ergonomics for the computer user & beyond

MICHELLE DISCHER & TARA CORDESERGONOMICS | TRAINING

ERGONOMICS FOR THE COMPUTER USER & BEYOND

Environment & Occupational Health

“It’s an ergonomic ankle support to help you be more productive.”

• ERGONOMICS REVIEW

• ANATOMY OF COMMON OFFICE INJURIES

• 4 STEPS – WORKSTATION SOLUTIONS

• IS SITTING AFFECTING MY HEALTH?

• EQUIPMENT IDEAS

• EVOLVING - TODAYS TECHNOLOGIES

• VISUAL HINTS

• PREVENTION SUGGESTIONS

Covered Topics

ERGONOMICS (OR HUMAN FACTORS) IS THE SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINE

CONCERNED WITH THE UNDERSTANDING OF INTERACTIONS AMONG HUMANS

AND OTHER ELEMENTS OF A SYSTEM , AND THE PROFESSION THAT APPLIES

THEORY, PRINCIPLES, DATA AND METHODS TO DESIGN IN ORDER TO OPTIMIZE

HUMAN WELL-BEING AND OVERALL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE .

- THE INTERNATIONAL ERGONOMICS ASSOCIATION

What is Ergonomics?

KEY NOTE: PAIN/DISORDERS BEGIN TO DEVELOP LONG BEFORE THE FIRST EPISODE OF PAIN IS EXPERIENCED

ERGO FOCUS – 3 BODY AREAS

MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDER (MSD) CASES (>387,820) ACCOUNTED FOR 33% OF ALL INJURY /ILLNESS CASES

Common MSD’s:

o Tendonitis

o Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

o Trigger Finger

o PAIN

HOW THE BACK WORKS

Dual Function:

• 33 vertebrae

• 24 moveable

• 7 Cervical (support skull)

• 12 Thoracic (support rib cage)

• 5 Lumbar (bend at waist)

• 5 Sacral (fused)

• 4 coccyx (fused)

A healthy spine forms an “S” curve

4 STEPS TO SETTING UP YOUR COMPUTER WORKSTATIONTRADITIONAL

STEP 1: Your Chair

Check your:

Hip position

Seat height

Chair back

Armrest usability

COMMON POSITIONS TO AVOID…

Laying in chair Fully extending

arm when mousing

Twisting spine

when keying

“PROPER PERCH” USING CHAIR

BACK SUPPORT

BACK SUPPORT

IN “EXTENSION”

SUPPORTIVE POSITIONS TO MAINTAIN

STEP 2: Option A or B

Is your keying area:

• Close

• Centered

• Height

• Tilt

• Mouse Option B

(work with a

key board tray

(KBT))

Option A

(work on top of desk)

STEP 3:

Monitor | KBT | KB Hints

Is your keying area:

Close & Centered

to your body?

STEP 4: Microbreaks

Every 20/20/20 minutes

5-10 seconds

http://www.workrave.org/

Apps:

• Stand Up! The Work Break Timer (Apple)

• Break Time (Android)

• Repeating Reminder (Android)

MICROBREAK IDEAS

MICROBREAK IDEAS

SIT-TO-STAND WORKSTATION IDEAS HOT TOPIC OPTION C

Electric or Crank DesksArticulating Arm

Brackets or “units”

Low Cost to

Nearly Free

Podium

3 . E A R , S H O U L D E R , E L B O W I N A L I G N M E N T W I T H F E E T

P O S I T I O N E DAT A D I AG O N A L S TA N C E - R I G H T

1 . E A R , S H O U L D E R , E L B O W I N

A L I G N M E N T W I T H F E E T

S H O U L D E R W I D T H A PA R T

2 . E A R , S H O U L D E R , E L B O W I N

A L I G N M E N T W I T H F E E T

P O S I T I O N E D AT A D I A G O N A L

S TA N C E - L E F T

STANDING WORKSTATION ALIGNMENT

SMARTPHONE USABILITY BE SMARTER THAN YOUR SMARTPHONE!

Limit usage, take breaks

and use ergonomically!• Hands free talking

• Talk to text

• Neutral usage postures

LAPTOP HOLDERSPORTABILITY

Adjustable Keyboard Platform

Mouse Platform

Keyboard Tray =

Height Adjustment Mechanism

Wrist rest

Mouse Bridge

Portable Keyboards

EQUIPMENT IDEAS ADJUSTABILITY

ERGONOMIC KEYBOARDS

ERGONOMIC MICE

SLANT BOARDS & DOCUMENT HOLDERS

VISUAL COMPUTER USER HINTS

• Eye-to-screen distance

• Vertical location

• Monitor tilt

• Screen colors

• Lighting

* Cube Shades

* Four Ocular microbreaks PDF

* Ocular Hints PDF

THE 3 STEPS OUR PROGRAM PROVIDES TO RESOLVE

ERGONOMIC-RELATED ISSUES:

Assessment is a review of process design, equipment, previous analyses, and incident reports with follow-up written assessment recommendations.

Job Task Analysis (JTA) is an on-site analysis of video recording and/or digital pictures, measurement gathering (force, weights, reach distances, lifting heights, etc), with follow-up written recommendations.

Training is custom per assessment findings, JTA data and/or WC stats to support the need of group trainings specific to the PD.

DID YOU KNOW…WE ARE MORE THAN JUST CHAIRS?

UW-Madison ergonomic services extend far beyond answering chair questions. We cover lab research, animal, material and computer user ergonomics.

Our ergonomic services including our EOH/ergonomic showroom lab are located at UHS (333 East Campus Mall) by appointment only.

Prevention Hints

• Practice “neutral positionings”

• 20/20/20 rule of thumb/Microbreaks

• Check your own physical fitness

• Good nutrition

• Stress management techniques---

’just breathe’

QUESTIONS?

Email: ergonomics@uhs.wisc.eduhttps://www.uhs.wisc.edu/eoh/ergonomics

For non-UW Madison employees, refer to your

HR department for ergonomic services and Q&A

Environment & Occupational Health

Free Additional Ergonomic Resources

DOA: http://www.doa.state.wi.us

OSHA: http://www.osha.gov

Humanscale: https://www.humanscale.com/ergonomics/