Ergonomics and how it effects the office: Changing furniture to improve work environments by Ron Lanzo

Ron Lanzo, AFR Furniture

Er-Go-Nom-ICS, the study of people’s efficiency in their working environment. If you’re a fan of the movie, Big Fat Greek Wedding, you know that the father of the bride, George Hatza, played by actor Michael Constantine, was famous for saying that every word comes from Greek! Although he never addresses “ergonomics” in this movie, it too evolves from ancient Greek, as the word ERGON = Work in Greek. The term ergonomics was officially coined in 1949 at a British industry meeting. Ergonomics and human factors can be used interchangeably.

The word or term was officially accepted in 1950. Today it’s still widely accepted that Ergonomics is the study of the human abilities and characteristics which affect the design of equipment, systems and jobs!

It is further the science of designing a job, equipment, and/or workplace to fit the worker. The goal is to optimize the “fit” between each worker and his or her work environment so as to optimize performance and to reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries. These injuries might include carpal tunnel syndrome, which often expresses itself in painful wrists and may for some require surgery to alleviate such pain.

Some companies have built a business around new product introductions to provide a complete line of adjustable keyboard trays, wrist rests and video monitor stands in an attempt to become the industry leaders or expert suppliers of ergonomically correct and exceptional products.

“Sit Stand” line of height adjustable tables

As one of the industry leaders in the furniture rental industry, AFR Furniture Rental & Event Furnishings has also been looking to provide some ergonomically correct products for its customers. Our TRUFORM task chair is one of our top ergonomic seating lines that offers the user many ways to personalize the seating comforts of this chair. And just last fall, we introduced our “Sit Stand” line of height adjustable tables which provides the user with the ability to work either while sitting or also while standing. Many studies have shown that sitting too long without a break can be potentially harmful to one’s health and that it’s beneficial to take breaks often during the day. These new tables enable our customers to rotate during the day from working while seated to being able to work while standing which gives the muscles a chance to relax, and by standing provides much better circulation and blood flow to the lower limbs.

If you’re interested in learning more about ergonomics or if you’d like to get into some real detail about specifics such as what’s the optimum distance between the computer user’s eyes and the video monitor, you can find this data on line at www.osha.com

The U.S. Department of Labor’s website has lots of links to OSHA (Occupational Safety Health Agency). The following link gets you to the section called; “The Computer Workstations Computer e-tool:” https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/).

From this link, you’ll see some very good tips about the proper design of the office:

• Top of monitor at or just below eye level;

• Head and neck balanced and in-line with torso;

• Shoulders relaxed, elbows close to body and supported;

• Lower back supported;

• Wrists and hands in-line with forearms;

• Adequate room for keyboard and mouse; and

• Feet flat on the floor.

As you Big Fat Greek Wedding fans also know, that George was also famous for saying Windex can fix any ailment from cuts to blemishes. But of course it won’t solve any computer related body injuries, so you really should make every effort to learn about ergonomics and what products best offer optimal results. We look forward to hearing from you and especially towards helping you optimize your office environment. We can become your ergonomically correct office furniture rental solutions provider.

The link below will get you to “The Purchasing Guide Checklist” or ergonomics evaluation!

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/computerworkstations/checklist_evaluation.html

Ron Lanzo is the commercial account executive for AFR Furniture Rental, New York, N.Y.