INDUSTRIAL

ERGONOMICS
Office-Workstation
(Computer workstation)
DR. SITI ZAWIAH MD. DAWAL
DEPT. OF ENGINEERING DESIGN
AND MANUFACTURE
UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
 Introduction
It is common now and accepted that one
should sit in the office.
Yet, low back pain and musculoskeletal
discomfort and together with eye-strain
constitute the majority of subjective
complaints and objective symptoms of
computer operators.
Is there a normal, healthy,
ideal posture?
Theories of Healthy Standing
The normal or healthy standing was
recommended by Staffel in 19th century.
It has been used by physicians, mothers,
teachers, orthopedists etc.
Even today that ”upright” or “ straight”
standing posture with slight lordoses
(forward bends) are considered as “good”
and “proper” , “healthy”, “balanced” and
“neutral “
 Theories of Healthy Sitting
At least a century it was common belief
that standing and sitting with a straight
back is physically desirable and social
proper for pupils and adults alike.
Apparently, human body is adapted to
change – to moving about.
Sitting or standing still for extended
periods is uncomfortable and leads to
compression of tissues, reduction in
metabolism and deficiency in blood
circulation in the lower legs.
 Good Working Positions
To understand the best way to set up a
computer workstation, it is helpful to understand
the concept of neutral body positioning.
This is a comfortable working posture in which
your joints are naturally aligned. Working with
the body in a neutral position reduces stress and
strain on the muscles, tendons, and skeletal
system and reduces your risk of developing a
musculoskeletal disorder (MSD).
The following are important considerations when
attempting to maintain neutral body postures
while working at the computer workstation.
Hands, wrists, and forearms are straight,
in-line and roughly parallel to the floor.
Head is level, or bent slightly forward,
forward facing, and balanced. Generally it
is in-line with the torso.
Shoulders are relaxed and upper arms
hang normally at the side of the body.
Elbows stay in close to the body and are
bent between 90 and 120 degrees.
Feet are fully supported by floor or footrest.
Back is fully supported with appropriate lumbar
support when sitting vertical or leaning back
slightly.
Thighs and hips are supported by a well-
padded seat and generally parallel to the floor.
Knees are about the same height as the hips
with the feet slightly forward.
Regard less of how good your
working posture is, working in the
same posture or sitting still for
prolonged periods is not healthy.
You should change your working position
frequently throughout the day in the following
ways:

Make small adjustments to your chair or

backrest.
Stretch your fingers, hands, arms, and torso.
Stand up and walk around for a few minutes
periodically.
These four reference postures are
examples of body posture changes that all
provide neutral positioning for the body.
Upright sitting posture. The user's torso
and neck are approximately vertical and
in-line, the thighs are approximately
horizontal, and the lower legs are vertical.
Declined sitting posture. The user's
thighs are inclined with the buttocks higher
than the knee and the angle between the
thighs and the torso is greater than 90
degrees. The torso is vertical or slightly
reclined and the legs are vertical.
Reclined sitting posture. The user's
torso and neck are straight and recline
between 105 and 120 degrees from the
thighs.
Standing posture. The user's legs, torso,
neck, and head are approximately in-line
and vertical. The user may also elevate
one foot on a rest while in this posture.
 Semi-sitting
The major advantage of semi sitting is that
the trunk is mobile particularly if there is
no backrest.

It is suitable to relieve the worker from

continuous standing
There is “NO” one Healthy
Posture
 Adjusted Workstation
Important Criteria:
Arm
Backrest
Posture
Desk
Telephone
Document Holder
Screen
Keyboard
Avoiding Eye Strain
 DESIGN OF VDT
WORKSTATION
Visual workspace

We alter our direction of gaze by moving

our eyeballs within their sockets and by
moving our head. It is good to have some
movement of the head during work in
order not to tire the neck muscles.
The head is supported by the effort of the
muscles in the neck. If you hold your head
still, you muscles are doing static work,
that is, they are working continuously with
no breaks to rest. This is more tiring than if
you move your head, when the muscles
are doing dynamic work, and muscles
groups get a chance to rest as others take
over.
Therefore, the visual aspects of the
workplace should be arranged to cause
the lowest level of static work by the neck
muscles.
You should aim to position frequently
viewed items within a comfortable zone in
front of you. This is normally within 15°
above, or 30° below, the horizontal, and
15° to the left and right. In the normal,
relaxed position of the head, neck and
eyes, the line of sight is about 10 to 15°
below the horizontal, therefore, viewing
horizontally straight ahead actually
requires a small amount of effort.
Distance is also a factor in visual fatigue.
Visual displays are comfortably viewed
from 500-750mm or more, depending on
the size of the display components. The
lens of the eye stiffens as people get
older, altering the distance at which they
can easily focus, so objects need to be
positioned further away for clear viewing.
They also take longer to focus on things (it
will happen to you one day!).
 Exercise

Choose the best office (computer

workstation) lighting arrangements.

Can you detect visibility problems that can

be generated by imperfect lamp positions.
 State potential hazards and give possible
solutions for each figure.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4