Ergonomics Research Project

Ergonomics Research Project

Introduction

The definition of ergonomics is the law of work and the relationship between people and their working environments. In Greek, ergo means "work" and nomos means "law", so this is an appropriate meaning to the word "ergonomics" according to Greek roots. The main focus of ergonomics is to increase productivity/efficiency and also reduce fatigue and discomfort while working. In addition, your workplace should be designed for your overall safety and health as well - this is considered to be ergonomics. For example, if your feet are flat on the foot and not dangling in the air to endanger your posture, you are being ergonomically correct; if your feet are not flat on the floor, this will decrease your productivity since you are not working in a comfortable position. Another example would be if your shoulders are relaxed and comfortable - if they are, this will increase your efficiency when working because if your shoulders are slouching, you are endangering your back and risk of injury. Ergonomics is an important element in the workplace because it affects your health as well as how efficient you are working. If you do not have a good posture when working, you are decreasing your productivity because this is an uncomfortable to work in and it will ruin your back as well. Ergonomics ensures that you are working effectively but it is not affecting your health.

How My Work Station is Ergonomically Correct

There are 3 ways that my work station is ergonomically correct: my feet are flat on the floor, there is plenty of reading light and the mouse, keyboard, computer system and monitor is easily accessible. My feet are flat on the floor mainly because of the appropriate height of the chair - I feel that this position is comfortable for working. If the chair was too high, my feet would not reach the floor, but if the chair was too low, my legs would feel cramped. However, there are more faults to the chair than expected and this will be discussed in the next paragraph. Since there is evenly distributed overhead lighting in every part of the room, there is plenty of light. In addition, there is not an excessive amount of lighting for glare to be on the monitor - glare would be a distracting aspect when I am working. Lastly, the monitor, mouse, computer system and keyboard are easily accessible in case I need to utilize them or adjust them. However, as like the chair, there are certain faults to the keyboard which will be discussed in the following paragraph.

How My Work Station is Ergonomically Incorrect

There are 3 ways that my work station is ergonomically incorrect: the seat/chair configurations/adjustments, amount of noise and the computer itself. Even though I previously stated that the height of the chair was ergonomically appropriate, there are many faults. For example, the seat height is not adjustable - if a short person sat on a chair without height-adjustable features on a chair, they may not be able to touch the floor. The height should be changeable to accommodate various heights. Another example is the materials used for the chairs. Chairs should be padded, not made out of plastic itself. This is not ergonomically comfortable. The chair should also swivel and roll for ease of movement - however my chair at the work station does not have any wheels and therefore, can not move as well as chairs with wheels. The back tilt should also be adjustable to adapt various postures. Secondly, there is too much noise in the room when I am working. I can not concentrate with this and I am easily distracted. However, I am pleased to say at least the printer is isolated in a corner of the room to reduce noise. Lastly,