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February 19, 1999, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released draft U.S. ergonomic standards that have implications for designers and makers worldwide. Designers will be challenged by these proposed standards to provide solutions for work-related muscular disorders (WMSDs) often contributed to by office furniture / workstations. Manufacturers will have to consider how their various machining and handling tasks put workers at risk for WMSDs.
OSHA administrator Charles N. Jeffress claims that every year 650,000 U.S. workers suffer from job-related injuries such as slipped discs or carpal tunnel syndrome and cost employers up to $20 billion a year in workers' compensation claims. Cases of reported carpal tunnel syndrome average 25 lost work days per year, the highest of any workplace injury.
In support of the need for these new standards, a report by the National Academy of Sciences states, "Research clearly demonstrates that specific interventions can reduce the reported rate of musculoskeletal disorders for workers who perform high-risk tasks." (For details check the OSHA background data.)
If adopted, OSHA standards will make work sites safer and offer designers guidelines to create office furniture, workstations, checkout counters, etc. However ergonomic data should not be arbitrarily applied. Human beings are varied and deserve individual solutions to their problems. |
recommended books:
Ergonomics for Beginners : A Quick Reference Guide by Jan Dul and Bernard A. Weerdmeest.
The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman.
ergo·nom·ics info:
furniture design
· Ohio State University
· N.C. State University
ergo·nom·ics info:
research
· ErgoWeb
· Cornell University
· Human Factors Society
ergo·nom·ics info:
british columbia
BC Research is a consulting firm specialising in ergonomics (they recently completed a study of workstations for Pacific Press). Contact Dr. Barbara Cameron at 604.224.4331
BC Workers Compensation Board (WCB) publishes "How to make Your Computer Workstation Fit You", at no charge. Contact them at 604.276.3100
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