What is Workplace Ergonomics?
Workplace ergonomics is about designing workplaces for people.
Commonly known as the science of fitting a workplace to the user’s needs, ergonomics aims to to keep office workers comfortable, and increase efficiency and productivity at the workstation.
Apart from musculoskeletal problems, poor workstation ergonomics can also lead to long-term health problems such as obesity, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar and abnormal cholesterol levels. The most common types of ergonomics injuries are Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendinitis, Epicondylitis (Tennis Elbow), and others.
By improving product design and ergonomic workplace arrangements, companies which have implemented office ergonomics found a significant reduction to muscular strain, fatigue and injuries in the workplace.
Here are a few proven benefits of having a strong workplace ergonomics:
Improvement in productivity
By designing a job to allow for good posture, less exertion, and overall increased ease of use, the workstation becomes more efficient.
Strong employee engagement
Employees notice when efforts are made to ensure their health and safety in the workplace. If an employee does not experience fatigue and discomfort during their workday, it can reduce the company’s rate of employee replacement, decrease absenteeism, improve morale and increase employee involvement.
Better safety culture
Healthy employees are your most valuable asset; creating and fostering a safe & healthy culture at your company will lead to better human performance for your organization.
Improvement in output quality
Having a poor ergonomic workstation leads to frustrated and fatigued workers that do not do their best work. When the job task is too physically taxing on the worker, they may not perform their job like they were trained. For example, an employee might not fasten a screw tight enough due to a high force requirement which could create a product quality issue.
Read the ‘Benefits of Workplace Ergonomics‘ to understand how it can really help workers minimise the risk of workplace injury and increase productivity at home or at work.
If you’re looking for an efficient and reliable workplace assessor who can deliver these benefits, PHW Group provides home or office workstation ergonomic assessments for clients throughout Australia. What makes PHW Group unique is their approach to ergonomics which are far beyond the traditional workstation setup. Its ergonomic consultants are also expert occupational therapists, physiotherapists and exercise physiologists who are trained to look at the following and provide in-depth analysis of the below factors in the workplace:
- Workstations
- Equipment including chairs & phones
- Computers and computer setup
- Staff posture (sitting and standing)
- Work tasks demand
- Stretches for injury prevention
- The cognitive demands
- Vehicles, machinery and equipment
For enquiries, you may call 1300 198 077 or contact us via our contact form.
Melissa Radcliffe
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