New products, continual changes in technology, and the rapid pace of the world marketplace make workplace safety a necessity for the reduction of injuries, risk, and loss costs. The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) recommends workplace safety audits for every building, addressing the following ergonomic guidelines:
- A chair should have a fully adjustable backrest with lumbar support, an adjustable seat pan, and a five-point star base for stability. Any armrests should be padded and fully adjustable. The front edge of the seat pan should be at least four inches from the back of the knee.
- The tabletop or desk should allow ample legroom for posture adjustments. The seated or standing worker should be able to use a 90-degree angle of the elbow, with elbows supported or close to the body. Feet should be supported.
- A keyboard should be detachable and adjustable to allow straight/parallel hand-forearm posture. This can be accomplished using a wrist rest at the height of the home row keys, with fingers on the home row at about 0 to 1.5 inches above the height of the elbow rest. The keyboard should slope no more than 15 degrees.
- The upper edge of a computer display screen should be slightly (about 20 degrees) below eye level. The head should be tilted forward 15 degrees at most to keep a vertical position.
- The computer screen should be positioned to avoid glare, with no bright lights in the peripheral field of the screen, and characters on the screen brighter than the background.
For more information about the ASSE, visit www.asse.org. Based on a report from Safety Currents
