Businesses that seek to be successful always must manage a variety of work costs, such as supplies, labor, bookkeeping, inventory, and more. One area that is often overlooked is the cost of workplace injuries. According to a news release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2016 alone, there were more than 2.9 million nonfatal workplace and illnesses.
Workers are always carrying out tasks that create constant stress and lead to musculoskeletal disorders, carpal tunnel syndrome as well as other ailments. Workers can also experience fatigue which cause depreciating accuracy, efficiency, and productivity. These issues undoubtedly increase business costs. By making an ergonomic work environment a priority, workers will experience less injuries and in turn, cost businesses less money.
Reduce Work Compensation Claims
Ergonomics can help reduce the amount of worker compensation claims. Business costs often go up when workers begin dealing with work-related health issues as they make medical claims. However, with the implementation of proper ergonomic safety precautions, training, and equipment, you can easily bring down running costs.
Streamline Processes
Ergonomics can help save money through streamlining of the processes. Simple changes such as reducing repetitive motions, cutting down steps, and limiting exertion can result in process changes that boost workflow and save more time.
With improved processes and business operations, you can accomplish more for far less cost. In addition, there may be improvements in the quality of products and services, further boosting the value your business offers.
Decrease in Turnover
It is costly to interview and train new employees constantly, which disrupt business services. It is also vital that employees remain healthy and are working at their highest levels. Creating an ergonomic environment will encourage employees to continue working as they believe that the company, they work for takes care of them and prioritizes comfortable working conditions.
To make your workplace more ergonomic for your employees, it is important to hire a Specialist. At Accredited Rehabilitation Consultants, we can evaluate your current workspace, find ways to make it more ergonomic, and then provide and install the necessary equipment to do so. To learn more, contact us today!
When you hear the term “office ergonomic,” the first things you will think about are chairs, desks and keyboards. While all of these are crucial to proper office ergonomics, ergonomic lighting is also crucial, as it is able to prevent the development of a condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) that presents with symptoms such as blurred vision, neck pain, headaches, itchy eyes, insomnia among others. Furthermore, poor lighting can contribute to general discomfort, drop in productivity, an increased propensity for errors, plummeting morale and a sharp reduction in mental alertness.
Many workers do not take ergonomic lighting seriously and it’s common to see someone hunched over their keyboard in a dim lighted room or typing away under harsh, fluorescent lighting. For sensible ergonomic lighting interventions that can keep your eyes healthy and help to avoid neck pain, here are a few tips:
Work Under Lights Not Too High or Too Low
When office lights are too dim, this will cause employees to squint or strain their eyes to see what’s on the screen. Not only does it reduce efficiency, it can cause vision to deteriorate over time. The problems are similar with bright lights, especially as they make images on computer screens appear washed out. The ideal scenario is to have employees able to read what’s on their screen without having to strain. For a dim room, put in a little brightness with supplemental table lighting. For bright rooms, consider taking one or two bulbs out to reduce the brightness.
Go for a Soft Yellow Light
Lights that are yellow toned are much easier on the eyes and have a pleasing effect on mood. Although many workplaces go fluorescent because of the numerous benefits it offers, chief of which is energy savings. This issue can be addressed by using the newest generation of incandescents. While they will not be as efficient as fluorescents, they are not as detrimental to your vision.
Watch the Placement of Your Lighting
Regardless of the light you settle for, one area of concern you may deal with is glare, especially when it comes to computer screens. That’s why indirect lighting is the best. Never position lights to bounce off the screen. Also, try out glare filters for computer screens, and glare shields for immovable lights that shine too brightly.
Keep Monitors Away from Windows
Screens near windows pose a high risk of glare. What’s more, if a window is placed directly behind a screen, it can create a situation where there is too high of a contrast between the screen brightness and that of the window, making it hard for employees to see what’s on the screen. If screens cannot be placed in another position, a mitigation strategy is to use blinds and drapes, and window tinting.
Adjust Lighting with the Time of Day
Staring at bright screens throughout the day has the capacity to influence circadian rhythms and interrupt sleep. To prevent this, you can download an automatic screen brightening detection app to either brighten or dim screens throughout the day.
To have a Specialist examine your lighting situation and to achieve an optimal ergonomic workstation, it is important to hire a Specialist to examine your current workplace. At Accredited Rehabilitation Consultants, we can evaluate your current workspace, find ways to make it more ergonomic, and then provide and install the necessary equipment to do so. To learn more, contact us today!
Ergonomics is the science that deals with the design of systems that optimizes human well-being and boosts performance. There are two sub-fields of ergonomics, which are physical and cognitive. Here, we focus on the 10 design principles of physical ergonomics. These principles can be readily applied in the workplace, at home, or anywhere else.
You can cause strain on your neck and back working long with a “c” curve.
It is important to keep proper alignment of neck, hands, and wrists.
Always keep elbows at the side.
Reduce Excessive Force
Using too much force or pressure at the joints can lead to injury. Ensure the floor is in good repair to ease the movement of items, like a heavy cart for instance.
Consider minimizing work that requires a lot of physical labor.
Keep everything within you reach
You can avoid unnecessary stretching and strain when you keep everything within reach.
Work at the right height
You won’t lean or strain your neck if you work at the right height.
Do most sitting work at elbow height but lower than elbow height for standing work.
You can adjust height by adding or removing extensions to chairs and tables.
When it comes to strenuous work, fatigue is common and maintaining proper posture is crucial
An example of static load involves having to hold things for long periods. Hold pen softly, use fixtures to eliminate holding on to items too long.
When you take breaks and intervals, you can reduce fatigue.
Use footrest to reposition the legs.
Minimize Pressure Points
Leaning forearms against the edge of a work table creates a pressure point.
When sitting on chairs with cushioning, a pressure point can be created behind the knee if the seat is too high or when your legs dangle. Also, a pressure point is formed between your thigh and the bottom of the table when you sit.
Consider using an anti-fatigue mat or insole.
Provide Clearance
· There should be enough clearance in the work area for your arms and legs.
Move, Exercise and Stretch
· Move and stretch whenever you can.
· It is important that you take intervals between work to stretch and move around.
Maintain a Comfortable Environment
Maintain a work environment that promotes movement where you can sit and stand as needed.
Ensure that you have the proper lighting.
If possible, set the temperature to a comfortable setting.
These 10 principles often overlap depending on the situation. Yet, each principle stands on its own and encapsulates a whole body of ergonomic knowledge and practice. Together as a whole, they represent a method for knowing what to look for in finding smarter and better ways to work.
To achieve an optimal ergonomic workstation, it is important to hire a Specialist to examine your current workplace. At Accredited Rehabilitation Consultants, we can evaluate your current workspace, find ways to make it more ergonomic, and then provide and install the necessary equipment to do so. To learn more, contact us today!
The design of the laptop computer inherently violates a basic ergonomic design requirement, the keyboard and screen are integrated. In the early days of personal computing, desktop devices integrated the screen and keyboard into a single unit. This resulted in widespread complaints of musculoskeletal discomfort. By the late 1970’s a number of ergonomics design guidelines were written and all called for the separation of screen and keyboard. The reason is simple – with a fixed design, if the keyboard is in an optimal position for the user, the screen isn’t and if the screen is optimal the keyboard isn’t. Consequently, the laptop computer is excluded from current ergonomic design requirements, because none of the designs satisfy this basic need. This means that you need to pay special attention to how you use your laptop computer, because it can cause you problems.
Laptop Computer User Type – the first thing to consider is: how do you use your laptop? Are you an occasional user who works on your laptop for short periods of time or a full-time user with the laptop as your main computer? Using a laptop computer is a trade-off between poor neck posture / head posture and poor hand posture / wrist posture. All users should pay some attention to how they use their laptop. But, occasional users will have fewer risks of problems than full-time users. That is why we provide tips for both part-time and full-time laptop computer users.
Occasional Users – because the neck position / head position is determined by the actions of large muscles, you are better off sacrificing neck posture rather than wrist posture. For occasional use:
Find a chair that is comfortable and in which you can sit back.
Position your laptop computerin your lap for the most neutral wrist posture that you can achieve.
Angle the laptop screen so you can see it with the least amount of neck posture deviation.
Full-time Users – if you use your laptop at work as your main computer you should:
Position the laptop computer on your desk/worksurface in front of you, so that you can see the screen without bending your neck. This may require elevating the laptop off the desk surface using a stable support surface, such as a computer monitor pedestal.
Use a separate keyboard and mouse. You should be able to connect a keyboard and mouse directly to the back of the laptop or to a docking station.
Use the keyboard on a keyboard tray to ensure a wrist neutral posture.
Use the mouse on an adjustable position mouse platform.
Laptop Computer Dimensions – many laptops offer large screens (15″ plus) and can work as desktop replacements (giving the viewing area of a 17″ monitor). However, think about where you will use your laptop most to help you choose the best size. The larger the screen the more difficult it will be to use a laptop computer in mobile locations (e.g., airplane, car, train). There are a number of smaller notebooks and ultraportable laptops on the market. Consider issues of screen size and screen resolution. A small screen (e.g., 12.1″) will be useful in mobile settings. But, if the resolution is high (e.g., XGA – 1024 x 768), make sure that you can read the screen characters and can easily use the input device to point to areas on the screen. The smaller the laptop, the smaller the keyboard, so make sure that you can comfortably type on a keyboard that may be only 75% the size of a regular keyboard.
Laptop Computer Weight – if you are a mobile professional who will be frequently transporting your laptop, think about the weight of the system. By the word ‘system’, I mean the weight of the laptop plus the required accessories (e.g., power supply, spare battery, external disk drive, zip drive, CD-RW, DVD, etc.). Many lightweight portables can become as heavy as regular laptops when the weight of all of the components is added. If your laptop and components weigh 10 lbs or more, you should consider using a carry-on bag that you can pull along. If you want a smaller bag and can comfortably carry your laptop, consider a good shoulder bag design.
Best Ergonomic Solutions for Use of a Laptop Computer
If at all possible, use a laptop docking station, because these devices let you plug in your laptop to a base station that has a monitor, keyboard and mouse already connected. The next best ergonomic solution, if a laptop docking station is either out of your budget or impractical is to have a separate keyboard and mouse at the desk. This allows you to place the laptop at the correct monitor position (to help with head posture / neck posture) and use a comfortable keyboard and mouse that you can put in the best position to prevent injuries that may result from poor wrist posture / hand posture.
