:: Ergonomic Tips for the Office Work EnvironmentFebruary 3, 2003from www.ergoweb.com In late 2000, the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) suggested everyone do a workplace safety audit in an effort to reduce accidents and injuries at the office. "With the constant change in technology, new products and the rapid pace of the world marketplace, it is extremely important for employers and their bottom line to integrate safety into all components of a business plan and operations," states Samuel J. Gualardo, CSP, ASSE President. "This is especially true when addressing ways to make the office and workplace safer, in effect reducing injuries, risk and loss costs." The same holds true today. Through a Workplace Audit and a simple checklist, it is simple to determine the "state of Ergonomics" within the work environment. The following tips can be included in your checklist and, if followed, will increase safety in the workplace: For maximum comfort, a chair should have a five point star base for stability, an adjustable backrest (angle, height, and depth) that provides lumbar support and an adjustable seat pan (height, forward and backward, and tilt angle). If armrests are provided, they should be padded, adjustable up and down, in and out and swivel (e.g., like a wrist rest). The edge of the seat pan should be at least four inches from the soft tissue area behind the knee. The top of a computer display screen should be slightly below eye level. When the primary task being performed at the time is data entry, a document holder placed between the keyboard and the monitor screen is ideal. It should be at such an angle so to not impede the view of the screen. A document holder can also be placed to the side of the screen, but then requires the user to twist their neck to view it. A keyboard should be detachable and adjustable to allow straight wrist and forearm posture. A wrist rest can provide support for the wrist when pausing from typing. It is recommended that the height of the wrist rest should equal the home row key height. Keying should be done with the elbow bent at 90 degrees. Keying and mousing should be done with the elbows as close to the body as possible. The desk or tabletop should allow legroom for posture adjustments for the seated worker while also providing a 90-degree angle of the elbow and the work surface. The same is also true regarding the elbow angle for the sit/stand and the standing user. For lighting and glare the characters on the computer screen should be brighter than the screen background. Bright light sources in the peripheral field of the computer screen should be avoided. The computer screen should be positioned to avoid glare. Adjusting the window shades and moving or tilting the terminal can help avoid glare and screen reflections. For posture the elbows should be kept close to the body. The lumbar curve of the back should be maintained. Feet should never be allowed to dangle and should always be supported. Dry eye can occur because people tend to blink less when viewing monitors. Due to this, fatigue can also set in. Refocusing and using eye drops helps reduce the discomfort associated with this.
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