Being stuck in your office cubicle for a huge amount of time every day doesn’t really mean that you have to experience discomfort, stand prone to risk or suffer from injuries. You can create an ergonomic working environment quite easily and avoid any work related injuries or discomfiture. If you’re trying to create that proper working environment, you should take note of these three issues: The Chair.
The dictionary definition of ergonomics or human factors is the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use. When a manufacturer uses this process they take into account many factors which can affect the consumer. They use theory, data and principles in order to design a chair that limits all unnatural motions which will cause fatigue and pain. What kind of things do ergonomically designed task chairs take into account?
At the end of the nineteenth century, Frederick Winslow Taylor went to work at Bethlehem Steel. Upon observing the workers shoveling coal, Taylor had an idea. He assigned each worker a shovel that was of a size and weight ideally suited to the worker’s own body structure. With the new shovels, the workers became triply effective, Bethlehem Steel was able to reduce its cost by half, and get the same amount of work out of 140 employees that it once got out of 400.
The Economic Burden of Workplace Injuries: According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, every year workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths cost our nation $170 billion (1). There are direct costs and indirect costs associated with all workplace injuries. Direct costs are those payments made to the employee and medical care providers. Indirect costs refer to the costs associated with lost productivity, training, administrative time, reduced product quality, overhead costs, legal fees and increased insurance premiums. In 2001, the economic burden to our nation from over-exertion injuries or injuries caused by excessive pushing, pulling, lifting, holding or carrying resulted in $9.8 billion in direct costs, repetitive motion injuries totaled $2.3 billion in direct costs, and the indirect costs associated with these ergonomic injuries accounted for $39 billion (2).
The dictionary definition of ergonomics or human factors is the application of scientific information concerning humans to the design of objects, systems and environment for human use. When a manufacturer uses this process they take into account many factors which can affect the consumer. They use theory, data and principles in order to design a chair that limits all unnatural motions which will cause fatigue and pain. What kind of things do ergonomically designed task chairs take into account?
Once you make the decision to create a more ergonomic work environment for yourself and your employees, the important thing is to understand the types of products on the market today and what they are best used for. Here is a list of some of the most basic products used in ergonomic offices today: Adjustable Work Surfaces: Monitor Arms: |