Lesson - Ergonomics DefinedThe origin of the word "ergonomics" is found, as many in the English language, in Greek. The Greek word "ergon" means work and "nomoi" means natural laws and ergonomics refers to the relation between the two. As per the International Ergonomics Association, "ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance."
The simple version? About.com explains: "Ergonomics is the science of making things comfy. It also makes things efficient. And when you think about it, comfy just another way of making things efficient. However for simplicity, ergonomics makes things comfortable and efficient."
One of the unexpected consequences of our information age was the explosion in ergonomic related injury. This was in particular due to computer peripherals and the way we use them to interact with computers.
The Unexpected Impact of Computer Peripherals
Computer peripherals are an essential part of a computer. They expand the computers capabilities but and part of its core components. For example, a keyboard, mouse, printer, CD-ROM drive, monitor, and speakers are all peripherals. And without them our computer might run, but for all practical purpose would be useless. For the computer user, peripherals are the most used part of the computer as they form the gateway to raw computing power.
The problem with computer peripherals is that they are often artifacts of pre-computer times adapted for computer use, or carryovers from the early days of computer design when speed was the focus and ergonomics not even a thought. Consider two examples.
Frist, look at the keyboard in front of you. For 99% of the world the first six letters in the top left corner will be QWERTY. The creatively named QWERTY keyboard has been the default ever since keyboards were first used with computers, but it was around long before then. It was simply borrowed from typewriters, which had been using the same QWERTY layout since the late 1870s. Here’s the interesting bit – it was originally designed to slow typists down! Typewriters print via a mechanical action; press a key and a lever with a metal stamp at the end is raised to the paper, after which it falls back into place. However secretaries were typing so quickly that the levers didn’t have enough time to fall back into place – thus jamming them together. The manufacturers solution was the QWERTY keyboard – a keyboard designed to slow typists down to prevent typewriters from jamming.
Let’s think about this. The keyboard is probably the most used computer peripheral in the world. As you read this billions of people are using a QWERTY keyboard on their high tech gadgets. A keyboard designed over a century ago to slow down typists! Is there any risk of typing too fast with today’s technology? No! When it was designed, was there any thought given to how using this keyboard 8 hours a day 5 days a week would impact the human body? Of course not – the idea of people using them to that extent was preposterous. Remember even with early computers, they were behemoths only used by large corporations. Personal computing wasn’t even envisioned until the late 1970s. Thus as keyboard use exploded with the computer age, it was used in ways and for time periods it that resulted in new ergonomic injuries.
A second example is the computer mouse. Unlike the keyboard, it was not an appropriated earlier technology; it was invented specifically as a computer interface peripheral. In the 1960s, Doug Engelbart invented the first computer mouse as part of his project to simplify human – computer interaction. The mouse in particular was designed to make this interaction more intuitive, simple and quick. And today we see the success of his design. However, if we think back to the 60s – what were computers being used for? Complex computations at large corporations. The digital revolution had yet to start and thus the effect of prolonged mouse use on the human body wasn’t considered at all. Today we reap the consequences.
These two examples show why it is so important for us to educate ourselves on ergonomic issues. Many of our most important tools are not designed for our long term health; it is up to us to build an environment and use them in a way that supports our body’s health. It is often more expensive for employers to provide ergonomic considerations so they are often left out unless the employee insists. So we must insist – or at least make informed decisions about the consequences.
The consequences of ignoring ergonomic threats are serious. Today, ergonomic injury affects everyone, including young people in their 20s. And many of them permanently limit computer use for the rest of our life. For example: After having surgery to repair carpal tunnel, many patients are limited to 30 minutes of computer – indefinitely. How would that impact your career? Could you still do you job using computers only 30 minutes a day? So if not, what happens? We end up right back at school again retraining for a different profession. After investing so much time and money in our current education, wouldn’t it make sense to protect our health so that we can maximize our return on education? Let’s learn how.
Preventing Ergonomic Injury
Ergonomic ignorance is an extremely common silent killer. The good news is it is easily preventable!
Almost all ergonomic injury only happens over extended periods of time – so by modifying our routine
and environment we can eliminate the cause or give our body the break it needs to recoup. There are a
number of external links included in this section of the lesson. They are an integral part of this lesson
and you are expected to follow and read them as if they were typed text. The best information on these
subjects is available from medical professionals, so it only makes sense we go to them!
Repetitive Strain Injury:
Harvard provides some excellent instructions for its students on how to
prevent RSI. It includes some basic suggestions and stretches to alleviate the symptoms.
Read the Harvard instructions on preventing RSI.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome:
There is still much debate about exact methods of CTS prevention, but it is
general recognized that regular breaks with stretches and proper workspace setup (discussed in
general suggestions below) are vital to good wrist health.
Watch some carpal tunnel exercises many have found helpful.
Computer Vision Syndrome:
In one way or another, most sources repeat variation of these
10 steps for relief.
Although there are very specific suggestions for each ergonomic concern, there are some general
ergonomic best practices that will help prevent all ergonomic injury. The best reference is
Cornell University’s Ergo Site. It is an excellent repository of ergonomic references and research,
but can be overwhelming at first visit. Some suggestions to read:
ErgoTips (Self-help workstation guide – will be used in Case 3 as our basic reference) |
10 Tips for Mouse Use |
Choosing an Ergonomic Chair |
10 Steps For a Good Workstation Arrangement |
In addition to the Cornell University site, Ergoblog is the foremost ergonomic blog on the Internet and
Lifehacker.com, who covers every topic under the sun, has a number of
specific ergonomic posts that are very practical. |
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TASK:
After reviewing the lesson above and testing out some of the suggested tools (and others if you want) write a paragraph that describes your strategy for managing information overload. Make sure to address each of the 3 steps explain the specific tools you are using and why. Explain any problems or surprises you’ve had.