What Is Ergonomics?
Ergonomics is defined as an applied science concerned with designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely. Along with ergonomics, taking a zone approach to organizing your workspace is another way to work efficiently and productively.
ErgoFit Consulting is one company that strives to optimize employee performance through the application of ergonomics and wellness to create healthy and vibrant businesses. We invited them to share their insight in a guest blog post this week.
Your Workspace And You
Do you consider yourself to be an organized person? Do you have a system that helps you determine how and where you position items within your work space? If you work in a cluttered, disorganized space, it could be costing you in terms of time, effort and comfort. Regardless of the industry you are in, the concepts below can apply to your work space to reduce your ergonomic risk for injury.
Reduce Waste
When we are disorganized, more time is spent looking for items. This is inefficient, requiring more effort and extra steps to complete a task. This is known as “waste”. We want to eliminate these extra steps, especially if they involve awkward postures or repetitive motions because this can contribute to wear and tear on your body, and possibly resulting in discomfort or injury over time.
Accessing Peripherals
What do you keep closest to you? What do you push further away in your work space? Triage your items depending on frequency of use by drawing an arc in front of you when your elbows are bent at 90 degrees at your sides: this is the zone where your most frequently used items should land. If you are sitting at a computer, you will see that your keyboard and mouse fall into this zone. Other items may include reference papers, coffee/water, writing utensil, etc.
Now extend your arms slightly forward and draw another arc in front of you, this is your secondary zone and will hold items that you use throughout the day, but less frequently. The space beyond this arc will hold any items that you rarely or infrequently use. By using this method, you can reduce awkward postures such as reaching and leaning and be more efficient while accessing your peripherals.
Where Are You?
Position yourself as close as possible to the work that you are doing. If you are standing, take a couple steps toward your work to reduce forward bending or reaching. If you are sitting, roll your chair or stand up and walk instead of extending your body toward your task. Position your materials around you in an arc as described above instead of a straight line in front of you. This will also help reduce awkward postures.
By incorporating the above concepts into your work space, you can reduce your risk for injury and improve your productivity!
Tonya LaFranchi – MSOT, OTR/L, B.S. in Kinesiology, ErgoFit Consulting 
Tonya has been an occupational therapist since 2011 and joined the ErgoFit team in 2012. She started her career working in skilled nursing facilities, providing education and training to geriatric patients with acute and chronic injuries and illness. Tonya’s experience includes a long history of involvement with sports and body mechanics training, as well as experience conducting Physical Capacity Evaluations.
