The Benefits of an Ergonomic Workstation
The report provides an extensive analysis of the benefits of an ergonomic workstation in relation to the advantages that come from investing in a well and properly designed workstation. It also provides the analysis of the results of a research conducted using a structured data collection by the use of questionnaire targeting a group of employees of a particular company. The questionnaire is designed to determine a number of factors that contribute to a workstation being ergonomic. Therefore, the results will be based on factors such as pain on the wrist hand, back and the neck emanating from straining, lighting and ventilation in their offices, the office comfortability from the furniture installed, the sick leave days, the turn over rates to determine how ergonomic workstations are and how it contributes to the benefits of the company.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary. 1
Introduction. 2
Topic. 2
Benefits of an ergonomic work station. 2
Research discovered on benefits of ergonomic work stations. 5
Application of any change in strategies. 6
Changes due to time. 6
Methods for measuring and monitoring effectiveness of performance improvement. 8
Outcomes. 8
Conclusion. 9
Work Cited. 10
Introduction
The workplace design is imperative in ensuring the proper harnessing of an employee’s potential by achieving optimal results. When a worker is engaged in a particular task, his or her body is prone to get stressed by uncomfortable postures, extremely high or low temperatures or movements which occur repeatedly and may hurt the musculoskeletal system. It is therefore important to embrace and incorporate ergonomics in the workstations to achieve the desired maximum results. An ergonomic workstation might lead to improved a company’s competitiveness in the global market space as well as provide better experiences for the employees.
Benefits of an ergonomic workstation
The survey was conducted to determine the benefits accrued from setting a workstation ergonomically for all the workers in a company.
a. Do you suffer from pain in the wrist or hand?
The highest percentage of the individuals that I interviewed stated that they do not suffer from hand or wrist pain.
b. Have you had any muscle or soft tissue injury in the last 12 months?
Most of the interviewees recorded that they had not experienced injuries in their soft tissues over the past 12 months.
c. How many times have you taken off from work for a work-related injury in the last 12 months?
Unergonomic workstations are likely to have most of the employees seeking offs because of diverse injuries that they may have experienced in the working area. Most of the respondents stated that they have never taken off due to job-related injuries.
d. Do you suffer from headaches during your normal working hours?
The respondents stated that they have not been suffering from headaches during their normal working hours.
The participants of the survey were aged between 19- 45 years to determine the effects technology and workstations have on the youth and determine the long-term impact of their stay the workplace.
Having interviewed the randomly selected respondents, the chart above shows the distribution of their response in relation to whether they experience pain in their hands or wrists. The highest percentage stated that they have not been experiencing the pain.
The graph above depicts the proportion of individuals suffering from headaches during normal working hours, to those that do not experience the same. Most of the respondents indicated that they have not been experiencing it.
The figure above is a representation of the percentage of people who have soft tissue injuries to those without. Most of the interviewees stated that they did not experience the condition over the past 12 months.
The research and history discovered on benefits of ergonomic workstations
The research helped to unearth many benefits that a company may accrue from setting a workstation ergonomically, which include the reduction of costs(Hendrick 420). Notably, many companies incur losses because of costs that relate to ergonomic risk factors. Direct costs such as the medical treatment, insurance premiums, and the prescription costs affect the company’s profits. Other indirect costs that include increased absenteeism and presenteeism, orientation and training costs, advertising and recruitment costs when employers fail to return to work, and replacement of workers cost which is higher than the direct costs affecting the cost savings of a company. The solution identified to reducing these costs is setting a workstation ergonomically(Hendrick 422).
The research also identified that ergonomic workstation ensures the improvement of the quality of products and services produced by most companies(Hendrick 425). Poorly designed workstations with poor ergonomics lead to fatigue, frustration, decreased morale among the workers. An ergonomic workstation enables the productivity of organizations(Hendrick 427). Maximum performance is achieved when the design of workstation and the job allows for an appropriate posture, effective reaches and heights, lesser motions and fewer exertion reducing the possibility of musculoskeletal disorder, Furthermore, a workstation that is ergonomically designed enables the creation of a culture safety in most of the organizations and companies. The design in which a workplace is organized speaks volumes about how a company is committed to promoting the safety and the health of its workforce(Hendrick, 427).
Application of any change in strategies
Changes due to time
According to the report findings, it indicates that in many organizations, the use of computers is inevitable since they are essential in the execution of duties in this century as opposed to the traditional methods of manual labor in offices. As such, the design, position and the size of this equipment are critical in ensuring maximum productivity among the employees. The report indicates that an ergonomic workstation helps to minimize the factors that contribute significantly to the muscle, soft tissues injuries as well as pain in the hands, wrist and the back.
It also shows that in the recent past, there have been minimal cases of people who suffer from pain in the wrist or the hand, meaning that they will be in a position to work efficiently. This would imply that the particular company has invested in the padded wrists rests that minimizes the pain from straining the hands and the wrists.
Additionally, in the past one year, there have not been cases of people who have suffered from muscle and soft injuries which is a further indication that their workstation is organized ergonomically.Therefore, to achieve an ergonomic workstation, the report stated that it is crucial to incorporate furniture that is ergonomic, as well for the maximum benefit regarding the worker’s health and ultimately maximum productivity.
In addition, the report identifies that most of the employees in a workforce complain of neck and backaches, which has been traced to poor sitting positions due to the lack of a good base for computers. The identified strategy to solve this problem is placing a desk ergonomically which enables the computer to provide a user with the much comfort hence increased productivity. Additionally, an ergonomically organized workstation offers the users chairs that offer the proper position of the body and extends lumbar and body support due to the reduced back strain. The report identifies that out of the eight participants, only one complained of an uncomfortable sitting (Workineh7).
Besides, the study shows that looking at the computer monitor for an extended period causes strain to the user. The only way to change this is by using the recommended size of the mouse which enhances the user to use it effectively as it reduces pain associated with those that are extreme in sizes. Additionally, using ergonomic computer accessories such as glare or monitor filters reduces the brightness caused by the computer screen, thus protecting the eyes from damage as a result of much straining (Voigt and John Speicher 36). In the report, few people have been reported to have eye problems which can be attributed to the use of bright light. The measure is to use glare and monitor filters which reduce eye strain(Workineh 9).
The typing stand of the computer at the workplace, when placed ergonomically ensures an easy time for the user to work efficiently by reducing the neck strain caused by looking up and down especially when typing as it ensures the document remain at an eye level. This has ensured that their sitting position while working has facilitated the extreme comfort as identified in the study enhancing proper functioning of the company.
Moreover, it identified that in many cases, the importance of lighting is overly underestimated in a workstation. The report indicated that an ergonomic workstation requires an artificial lighting to be bright enough but not so much to wash out the computer monitor as it may cause adverse effects the user’s eyes(Can et al 452).
The report also indicates that poor lighting in workstations and from the computer monitors which increasingly leads to people complaining of mild headaches and eventually resulting in using of special eye lenses to enable them to work properly(Can et al 452). In this case, the appropriate change would be for the station to have sufficient artificial and natural light which would enable the workers to perform well.
Additionally, noise causes distraction interfering with the job executions of a worker due to lower concentration and decreased performance especially if they are constant. Adopting strategies that relate to avoidance of noise can improve the performance of workers (Abdullah, Z., et al 77) A prudent way to avoid such noise and distraction, solid doors, especially in closed space offices, help in maintaining focus on the tasks at hand thus producing quality. Cleanliness and freshness in an office facilitate higher levels of performance as it helps workers to maintain mental novelty and health as compared to messy workstations, thus, as part of workstation ergonomics, it should also be a priority.
The management at times overlooks the safety and the comfort of the employees and deliberately fails to incorporate ergonomics for the staff. In this case, the company’s management has focused on investing heavily in the ergonomics of the company which has resulted in less sick leaves and injuries related to working equipment.
Methods for measuring and monitoring the effectiveness of performance improvement
The methods to measure the improvement is to constantly evaluate the workstation to ensure that the work area and the setting of the furniture and accessories are as required to enhance better performance. The effectiveness of the ergonomics of a workstation would be assessed by checking the frequency of sick leaves, absenteeism, and reduced general performance.
Outcomes
The outcomes of the report and whether there have been changes in the strategies suggested would call for a survey to collect information and determine their effectiveness. The results would be available to people in a myriad of forms such as the filled reports, in the websites, and the printed texts. The methods to ensure a continual improvement includes the regular monitoring and evaluation that will put most of the strategies and methods suggested to ensure they are working and in proper conditions.
Conclusion
As evidently outlined, the report shows that there are a plethora of benefits in investing in ergonomic workstations as they ensure increased production, improvement in quality, reduced costs and a higher degree of worker involvement. Many companies should, therefore, embrace the concept for the benefit, health, and safety of their employees and increase overall returns. The research was of great interest as it has helped to unearth the issues that affect a healthy working population, reducing them to unproductive workers if proper mechanisms to ensure their health and safety are not set as a priority by the management.
Work Cited
Abdullah, Z., et al. "Design and analysis on sitting posture in quality checking workstation of a manufacturing company." Proceedings of Innovative Research and Industrial Dialogue 2016 1 (2017): 77-78.
Can, GulinFeryal, KumruDidemAtalay, and Ergun Eraslan. "Working posture analysis in fuzzy environment and ergonomic work station design recommendations." Journal of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Gazi University 30.3 (2015): 451-460.
Hendrick, Hal W. "Determining the cost–benefits of ergonomics projects and factors that lead to their success." Applied Ergonomics 34.5 (2003): 419-427.
Voigt, Che, and John M. Speicher. "Ergonomic productivity workstation having coordinated and harmonized movement of head rest, backrest, seat, leg rest, arm rests, monitor support, and work trays through sitting, standing, and reclining configurations." U.S. Patent No. 8,939,500. 27 Jan. 2015.
Workineh, Sisay A., and Hiroshi Yamaura. "Multi-position ergonomic computer workstation design to increase the comfort of computer work." International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 53 (2016): 1-9.
