When designing ergonomic programs for the industrial scale, a good thing to note is the general effect it will have on a large amount of people and how it would be scaled over time. It is common knowledge that no two people are the same, but designing ergonomic solutions for a big population should still be good enough to satisfy the majority, at the very least. Most work stations today are designed to fit the user. They are adaptive to a variety of body heights, sizes, weights and reaches whether sitting or standing. Recent studies have shown that such programs produce the highest consumer satisfaction.

A useful principle in Work Station Design is to consider the tallest Employee and the Employee with the shortest reach. Obviously it is impossible to shorten an Employee’s height or lengthen an Employee’s reach. But platforms can be designed and implemented to raise shorter employees to the proper work height. Either sitting or standing, the Employee should be comfortable at his work station at all times of the day. The arms should rest at the Employees sides and the Employees back/neck should be kept straight; therefore, the work level must be waist-high.

Standing in one place for prolonged periods has proven to be very hazardous and may lead to a host of other minor injuries. Some of which include: vertebral damage, fatigue, Varicose veins, back stress, and pooling of blood in legs. Sit/stand work stations should be considered. If an Employee has to stand, providing something to lean on so the Employee will have the opportunity to rest. Also, providing a heavy rubber pad to stand on will help relieve neck, shoulder, back, and leg stress.

In several parts of North America, some large companies have begun establishing ergonomic departments on-site, to specifically tackle these common problems in the work space first hand. This not only personalizes the experience for workers, it also delivers the best emergency response in the shortest possible time. Statistics have shown consistently that offices with ergonomic staff are less like likely to have serious accidents resulting from poor ergonomic design.

Also, with casual observation of work stations, each of these injury prone positions can be eliminated. Almost anytime an Employee in an office has to raise a foot off the floor to reach a moving or stationary object, they are hyper-extending and are in an injury prone position. So creating barriers in work stations that eliminate unnecessary movements and puts workers at risk of accidents is always a good idea.

 

at Ergonomics Canada we offer Industrial Ergonomic Program Design, Ergonomic Assessments Ontario, Ergonomic Products, Ergonomics in the office, Workstation Ergonomics