Ergonomics training session for -high volume data entry operators

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Ergonomics training session for -high volume
data entry operators
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Training Objectives

• Identify the musculoskeletal hazards associated
  with high data entry (manual handling) work
• Provide information on best practice workstation
  set up and office environment to reduce the
  impact of high data entry work
• 3. Provide information on best practice work
  methods to reduce the impact of high data entry
  work

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OHS Obligations and responsibilities

• Providing a healthy and safe work place for
  everyone means
• Complying with OHS Legislation
• OHS Act 2004 OHS Regulations 2007
• Having OHS systems in place
• A method/system of managing workplace hazards
  controlling risks, audited for compliance.
• Internal reporting systems for incidents,
  injuries, near misses - Incident reports
  THEMIS http//www.themis.unimelb.edu.au/
• Dedicated OHS advisory staff to provide support
• Taking reasonable care, working safely, following
  procedures, completing training.

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What is Manual handling?

• ...any activity requiring exertion of human
  force including
• Lifting / Lowering
• Carrying / Holding / Restraining
• Pushing / Pulling
• Throwing / Catching / Hitting / Striking
• Repetitive tasks (packing, picking, sorting,
  filing, typing, assembly, shelving, writing)
• Using hand tools, equipment
• Most tasks we undertake involve some level of
  force exertion or manual handling.
• Manual handling in the office can be defined as
• any task that involves repetitive or sustained
  forces, movements or postures.
• Not all manual handling is hazardous!

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Most common Office Work injuries

• WorkSafe Victoria - Injury Hotspots Office Work
  
• Highlights the most common injuries associated
  with working in an office.
• Further information https//www4.worksafe.vic.
  gov.au/worksafe/hotspots/office_hotspot.html

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What are high volume data injuries?

• Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). These arise
  from the cumulative effect of regular strain,
  load, speed, and/or force on the soft tissues of
  the body. Injuries can affect
  many parts of the body but typically
• Neck and back
• Shoulders, arms, forearms
• Wrists, hands, fingers and thumbs
• 2. Psychological /stress related conditions
  which can arise from high work loads, deadlines

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Hazardous manual handling

• Factors that can increase your risk of injury
• Duration and frequency (workload)
• In an office environment undertaking continuous
  data entry for more than 30 minutes at a time or
  2 hours per shift
• Environment
• Unsuitable working conditions e.g.
• Poorly designed workstation, chair
• Poor light, thermal comfort
• Inadequate space, clutter
• Individual factors
• Stress, anxiety, muscle tension
• Insufficient rest breaks
• Poor organisation, planning
• Poor health and fitness

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Repetitive or sustained awkward posture,
movements, forces
Repetitive More than 2 x per minute or
Sustained More than 60 seconds at a time
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High data entry evidence

• Key findings from 22 ergonomic research studies
  on impact of high data entry on body health
  reveal
• Overwhelmingly periodic brief rest breaks
  throughout the work day reduce musculoskeletal
  discomfort
• Maintaining neutral spine (S shape) enables
  optimal postural muscle function and minimises
  mechanical stress
• Keeping the shoulder and elbow of the mouse
  hand close to the body reduces the muscle work in
  the shoulder and neck area

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How do we manage musculoskeletal injuries?
The 4 Steps...
1. Identify hazardous work tasks that you perform
2. Assess whether the task is risky - i.e.
likely to cause an injury
3. Control eliminate or reduce the risk
4. Review the control measures to see if they
are effective
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The Musculoskeletal System

• In order to demonstrate the impact of high data
  entry manual handling on the body, a brief
  overview of the structure and function of the
  musculoskeletal system follows

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The Musculoskeletal System

• The Musculoskeletal System is made up of the
• Skeleton/spine
• Muscles
• Joints
• Tendons
• Ligaments
• All these are potentially subject to stress at
  work

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The spine

• The spine is configured in an S shape to
  permit maximum mobility, balance, flexibility and
  stress absorption. We refer to this as neutral
  spine.
• 3 notable spinal curves create the S shape
• Neck curves inwards
• Middle back curves outwards
• Lower back curves inwards
• Maintaining these curves (neutral spine )
  optimises spine health and function

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Back health

• Any deviation away from neutral spine increases
  the stress and load on the spinal structures
• The further away from neutral e.g. slouching,
  bending or twisting, the greater the load
• Prolonged poor postures can accelerate wear and
  tear on the spine and the surrounding soft
  tissues

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Sitting Postures

• Bad Posture X
• Good Posture v

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Back/neck discomfort

• Back/neck discomfort can occur at a computer
  workstation because of
• Unsuitable physical environment/
  equipment/furniture- poor design, dimensions,
  fit
• Poor workstation set up and organisation- body
  trying to adapt and fit to the workstation rather
  than the workstation fitting the body.
• Prolonged sitting without regular changes in
  posture
• - loads the discs, slows down nutrition to the
  discs
• Poor postures - slouching and leaning, places
  uneven loads and strains on the discs, joints,
  ligaments and muscles
• Weak core muscles
• -spine sloppy not stabilised

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Muscles

• The main framework of the body (skeleton) is
  covered by muscles, whose function is to permit
  movement, exert power and maintain posture.

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Muscle work

• Static muscle work
• Occurs when body parts are held stationary and
  muscles are held static e.g. gripping mouse,
  phone.
• Muscles contract-but no movement results.
  Fatiguing, not sustainable for long periods
• Dynamic muscle work
• Rhythmic action between contracting and relaxing
  muscles e.g. walking, swinging arms
• Muscles contract and body parts move
• More sustainable, more favourable for the body

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Static muscle work

• When the muscles are under static load
• Blood supply including oxygen and nutrients
  needed by muscles and soft tissues is restricted.
  
• Waste product (lactic acid) which can cause a
  muscle burning sensation) is not flushed away
• Fatigue, discomfort and soft tissue damage can
  eventuate
• Prolonged computer data entry can involve
  prolonged static muscle loading.

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Joints and ligaments

• Joints and ligaments (like the spine) are subject
  
• to extra stress when overloaded, over
  stretched or when awkward postures are adopted.
• Joints and ligaments can be best protected by
• Maintaining neutral, balanced joint positions
• Deviation away from neutral amplifies forces on
  joints and tissues

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Wrist posture
Keeping the wrist neutral and aligned with the
arm greatly reduces the stress and strain on all
the surrounding soft tissues. Unnatural bent
wrist positions can lead to conditions such as
carpal tunnel syndrome

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Tendon health

• Tendons connect muscles to bone.
• If the action of pulling the muscle is highly
  repetitive a tendon can become inflamed and
  movement can become painful and restricted
• This is a musculoskeletal disorder often referred
  to as tendonitis or repetitive strain injury
  (RSI)
• It can be associated with high volume mouse or
  keyboard use particularly if technique is poor
• Ensuring optimal postures and taking regular
  stretching breaks greatly lowers the risk of
  developing tendonitis

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What is best practice

• Fitting your workstation to you

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OR ELSEterrible things may happen!!
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Desk dimensions and layout

• Fixed height desks should be 700-720mm for most
  workers
• Desktop thickness 33mm maximum
• Desks should be 750 mm minimum deep (front to
  back) to accommodate monitor/s and focal length
• Space under the desk for legs should enable
• 450mm forward clearance at knee
• 600mm at feet, 400mm either
• side of navel.
• Office chair should swivel from
• side to side without obstruction

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Staff task chair set up

• Staff task chairs should have adequate
  adjustability to
• support an optimal sitting posture
• The chair should be adjusted so that the
• back support is slightly reclined and comfortably
  fits the lumbar curve about a fist gap should
  exist between the back support and the seat pan
• seat pan is approximately horizontal and
  comfortably accommodates thigh length. When
  sitting back in the chair there should be 2-3
  fingers width between the front edge of the seat
  and the back of the knee.
• desk height is approximately in line with the
  navel
• footrests are generally required for users under
  172cm ( 57) sitting at a standard fixed height
  (720mm) desk

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Best practice computer seated posture

• Ears in vertical alignment with shoulders
• Spine neutral (S shape)
• Hips slightly higher than knees
• Feet supported on floor or footrest
• Shoulders relaxed and symmetrical
• Elbows slightly higher than wrists
• Elbows in near vertical alignment with shoulders
• Wrists neutral (slightly bent up )
• Fingers relaxed with joints slightly curled (not
  stiff)

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Best practice computer seated posture
Elbows should be slightly higher than your
wrists when operating keys/mouse
The back support should be at an angle of 90 to
100and supporting the lumbar curve
The desk should be approx. 680-720mm high
Hips should be slightly higher than knees
There should be approximately 2-3 finger width
clearance between the front edge of the seat and
the back of your knee
Feet should be adequately supported on the floor
or by a footrest
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Desktop items and reach zones
Frequently used desktop items should be
positioned within comfortable reach to minimise
stresses and forces on joints and tissues.
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Monitor position

• Directly in front and about arms reach away
• Top of the monitor just below seated eye
• height. If not, raise with a monitor stand.
• Shelving/fixtures over the desk should not
  interfere with monitor placement
• Text should be readable without peering. If not,
  check and adjust brightness, contrast and font
  size.
• Free from glare if not, check office lighting-
  see lighting section
• Avoid twisting and bending the neck
• Scroll the work up to the top of the screen
• to reduce the need to bend the neck
• Multifocal wearers may need to angle the
• bottom of the screen up slightly to avoid
• tilting the head back

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More is not better!
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Best practice set up for two monitors

• Two monitors used equally
• Same height and distance away
• Position as above
• Swivel chair to view screens dont twist neck

• Primary and secondary monitors
• Same height and distance away
• Primary monitor directly in line with user
• Secondary monitor to one side
• Swivel chair to view screen dont twist neck

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Best practice keyboard position and use

• The keyboard should be positioned directly in
  line with the screen
• Mini keyboards (minus numeric pad) enable
• a more desirable arm and mouse posture
• Keyboard feet should be lowered unless high
  visual control over keyboard is needed
• Avoid resting wrists on the desk when keying - a
  wrist rest no higher than the keyboard may help
  keep the wrist neutral/flat
• Key strike should be light - keep fingers
  relaxed, joints soft or curved- not stiff
• Use keyboard shortcut keys wherever possible
  http//safety.unimelb.edu.au/topics/ergonomics/off
  ice/shortcuts.html

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Keeping the shoulder and elbow in close
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Keeping the wrist neutral
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Keeping the wrist neutral
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Best practice mouse use

• Check the mouse fits your hand comfortably-
  contact with the desk top should be the padded
  regions of the palm not the wrist. If not, a more
  suitable size mouse may be required- one size
  does not fit all

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Best practice mouse use

• Swap hands - change primary click button settings
  through the computer control panel
• Place mouse mat directly next to keyboard elbow
  should be approximately tennis ball distance
  from waist
• Relax shoulder, support forearm on desk, maintain
  middle finger in line with wrist and elbow
• Use a whole arm circular movement -avoid
  repetitive sideways wrist movements.

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Best practice mouse use
X

• Avoid hovering index finger over mouse in
  readiness to click .Take hand off mouse when
  reading screen
• Take hand off mouse ever 5 minutes for 20 seconds
  and stretch hands- open /shut, shrug shoulders
• Gel filled mouse rests are not recommended as
  they promote a poor wrist position and repetitive
  sideways wrist movement

v
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Document holders

• If you need to transcribe from or refer to
  documents
• Neck /shoulder strain can result from twisting
  bending the neck to read documents placed on the
  desk.
• An adjustable angled document holder is the
  preferred design and should be placed between
  keyboard and screen to maintain a neutral,
  symmetrical neck posture

3M in line model from Lyreco
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Optimal phone use

• Place phone unit within comfortable reach. Avoid
  reaching across the body
• If there is a requirement to simultaneously speak
  on the phone and write/use keyboard, a headset or
  blue tooth device should be used so a symmetrical
  posture can be maintained- contact IT telephony.
• Use speaker function if appropriate
• Never tuck the phone between your shoulder and
  ear

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Physical environment

• Noise should not be at a level which
• gt interferes with communication
• gt is annoying or distracting
• gt affects performance of tasks such as reading
  and writing
• Air quality/ flow should not cause discomfort-
  drafts can be addressed with air vent deflectors
• Temperature should be comfortable (ambient office
  temperature 22-26? C recommended) Thermal comfort
  varies greatly between individuals and clothing
  is the most obvious and effective control.

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Physical environment

• Lighting
• Too much or too little light can cause eye strain
  and poor postures eyes are controlled by
  muscles
• The monitor should be placed in a position to
  minimise glare and/or reflections from light
  sources
• Overhead lights or light entering through windows
  should not be directly in the visual field
• Light can be controlled with blinds, or modifying
  artificial lighting diffusers, removing light
  tubes
• Focus on objects at different distances, blink
  regularly to refresh eyes
• Take breaks away from computer

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Rest breaks and stretches

• Break from sitting every 30 minutes for 1 - 2
  minutes to stretch and mobilise working muscles
• Take micro pauses of 5-10 seconds every 5 10
  minutes to remove hands from the keyboard/ mouse
  during prolonged periods of data entry
• Set a timer as a rest break prompt Microsoft
  Outlook or access free downloadable timers e.g.
  http//www.workrave.org/
• Take time to perform some stretches
• When tired, stressed or under time pressure you
  are more likely to experience elevated muscle
  tension.
• Dont skip rest breaks

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S-t-r-e-t-c-h
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S-t-r-e-t-c-h

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Stress

• A range of stressors exist in our lives, both
  inside
• and outside of the work environment -
  workloads, deadlines, challenging personalities
• Stress and anxiety can produce muscle tension
• Tune in to your body relax, stretch, take some
  deep breaths and sighs, release physical tension
• Tune in to your mind. Is your self-talk rational
  and your attitude positive?
• More tips on wellbeing and stress management may
  be viewed at the Counselling and Psychological
  Services website http//services.unimelb.edu.au/c
  ounsel/resources/issues/wellbeing/stress_managemen
  t

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Reporting when, how, where and why

• WHEN Early first advise your supervisor
• HOW Complete incident report via Themis Self
  Service (if necessary) http//safety.unime
  lb.edu.au/tools/incident/
• WHERE Themis Staff Self Service at
  http//www.themis.unimelb.edu.au/
• WHY - To optimise recovery. - To predict and
  prevent other incidents/injuries occurring.
  
• No-one should be working in discomfort or risking
  their health and safety. There is always a
  solution.

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Where to go for help

• Supervisor
• Computer Workstation Ergonomic Self Assessment
  Checklist at http//safety.unimelb.edu.au/docs/K
  eyboard_Workstation_Self_Assessment_Checklist.pdf
  
• Local OHS Manager
• UoM OHS Injury Management website at
  http//safety.unimelb.edu.au/topics/ergonomics/of
  fice/
• Enrol in the Office Ergonomics course at
  http//www.themis.unimelb.edu.au/
• Officewise - A guide to Health and Safety in the
  office available at http//www.worksafe.vic.gov.a
  u/forms-and-publicationsWorking from home website
  at http//www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/forms-and-publi
  cations/forms-and-publications/officewise-a-guide-
  to-health-and-safety-in-the-office
  http//safety.unimelb.edu.au/topics/ergonomics/off
  ice/homebasedwork.html

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Acknowledgements / References
WorkSafe publications http//www.worksafe.vic.go
v.au/forms-and-publications Images Unless
indicated, all images are sourced from Microsoft
Office Clip Art at http//Ioffice.microsoft.com/e
n-au/images/?CTT97