Ergonomics

Workplace ergonomics have come to the forefront in the last few years as a primary concern for both employers and employees with a rise in occupational health illnesses such as Repetitive Strain Injury and Defective Vision becoming a rising risk as development and demands placed upon workplaces by improvements in technology. Employer’s have a legal duty to assess the risk that poor ergonomics (including the use of Display Screen Equipment / Visual Display Units) poses in their workplaces. Where a risk is identified the employer must undertake to either eliminate or otherwise mitigate.

A number of factors play a role in Ergonomics; these include body posture and movement (sitting, standing, lifting, pulling and pushing), and environmental factors (noise, lighting, temperature, humidity):

Required by Law
Visual Display Equipment
Workstation Review
Posture / Lifting

What is Ergonomics?

The goal of Ergonomics is to provide maximum productivity with minimal cost; in this context cost is expressed as the physiological or health cost to the worker. In a workplace setting there are seldom a large number of tasks that exceed the capabilities of most of the work force. There may be jobs that will include a specific task that requires extended reaches or overhead work that cannot be sustained for long periods, by using Ergonomic principles to design these tasks employees are enabled to perform their job without the risk of injury.