The word ?ergonomic? is desperately over used when talking about office furniture products, what do we actually mean by it? Simply that the job or task should be fitted to the worker and the products to the user; the aim is to maximise productivity while minimising operator fatigue and discomfort.
The first port of call for official advice within the UK is the Health and Safety Display Screen Equipment Regulations of 1992 (amended 2002). Within this influential report the guidelines explain that the work chair should be stable and allow freedom of movement and a comfortable position; that the seat should be adjustable in height and that the seat back should be adjustable in both height and tilt.
Another significant report, which makes recommendations that are considered good practice, but are not mandatory, is the British Standard EN ISO 9241-5:1999. Here the advice is that optimum viewing distance between your face and the screen (for office work in the seated position) is 600mm. As a rough guide this equates to placing your monitor about an arm's length away.
In the Health & Safety (DSE) regulations ?Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals? it's recommended that a monitor should be able to tilt and swivel easily to suit your needs; that the image on screen should be legible and flicker-free and should be free from glare and reflections. By straining to look up or down at a monitor screen at an unnatural angle you run the risk of placing additional strain on the neck, shoulders and lower back. Most guidelines state that a correctly adjusted display, using a monitor support arm, has the top of the viewable area of the display at eye level and that the screen should be angled upwards to face you.
The switch from CRT monitors to light weight LCD screens had significant implications for improved ergonomics. Previously these rather cumbersome CRT ?boxes? sat on the corner of a desk and you had to position yourself around it, the new generation of light weight flat screen monitors can be attached to monitor mounts which enable you to adjust every aspect of the screen's position.
There is a plethora of products available which can help adapt your seating position precisely to suit you: arm-rests, foot-rests, lumbar supports, laptop stands, the list goes on and on. Chairs don't simply go up and down any more: many modern task chairs have up to twenty separate adjustment mechanisms, enabling literally thousands of different seating permutations. Monitor arms are becoming increasingly commonplace and are used to adjust computer equipment to precisely the right height and distance for you. However, regardless of how good the office equipment you use, if you don't have an understanding of ergonomic best practice, even the most sophisticated, chairs, desks and LCD monitor mounts are all rendered redundant.
Are You Sitting Comfortably
Today you will find that there are many different styles of office chair available on the market and finding the one that is right for you can be an eye opener.
One of the first and most important things you must think about when deciding to purchase an office chair is the amount of time that you will spend sat on it throughout your working day. You need to remember that being able to sit comfortably for extended periods of time is a must. By not providing yourself with a chair that will provide you with comfort and support during your day at work can result in back problems later on.
You will find that there are a lot of options that come as standard on both normal and ergonomic office chairs, such as seat, height and lumbar support adjustment. However, you may find that this options come as additional items with some of the cheaper standard models.
A feature that you must ensure your chair has whether ergonomic or standard is good lumbar support as this will help to relieve any stress being placed on your lower back due to you being sat for long periods of time. On some models of chairs, especially ergonomic ones you will find that they are provided with a lumbar support adjustment mechanism, which enables you place the backrest in a position that is providing optimum support to your lower back and spine.
Next if you can try and purchase a chair which has a tilt mechanism on it as this will help to place your body in a slightly more reclined seating position and helps to take further stress of your body. By being able to put your chair in a more reclined position you are more likely to improve your posture and help to ward of the issue of long term back problems.
If you can afford to try and purchase chair that has the added option of synchro knee tilt. This mechanism allows you to place your feet flat on the floor even if the chair is either in the upright or reclined position. Remember by being able to place your feet flat on the floor your are sitting in an ergonomically correct position and thus helping your posture to be in the correct position. This mechanism works by reclining the feet of the user at a slighter angle than the back of the chair does.
Another option to consider to ensure that you are sitting comfortably at your desk during your work day is the inclusion of a headrest on your chair. This feature may especially be beneficial to taller people who have to spend more time with their chair in a reclined position may find this helps to support the top of their spine as well as the lower spine. Now days you will find that most executive chairs come provided with a high back feature rather than the normal standard mid back.
Don’t forget that when you are choosing an office chair that you need to keep in mind what duties you will be carrying out on a daily basis whilst at your desk and try and work out how long each day you will spend sat in your chair. By keeping these points in mind you should be able to find the chair that is best suited to your needs and help you to sit more comfortably during your working day.
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