Computer Ergonomics In The Workplace :: Workplace Health and Safety

Business strive for high production at low cost. This would impart in thehighest profit for a company. To many businesses, this is only a mirage. Thisis beca aim the low cost of the business usually results in a high cost forthe employees. This high cost is lower quality piece of work items, lower salaries,less benefits, etc. These costs create an upset workplace environment.Companies understand that the more efficient their workers be, the moreproductive their business pull up stakes become. Although this will take lots of money atfirst, the result will be extreme success. There exist many different things inthe workplace that summate to stress and injuries. They range from lifting heavyboxes to typing too much on the keyboard. This paper will be focusing on theprincipals of ergonomics in the data processor workstation. According to the Board ofCertification for Professional Ergonomists (BCPE), the definition of ergonomics"is a body of knowledge about human abilities, human limitations and humancharacteristics that are applicable to design. Ergonomic design is theapplication of this body of knowledge to the design of tools, machines, systems,tasks, jobs, and environments for safe, comfortable and effective humanuse."(BCPE, 1993) In the average computer workstation, employees are prone to all over a dozen hazards. There exist two factors that can prevent this forminggood work habits and ergonomically designed computer workstations. We will wrangle these preventions throughout the paper.First, a few terms may need defining. Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) takesplace from the repeated physical movements of certain body parts which resultsin damage to tendons, nerves, muscles, and otherwise soft body tissues. If theseinjuries are not taken allot of immediately, permanent damage could be done. Afew common results of RSIs that were not taken care of right away are injurieslike Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendentious, Tenosynovitis, DeQuervains Syndrome, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome etc. All of these are able to be prevented by the useof good working habits and ergonomic engineering.i Usually, ergonomicallydesigning a computer workstation would cost about $1000. This expense could beeliminated by the formation of good work habits. This is infixed for thesafety of computer terminal employees. There exist a number of precautions thatcan be taken into consideration when dealing with a computer workstation. Weshall discuss six of them. First, the whole body must be relaxed. The correctposture is shown in Figure 1. Notice that the arms and thighs are parallel tothe floor and the feet are flat on the floor. Also notice that the wrists arenot bent in any way. This is one of the most damaged parts of the body when