck, head, eyes, arms, and any parts of the body that are involved in the task as well.Ergonomics as you can see is a group effort tasking both the trained awareness of the ergonomic specialist and the awareness of the worker to these responsibilities to make this work after workstation equipment has been changed or the space redesigned. Though the new tools will be in place it is the workers responsibility to us them correctly and follow the suggestions of the evaluator.
Here are some practical ways to make sure you are ergonomically correct in areas like chairs, desks, monitors, wrists rests, footrests, documents holders, keyboards and mouse, and phones. Chairs do not have to be expensive to be ergonomically correct nor does one chair fit all. The things you need to consider are adjustable height, room for a footrest, if you are able to use a lumbar pillows with the design you chose, and armrests that keep your forearms supported without having your shoulders hunched over. Feet should be flat on the floor with elbows and knees forming a right angle when your hands are on a desktop or keyboard, and the lower back should be supported by a lumbar pillow and footrest if stress in that region is felt. The idea is that you are relaxed in your chair without having to slouch or lean to get the task done or to compensate for any pain or discomfort from the chair and workspace.
Your desk is where most of your tasks may take place and so you need to ensure there is enough room for your monitor, keyboard (if not placed in a keyboard rack), document holder, and work area. It is important to move your head while you are working to save from a stiffness and inflammation. The depth of the desk should ensure that the monitor is at a comfortable viewing distance from you. The height of the desk should not be so short as to touch your knees and thighs, or too high to that you have to reach up and over to use this workspace. Placement of work tools is another consideration to ensure they are not too far thus making you awkwardly stretch and lean or too close to get in your way. The monitor should be at eye level or slightly below to save from tilting your neck and head too far down or back when looking at it. If the desk or monitor can not be adjusted to the proper height, monitor stands can make up the difference. To save from eye strain use an antiglare screen and clean the monitor regularly. If your monitor is too high you can always make adjustments by raising the chair and adjusting the footrest to ensure your feet are still flat on the ground. Wrists or palm pads can be helpful for reducing shoulder strain by allowing the wrists to rest on the pad instead of in the air while typing. When choosing a wrist or palm pad make sure that the thickness will allow for a natural keying angle of your wrists.
Footrests are great when differences in height or size need to be corrected between theworker and the office furniture. Not everyone needs or uses a footrest, but having one will allow for overall strain and fatigue reduction of the feet and legs as well as aiding in proper posture. Document holders come in various models and are adjustable to meet the worker's needs. Some attach to the computer monitor while others are standalone. Documents holders save the worker from strain to the back and neck while increasing productivity.When choosing a keyboard and mouse to meet your needs you would first have to determine if the other elements in the workstation are corrected before purchasing them. There are various models of both mouse and keyboard. It will take time to get use to them no matter which style you choose, but the most important thing first is, that it is an "ergo" keyboard and mouse, and it feels for the most part comfortable to the task you must perform.
If you use a phone a lot consider getting a headset so to free up your hands and not use your shoulders to type and keep the phone secure. By placing the phone on the shoulders for a long duration you add strain to the neck and shoulders. There are shoulder phone cushions for people who do not use the phone very often, but most ergonomic evaluators would agree that a headset or speaker would be the best choice in the long run. These workplace tools are only a few examples in a single workplace setting of how a person can become ergonomically correct thereby extending their overall health and safety for longer durations in a particular workforce. Studies in repetitive strain injuries, eyestrain, musculoskeletal injuries, radiation exposure, and air quality control are continually being made to help design engineers, and companies design a better workplace, and consumer products. Production companies like Ford had to redesign how they build certain parts on their vehicles, for example, the change to the design of the grille of its 2008 E-Series commercial van after the automaker's manufacturing ergonomics lab determined, through virtual simulation, that assembly line workers would have to exert too much pressure on their bodies during installation.
Overall the task of ergonomics may seem hopeless, but currently there are many tools available to the worker, company and designer. Online alone you can choose between many different resources like forums and organizations or agencies. Usernomics, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Medline Plus, Ergo Web, Safe Computing Tips, and Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), are only a few sites out there that can answer your questions, educate you in being ergonomically correct, and point to more resources. In the book "Pain Free at Your PC" Pete Egoscue gives numerous tips and stretches that you can do right at your workstation to relieve fatigue and discomfort. We cannot always rely on our workforce to keep watch of our health and well being though a good effort is in place. Ergonomics is a group effect that will only work if workers, companies and designers are educated in its principles and put to use the steps for better health and safety in the workplace. Think about your workplace for a moment and see where you can make adjustments that will save you and the company in the long run. Resources
The bottom line is that repetitive strain injuries (RSI), being one of the leading issues faced in the workforce, can lead to long-term disability, which in the end costs everyone both monetarily and personally.The pain is not only physical but mental as well, in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the study also revealed that employees with pain scored more than 45 percent lower on an overall rating of physical health, compared to those without pain, and were five times more likely to report health-related limitations in job performance. The more severe the pain, the greater its effect on productivity. Pain was also linked to a 23 percent reduction in their mental health score.
Ergonomics, also called human engineering or human factors engineering, is aninterdisciplinary science that studies the relationship between the worker's capabilities, the task to be performed, and the design of the workspace or work environment in order to assure health, safety, and more efficient productivity. It takes account of the worker's capabilities and limitations in seeking to ensure that tasks, equipment, information and the environment suit each worker. Repetitive job activities coupled with poor worker posture and incorrect design and placement of work tools has led to an increase in repetitive strain injury claims filed with the US Department of Labor. In 1994 over forty five million workers' compensation claims were filed for repetitive injuries at computer workstations, and by 1997 the claims filed doubled.
With the increase of repetitive strain injuries (RSI), occupational therapists have been moving in to the field of ergonomics thus making it one of the top 10 professions of the coming decades. Though ergonomics promises to be an almost fail-safe measure to increased production, and activity, while saving the workforce from burn-out and debilitating injuries, only some companies are requiring mandatory use of this science while other companies leave it up to the worker to seek training or evaluation. If you were to ask the average worker how important ergonomics was to them in the workplace, few would know the answer as this subject may not always be addressed in detail or as a requirement by the company. How can a worker monitor whether or not he or she is ergonomically correct while at the same time ensuring top productivity in the tasks they perform?
Ergonomics, ergo meaning "work" and nomos meaning "law" dates back as far as the Hellenic period of Ancient Greece, and has a long history of contributors to this science who were responsible for selecting and developing tools, machines, and work processes to better suit the worker and the task. There are five principles of ergonomics that can help in the design and redesign of products: safety, comfort, and ease of use, productivity/performance, and aesthetics.
There are three branches or domains of ergonomics, which go to make this a very well rounded science that address basic needs in the workplace and beyond. The three are: physical ergonomics, cognitive ergonomics, and organizational ergonomics. Physical ergonomics is concerned with human anatomical, anthropometric, physiological and biomechanical characteristics as they relate to physical activity. Cognitive ergonomics is concerned with mental processes, such as perception, memory, reasoning, and motor response, as they affect interactions among humans and other elements of a system.
Organizational ergonomics: is concerned with the optimization of sociotechnical systems, including their organizational structures, policies, and processes.Since it's beginnings, the goal of ergonomics was to meet the needs of both worker and industry, and thus would herald a methodology that would forever change design and production. This goal has sprouted numerous methodologies, theories, and studies. There are three basic steps to ergonomics, which are the same no matter which branch. The first is to conduct an evaluation. The second is to educate the worker, company, and designers. Finally, to be proactive.
On techniques developed in ergonomics, the Alexander Technique lists three principles that will help maximize the effectiveness of this science. The Alexander Technique is a method, which can help you perform all your usual activities without unnecessary tension. It can be applied to sitting, standing, walking, lifting, speaking - to whatever you do during your day (The Complete Guide To The Alexander Technique). There are three principles to the Alexander Technique that make it an effective tool for evaluation, education, and being proactive: all work activities should permit the worker to adopt several different, but equally healthy and safe postures; where muscular force has to be exerted it should be done by the largest appropriate muscle groups available; work activities should be performed with the joints at about mid-point of their range of movement. This applies particularly to the head, trunk, and upper limbs.Why do we care to know any of this? What happens when we ignore the warning signs? You don't have to be working in a manual labor setting to develop workplace ailments. In an office setting for example, sitting down in a chair that is not properly matched to your body, looking for long periods of time at a computer monitor that is either very high or very low from eye level while at the same time not moving your head can cause strain, fatigue and eventually injury.
Sitting down for long durations without standing up and taking a break, does not allow for the blood to flow through the muscle thus hindering the cleansing of lactic acids from muscle. The lactic acid built up causes discomfort, fatigue, and pain, which can lead to injury. These symptoms are not only for legs and feet but neck, head, eyes, arms, and any parts of the body that are involved in the task as well.Ergonomics as you can see is a group effort tasking both the trained awareness of the ergonomic specialist and the awareness of the worker to these responsibilities to make this work after workstation equipment has been changed or the space redesigned. Though the new tools will be in place it is the workers responsibility to us them correctly and follow the suggestions of the evaluator.
Here are some practical ways to make sure you are ergonomically correct in areas like chairs, desks, monitors, wrists rests, footrests, documents holders, keyboards and mouse, and phones. Chairs do not have to be expensive to be ergonomically correct nor does one chair fit all. The things you need to consider are adjustable height, room for a footrest, if you are able to use a lumbar pillows with the design you chose, and armrests that keep your forearms supported without having your shoulders hunched over. Feet should be flat on the floor with elbows and knees forming a right angle when your hands are on a desktop or keyboard, and the lower back should be supported by a lumbar pillow and footrest if stress in that region is felt. The idea is that you are relaxed in your chair without having to slouch or lean to get the task done or to compensate for any pain or discomfort from the chair and workspace.
Your desk is where most of your tasks may take place and so you need to ensure there is enough room for your monitor, keyboard (if not placed in a keyboard rack), document holder, and work area. It is important to move your head while you are working to save from a stiffness and inflammation. The depth of the desk should ensure that the monitor is at a comfortable viewing distance from you. The height of the desk should not be so short as to touch your knees and thighs, or too high to that you have to reach up and over to use this workspace. Placement of work tools is another consideration to ensure they are not too far thus making you awkwardly stretch and lean or too close to get in your way. The monitor should be at eye level or slightly below to save from tilting your neck and head too far down or back when looking at it. If the desk or monitor can not be adjusted to the proper height, monitor stands can make up the difference. To save from eye strain use an antiglare screen and clean the monitor regularly. If your monitor is too high you can always make adjustments by raising the chair and adjusting the footrest to ensure your feet are still flat on the ground. Wrists or palm pads can be helpful for reducing shoulder strain by allowing the wrists to rest on the pad instead of in the air while typing. When choosing a wrist or palm pad make sure that the thickness will allow for a natural keying angle of your wrists.
Footrests are great when differences in height or size need to be corrected between theworker and the office furniture. Not everyone needs or uses a footrest, but having one will allow for overall strain and fatigue reduction of the feet and legs as well as aiding in proper posture. Document holders come in various models and are adjustable to meet the worker's needs. Some attach to the computer monitor while others are standalone. Documents holders save the worker from strain to the back and neck while increasing productivity.When choosing a keyboard and mouse to meet your needs you would first have to determine if the other elements in the workstation are corrected before purchasing them. There are various models of both mouse and keyboard. It will take time to get use to them no matter which style you choose, but the most important thing first is, that it is an "ergo" keyboard and mouse, and it feels for the most part comfortable to the task you must perform.
If you use a phone a lot consider getting a headset so to free up your hands and not use your shoulders to type and keep the phone secure. By placing the phone on the shoulders for a long duration you add strain to the neck and shoulders. There are shoulder phone cushions for people who do not use the phone very often, but most ergonomic evaluators would agree that a headset or speaker would be the best choice in the long run. These workplace tools are only a few examples in a single workplace setting of how a person can become ergonomically correct thereby extending their overall health and safety for longer durations in a particular workforce. Studies in repetitive strain injuries, eyestrain, musculoskeletal injuries, radiation exposure, and air quality control are continually being made to help design engineers, and companies design a better workplace, and consumer products. Production companies like Ford had to redesign how they build certain parts on their vehicles, for example, the change to the design of the grille of its 2008 E-Series commercial van after the automaker's manufacturing ergonomics lab determined, through virtual simulation, that assembly line workers would have to exert too much pressure on their bodies during installation.
Overall the task of ergonomics may seem hopeless, but currently there are many tools available to the worker, company and designer. Online alone you can choose between many different resources like forums and organizations or agencies. Usernomics, Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Medline Plus, Ergo Web, Safe Computing Tips, and Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), are only a few sites out there that can answer your questions, educate you in being ergonomically correct, and point to more resources. In the book "Pain Free at Your PC" Pete Egoscue gives numerous tips and stretches that you can do right at your workstation to relieve fatigue and discomfort. We cannot always rely on our workforce to keep watch of our health and well being though a good effort is in place. Ergonomics is a group effect that will only work if workers, companies and designers are educated in its principles and put to use the steps for better health and safety in the workplace. Think about your workplace for a moment and see where you can make adjustments that will save you and the company in the long run. Resources
- www.ergoweb.com
- www.alexandertechnique.com/
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergonomics
- http://find.galegroup.com/itx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IACDocuments& type=retrieve&tabID=T003&prodId=ITOF&docId=A172981728&source=gale&srcprod=ITOF&userGroupName=kcls_web&version=1.0
- http://www.iea.cc/browse.php?contID=what_is_ergonomics
- http://www.publish.com/c/a/Printing/Three-steps-to-an-ergonomically-safe-workplace/