Category Archives: Ergonomics

Ergonomics

Ergonomics

Ergonomic Office

If you know anything about office furniture, you’ll know that we’re now in the world of ergonomics. In a nutshell, this means making the office environment fit you. It means looking at your personal working space, your job responsibilities and also your body frame measurements and weight, to get the ‘best for you’ as regards to working conditions.

Ergonomics
Ergonomic Office Chairs

‘Getting it right’ will cover space, light, noise and overall sitting comfort:-

Space. A good ergonomic layout will mean that your work system is organised in such a way that you don’t have to carry heavy weights over long distances, you don’t have to overly stretch and you’re not working in cramped conditions etc..

Light. Good daylight is important and, where this isn’t possible, good simulated daylight is the next best thing. Knowing what type of lighting to buy for your office space is essential. Also bear in mind that a lot of light comes from your computer screen and this is going directly towards your eyes, which isn’t a good thing, as good light should always come from over your shoulder. I would always advise getting a filter screen for your computer, to reduce that ‘sunlight’ effect which really is too bright.

Noise. We now often hear of noise pollution and, in a busy office, pollution is often the case. For example, how often have you had to speak with call centre staff and can’t hear what your contact is saying as clearly as you can hear her colleagues? In that modern-day office, false walls in the form of screens are often used, to give that feeling of private space and to somewhat reduce the effect of the overall noise.

Overall Sitting Comfort. When it comes to seating, always look at ergonomic office chairs, as these are designed to offer many adjustments, making the chair of your choice match your overall needs. The Ergohuman range has several models, like the Ergohuman, the Ergohuman Plus, the Mirus, Enjoy and the Nefil. Spend some time finding out what these chairs offer. The features include seat tilt and glide, seat height, adjustable armrests, a lumbar support region and many other useful features and there are also additional extras, such as a headrest, a leg rest and a note table. Knowing what your job responsibilities ask of you will help you decide which of these additional extras are necessary.

Overall. An ergonomically-friendly environment makes work a pleasure and the day less stressful. It’s like any job, a bad workman always blames his tools, so getting the environment right for you means success all round.

It’s simply ergonomics.

Ergonomics

Ergohuman Office Chairs

Simply Ergonomic has just launched Ergohuman.net the branded website selling the Ergohuman Range of Office Chairs. The chairs from the Ergohuman range are the Enjoy office chair, Ergohuman Plus, Ergohuman and Nefil. All of the chairs are available in mesh, leather, fabric or combination with a wide selection of colours to choose from.

The Ergohuman.net website will be exclusively showcasing the Ergohuman chair range to reinforce the acclaimed brand of the Ergohuman chair family.

Buy your Ergohuman chair online now
Buy your Enjoy Office Chair online

Ergonomics

Ergonomic Office Chairs

Knowing about good posture is very important but, whilst looking for this information, I came across a mention of how bad posture affects more than just your back.

If you sit poorly, it doesn’t take your muscles long to think that this position is the way it’s going to be and your muscles work alongside this bad posture, causing an imbalance in muscle support. Also, if you slouch, you are restricting digestion, circulation and breathing and your bones aren’t too happy about it either.

Once the aches and pain start in places like your neck, shoulders and back, maintaining a sitting position for any length of time becomes difficult and you may have to restrict sitting to twenty minutes or so, then move around to give your muscles and your skeletal frame a change of position, before returning to your earlier task.

If you have a job that allows regular movement e.g. a shop assistant, moving and changing position is part and parcel of the requirements of the post. If you are in a sedentary job (the list is endless!), that earlier acquired bad posture and its accompanying aches and pains is going to cause havoc e.g. discomfort, irritability, distraction and concentration problems.

The truth is that we probably don’t know what good posture entails i.e. does it mean more than sitting with a straight back?

Good posture includes having your feet firmly on the floor: dangling feet and crossed legs are definitely ‘no go’ areas. Your tailbone should be right up to the back of the chair and so should your back, unless you are slanting slightly forward, in which case the line between your head, chest and pelvis should be straight (not curved).

So, these points indicate a good sitting posture but that’s not the end of the story. The chair is only good for you if it’s ‘user-friendly’ in relation to the height of your table or desk, as your forearms need to reach the task in a horizontal position.

This is where ergonomic office chairs are worth their weight in gold. They adjust not only to support your back but also to meet your height. The arm rests can be adjusted to ensure horizontal support for your hands and, together, you are sitting comfortably and working well.

There is quite a range of adjustable chairs, as each of us is different and an ergonomic chair means that the chair fits you and not the reverse! When choosing a suitable office chair, it will pay you to call on the advice of someone knowledgeable in ergonomics, to make an assessment of both your skeletal frame and the duties of your job. This will make sure that you choose the office chair that meets your needs. Some office chair to consider is the Ergohuman Chair or the best selling ergonomic mesh office chair The Enjoy Office Chair.

Ergohuman Office Chairs
Ergohuman Office Chairs
Enjoy Office Chairs
Enjoy Office Chairs
Ergonomics

Ergonomic Accessories in the Workplace

Today is a hugely computerised world, with most office workers having a need to ‘access the system’ or send Emails to business colleagues and contacts.  The result of such repetitive work can be a repetitive strain injury e.g. RSI (repetitive strain injury), tenoysynovitis, carpal tunnel syndrome etc..  As repetitive strain suggests, it is a result of doing something over and over again, causing tension and pain in the muscles and affecting performance both in work and tasks elsewhere.  The answer to this problem was ergonomics.

The development of ergonomic keyboards came about to keep the hands and wrists well supported during hours of repetitive movement, thus lessening the strain and preventing possible invisible injury.

One type of ergonomic keyboard offers a curved layout of the keys.  This makes sense, since all your fingers are different lengths and don’t naturally meet the keyboard with equal comfort.  By placing your fingers on the home keys, you can see that s, d and f and also l, k and j happily lie on the keys but the two little fingers don’t meet the ‘a’ or the semicolon (;), without a twist of the wrist.  That ever so slight twist helps the little fingers touch the keys but brings the elbows outwards from the body and also has an effect on each shoulder and upper arm.

The split keyboard design does just what its name says: it pivots from the top and its two parts can be laid in several different positions, once again allowing for comfort when typing.

There are also one-handed keyboards, to make typing accessible to those who have only one functional hand (e.g after a stroke).  One particular keyboard is concave in layout. With this design, the Qwerty keyboard rules no longer apply, since the keys are arranged in such a way that accessing the most popular keys feels natural and the lesser used keys are placed outside the main key range.  Other one-handed keyboards are called half keyboards and still honour the Qwerty layout so, it’s down to need and preference, as to which to choose.  For the beginning typist, the concave system has lots to offer and it is said that one can reach typing speeds of up to 85 wpm (words per minute).  An established Qwerty typist would have to re-learn the concave keyboard, so the half keyboard would seem the natural choice.

Ergonomics has come a long way since its inception and really is looking at what is best for the user. Seeking the knowledge and purchasing the right ergonomic accessories will make for happier people and, without doubt, have a positive effect on the users and the shared environment.