Engineering Inc. - September/October 2004 - 25

Too much glare on a computer monitor can lead to eye strain. Excessive
having the proper chair is key sunlight and w i t h enough support at your
overhead back so your keyboard is at the lighting can be right height, your
feet are flat problematic. on the floor and your monitor is at eye level. I
see people typ- Wrists should ing on keyboards at the wrong lie flat on
position all the time, and I'm the desk in front of the always amazed.
keyboard Sunlight or overhead lighting ergonomic a l s o can create a
hazard with wrist pads g l a re on a computer monitor, also can be which
forces the eyes to strain helpful . and can lead to headaches, eye fatigue
and even sight problems. Posture should be upright; Sometimes [the solution
is] a no slouching. simple matter of moving your Shoulders monitor slightly
to the left or the should be right, Rever says. relaxed. At Weston &
Sampson Engi- n e e r s , the most common Select a ergonomic hazard that
Colleen chair with good lumbar Manning sees is the positioning support for
of a worker's chair and keyboard. the lower S o m e t i m e s employees
just back. slouch, says Manning. They're Feet should not sitting properly
or adjusting be flat on the their chair as they should. floor. Employers
in the know clearly can benefit from educating their e m p l o y e e s on
how to reduce GARY LANDSMAN strain resulting from these bad h a b i t s .
One habit that causes many MSDs is sitting in an awk- w a rd position or
working for and there remains a need for fur- m i n e d by
misunderstandings. v a t e repetitive stress injuries. long periods with
the neck bent, ther education and training to U C L A's Environment,
Health Excess weight puts more stress as many people do when they address
the myths that can lead and Safety Ergonomics Program on the back, as can
sleeping on a cradle the phone between their to injuries. r e p o r t s
that many generally s o f t or lumpy mattress. Prior shoulder and ear.
There are those who believe the accepted guidelines for posture back
injuries, poor posture and We see people typing away at best way to ensure
safety in the and furniture at computer work- e x e r c i s i n g with
substandard the keyboard and sitting on their workplace is for the Federal
Gov- stations are, in reality, myths. If shoes or equipment all can make
leg in their chair, Rever says. e r n m e n t to adopt ergonomics rigidly
followed, these miscon- a workplace-related injury worse. That changes the
posture of the regulations. But the Bush admin- ceptions can lead to
uncomfort- Are you clutching the car pelvis and the back, and it cuts
istration, wary of burdening busi- able and costly mistakes. s t e e r i n
g wheel in a white- off the blood supply to your leg. nesses with costly
regulations, has For instance, UCLA reports, knuckle drive for 45 minutes
to But the costs associated with o p t e d instead for voluntary many
people believe they should and from work? That's a huge MSDs suggest that
the literature g u i d e l i n e s to help employers sit upright at their
computers. In exposure when you add a day's and education available to
cor- identify ergonomic hazards in the fact, UCLA reports, a slightly w o
r t h of computer keyboard and mouse work, Rever says. rect workplace
habits aren't as workplace and to create measures reclined posture is
better than s u c c e s s f u l as they might be. to control such hazards.
picture-perfect posture, which Dana Wilkie is a Washington NIOSH cautions
that there are Some experts suggest that the can be extremely fatiguing.
correspondent for Copley News m a n y questions about MSDs c u r re n t
wealth of ergonomics OSHA points out that at- Service. that research has
yet to answer, training and education is under- home habits can further
aggra- September l October 2004 ENGINEERING INC. 2 5
Engineering Inc. - September/October 2004

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