Business strive for high production at low cost.

This would result in the highe

st profit for a company. To many businesses, this is only a mirage. This is be
cause the 'low cost' of the business usually results in a 'high cost' for the em
ployees. This high cost is lower quality workplace items, lower salaries, less
benefits, etc. These costs create an upset workplace environment. Companies u
nderstand that the more efficient their workers are, the more productive their b
usiness will become. Although this will take lots of money at first, the result
will be extreme success.
There exist many different things in the workplace that add to stress and injuri
es. They range from lifting heavy boxes to typing too much on the keyboard. Th
is paper will be focusing on the principals of ergonomics in the computer workst
ation. According to the Board of Certification for Professional Ergonomists (BC
PE), the definition of ergonomics "is a body of knowledge about human abilities,
human limitations and human characteristics that are relevant to design. Ergon
omic design is the application of this body of knowledge to the design of tools,
machines, systems, tasks, jobs, and environments for safe, comfortable and effe
ctive human use."(BCPE, 1993) In the average computer workstation, employees ar
e prone to over a dozen hazards. There exist two factors that can prevent this:
forming good work habits and ergonomically designed computer workstations. We
will discuss these
preventions throughout the paper.
First, a few terms may need defining. Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) takes pl
ace from the repeated physical movements of certain body parts which results in
damage to tendons, nerves, muscles, and other soft body tissues. If these injur
ies are not taken care of immediately, permanent damage could be done. A few co
mmon results of RSI's that were not taken care of right away are injuries like C
arpal Tunnel Syndrome, Tendentious, Tenosynovitis, DeQuervain's Syndrome, Thorac
ic Outlet Syndrome etc. All of these are able to be prevented by the use of goo
d working habits and ergonomic engineering.i
Usually, ergonomically designing a computer workstation would cost about $1000.
This expense could be eliminated by the formation of good work habits. This is
essential for the safety of computer terminal employees. There exist a number
of precautions that can be taken into consideration when dealing with a computer
workstation. We shall discuss six of them.
First, the whole body must be relaxed. The correct posture is shown in Figure 1
. Notice that the arms and thighs are parallel to the floor and the feet are fla
t on the floor. Also notice that the wrists are not bent in any way. This is o
ne of the most damaged parts of the body when speaking of (RSI).
Figure 1
The wrists, when typing, should not be rested on anything when typing. This wou
ld cause someone to stretch their fingers to hit keys. They should also be stra
ight: not bent up, down, or to the side. The correct position is portrayed in f
igure 2, incorrect in figure 3. Studies show that these steps are easier to per
form while the keyboard is not tilted toward the user. When it is tilted, it is
natural to rest your wrists on the table. This puts the keyboard at a lower le
vel, creating a more natural position.
Another practice that should be taken into consideration is how hard you press o
n the keys. The user is not supposed to hit the keys. This may cause damage to
the tendons and nerves in the fingers. Instead, use a soft touch, not only wil
l your fingers thank you for it, the keyboard will too!
Keeping in mind not to stretch your fingers when typing, use two hands to perfor
m double-key operations. For example, you need to capitalize the first letter i
n every sentence, therefore, you would hold down the shift and press the first l
etter.
Figure 2 Figure 3
This is a double key operation. Instead of stretching two fingers on one hand t
o do this operation, use both hands.
No matter what kind of a pace you are on when doing work, take breaks every ten
minutes or so in addition to your hourly breaks. These breaks need only be a fe
w moments at a time. If breaks are not taken at this pace, you may be subjectin
g yourself to injuries in the back, neck, wrists and fingers. Also, when using
the mouse, do not grip it tightly. Most mice that are used in offices today are
not designed with human factors in mind. Some mice, like the Microsoft mouse,
are designed to fit the contour of your hand. Although this may seem nice, it d
oes not mean that one will be able to use it for hours on end and not feel any d
iscomfort in the hand. Other mice, that will be mentioned later, are designed f
or comfortable use for extended periods of time.
Try to keep your arms and hands warm. Cold muscles are more apt
to strain and injury than warm ones. Wearing a sweater or a long-sleeved shirt
can be of great importance especially when working in air-conditioned offices.
And finally, do not use the computer more than necessary. Your body can handle
only so much strain on the neck, shoulders, wrists and fingers. Even with the g
reatest state-of-the-art ergonomically designed computer workstation, people put
themselves at risk.
Some people tend to use their break times at work playing video games. This is
a good way to ease the mind of everyday pressure (to some extent). This is also
a good example of using the computer 'more than necessary'. If a person needs
to use a computer for video games, take a break every ten minutes or so, as ment
ioned above.ii
All of these strategies mentioned above are things that can be done to reduce in
juries when using a computer for an extended period of time. They do not includ
e any type of ergonomically designed hardware. If employees form these habits,
there would be less need to purchase any ergonomic equipment for the office. Bu
t, making new habits is not the easiest thing to do for most people. Next, we
will take a look at how a computer workstation should be set up. The following
data was retrieved by an on-line quiz from the University of Virginia.
The first question about computer workstations poses a question about the seat b
eing too high. This would cause strain on the legs of the operator causing them
to "go to sleep". Basically, the blood flow to the leg and feet will be cut of
f.
The next fact presented to us is that the top of the Video Terminal Display (VDT
) should be no higher than eye level. This is one of the most controversial top
ics because it deals with the neck and shoulders. Some people state that it sho
uld be below, but not at eye level because our natural tendency is to look down.
Thirdly, the best viewing distance from the VDT is about 24 inches from the scre
en. This deals with eye strain. Some people worry about radiation that may be
emitted from the VDT. Radiation is not a big problem with newer monitors. Even
old ones have a protective coating around the screen. This allows very few par
ticles to go through the screen. Even if they do manage to get that far from th
e screen, the radiation goes inches before withering away. The eye strain is th
e important factor here. Look away at an object far away from you if eye strain
continues to be a problem.
The next question deals with the tilt of the screen. If the monitor should be a
t or below eye level, it would be easier to read with a 10 to 20 degree back til
t. Many VDT's have a tilt on the bottom, if not, a book could propped under the
monitor to tilt it back a bit.
Another question asked is about the height of the keyboard from the floor. It s
hould be elbow height. As mentioned before, the fore-arms and thighs should be
parallel to the floor. This is possible only if the keyboard is elbow height fr
om the floor.
How should the lighting be in offices when using a computer? It should be a bit
dimmer than normal office lighting. This is so because if the office lighting
is brighter, there will be a lot of glare on the screen. It also has to do with
eye strain.
Noise in the work area causes fatigue. This may be true, to add to this stateme
nt, it also causes the computer operator to lose concentration on their work. N
ot only does noise affect our concentration and causes fatigue, it obviously can
damage one's hearing.
Using this questionnaire, I conducted a survey among students at Canisius Colleg
e in Buffalo, NY. The purpose of the survey was to test the knowledge of the st
udent body as to their knowledge of VDT's and their safety precautions. In orde
r to accomplish this in a professional manner, a random sample of students was a
cquired. In order to obtain a random sample, certain criteria must be met, too
numerous to mention in this essay. Needless to say, not all of the criteria wer
e met for the sample to be random. The sample size of the survey was approximat
ely 100 students. The results were not surprising. There was one problem with
the questionnaire : many students did not know what VDT meant1.
According the survey, 100% of the people was familiar with what
ergonomics is, knew how to reduce tension, what movement in your peripheral visi
on does, and what you should do if you should wear bifocal lenses. This questio
n posed a problem because of the way in which the answer was worded. The correc
t answer is very specific, and sticks out over the other possible answers. The
rest of the questions were well worded and not too obvious.
Besides the first and last question, there were a few others that were all answe
red correctly. These were questions eleven and twelve. The probable cause for
this is that the questions were easy. The answers were more obvious than the ot
hers. If you compare these questions to the ones that were more difficult (seve
n and thirteen) the percent correct differ. Questions seven and thirteen deal w
ith very specific measurements that are all closely related. These questions ar
e not 'common knowledge' questions. I am assuming that people were taking educa
ted guesses when encountering these questions. This could be the reason for the
large percent of error in these parts of the survey.
Now that we have discovered the good habits to form when working at computer wor
kstations and took a look at what a selected college student population knew abo
ut VDT's, we will now take a look at ergonomic engineering and the reason for it
s emergence.
There are a number of devices ranging from keyboards and mice to chairs and even
foot stands. In this paper we will just review a few of these ergonomically de
signed items and why ergonomics is an issue to computer users.
First, we will discuss the purpose of ergonomically designed items. There are a
number of reasons for the emergence of ergonomics. One reason for this is insu
rance purposes. Many companies have disability and other types of insurance to
cover injuries that occur while working. This would not be needed as much if th
ere were ergonomically designed computer workstations. It would save the compan
y insurance hassle and money in the long run. Another purpose for the emergence
of ergonomically designed workstations is that the injuries due to the overuse
of the computers are long lasting. These ailments do not just go away in time.
And one can not put a price on injuries like this. This is why ergonomics is s
o important.
Secondly, we will look at an item that effects the common computer
user the most: the keyboard. With computers getting faster and faster every day
, it is about time that people looked at the hazards they pose instead of perfec
ting them. Keyboards pose the largest threat to the computer user, not only bec
ause it is the most used input device, but also because of its design. It is a
flat, straight input device that can cause strain and injury to the user if not
used properly. Ergonomic engineers realized this hazard and designed a number o
f different alternatives. All of the ergonomically designed keyboards attempt t
o reduce injuries by studying the natural position of the fingers, hands and wri
sts. By using this knowledge, keyboards and mice are designed. There is no ide
al position for the hand as of yet. Hence, there exists different types of keyb
oards and mice. Figures 4 - 5 show different styles of keyboards and mice.
Figure 4 - http://www.earthlink.net/~dbialick/kinesis
Figure 5

Notice the unique structure of the keyboard. It does not even look like one. T
his may take time to get used to, but it will payoff in the end.
Not only is there hardware for the reduction of RSI, but there exists software t
o help you reduce the RSI. Micronite softwareiii
designed a program called ARMS (Against Repetitive Strain Injury) Which reminds
you when it is time to take a break. Also, it walks you through a series of vid
eos which portray ways to massage different parts of your hand, neck, and should
ers.
With all of this hardware and software available for business and personal use,
who would not be interested? Well many people think that it will not happen to
them until it does. People should not wait that long. If you use a computer fo
r more than four hours a day, you are prone to RSI. If your company does not ha
ve ergonomically engineered hardware, software or furniture, then do something a
bout it. It's your health.
1 A copy of the survey is attached to the end of this paper. The correct answer
is bolded.
i URL address : http://webreference.com/rsi.html#whatis
ii URL address : http://www.engr.unl.edu/ee/eeshop/rsi.html
iii URL address : http://www.micronite.com/
Glossary
CGI
"Common Gateway Interface". A standard protocol which allows HTML based forms to
send field contents to a program on the Internet for processing. It also allows
the receiving program to respond by sending an HTML response document.
Email
"Electronic Mail". An electronic document similar to a piece of mail in that it
is sent from one person to another using addresses, and contains information. Em
ail commonly contains information such as: sender name and computer address, lis
t of recipient names and computer addresses, message subject, date and time comp
osed, and message content. Sometimes, an Email message can have attached compute
r files such as pictures, programs, and data files.
Firewall
A program or device which serves as an intelligent and secure router of network
data packets. These mechanisms are configured to restrict the flow of packets in
different directions (i.e. to and from the Internet) based on the system addres
ses (a.k.a. IP addresses) of the connected computers.
FTP
"File Transfer Protocol". A program or feature popularly used over the Internet
to transfer files between computers.
Hacker
A person who deliberately breaks into computer systems for entertainment, gain,
or spite. The most sophisticated hackers spend all of their time breaking into c
omputers. The risk that these people pose is that they often steal or damage sof
tware systems and information.
Home Page
A Web Page which is at the root of all Web Pages for a particular Web Site. A Ho
me Page should portray the image that the company wants to project. Usually, the
se pages resemble marketing slicks, but with an interactive slant. This front pa
ge of a Web Site then provides hypertext links to the rest of the Web Site's con
tent and possibly to Home Pages for other related Web Sites.
HTML
"HyperText Markup Language". A standardized programming language used to create
hypertext documents. Used to create all Web Pages on the Internet. Also allows d
efinition of data forms which communicate with CGI compatible programs on the In
ternet.

HTTP
"HyperText Transfer Protocol". A communications protocol used by Internet Web Se
rvice software to send Web Pages to Web Browser software over the Internet.
HyperText
A type of text document which contains embedded "hotspots" which point to other
sections of text or other documents. Any piece of text or graphic can be defined
as a hotspot which points elsewhere.
Internet
(a.k.a. "The Information Superhighway"). A world-wide interconnection between th
ousands of computer networks on many different platforms, with over 10 million e
nd users (and growing). The telecommunications backbone of the Internet is base
d on a network of U.S. government owned, national T3 lines. A growing number of
Internet Providers are adding their own backbones.
Internet Providers
A community of competing businesses which provide "on-ramps to the Internet". Th
e largest of these companies connect directly into the Internet backbone, or pro
vide their own national or international backbones. Examples of true Internet Pr
oviders: Netcom, UUNet, CERFNet, SprintNet, and Spry. Examples of partial Intern
et Providers & partial Information Service Providers: CompuServe, Prodigy, and A
merica On-Line.
IRC
"Internet Relay Chat". A program or feature popularly used on the Internet by in
dividuals to chat with others, by typing and watching text-based dialog. Many to
pic specific IRC channels have been created on the Internet by users. These chan
nels form a sort of forum for conference room discussion.
Newsgroups
A collection of forums which gather Email from Internet users about a specific s
ubject. The collected Email entries (known as news articles) can then be perused
by all Internet users. Some are simply for recreational discussions, while othe
rs may allow people to form self-supporting user groups.
PGP
"Pretty Good Privacy" encryption. A protocol for using private and public key en
cryption to secure Email and other Internet transactions.
TCP/IP
"Transfer Control Protocol / Internet Protocol". The network communication proto
col used by all Internet computers. Similar in function to NetBIOS, SNA, or Nove
ll Netware's IPX/SPX.
Telnet
A program or feature popularly used on the Internet by individuals to log into,
and take control of other computers on the Internet.
VRML
"Virtual Reality Markup Language" A new emerging language becoming supported by
the World Wide Web, for programming virtual reality content on the Internet.
Web Browser
A type of program used by individuals which reads HTML files on the Internet and
presents them to the user in a friendly way and interactive way. Many such prog
rams exist for many platforms. For UNIX several GUI browsers are popular. For th
ose UNIX based terminals or DOS based PCs, Lynx provides a text interface to bro
wse Web Pages. All Web Browsers allow the user to interactively jump from place
to place by selecting hotspots (highlighted text or graphics). Some browsers all
ow the user to print page contents.
Web Page or Web Document
A single viewable unit of Web information. Often be comprised of an HTML file wi
th several referenced graphics files. Generally, each Web Page has hypertext li
nks to other Web Pages.
Web Site
A collection of Web Pages built for or by a single company or individual. Usuall
y provides one theme of content. A Web Site is not to be confused with a single
physical location where a Web Server exists. It is a Cyber-Location.
Web Server
A combination of computer hardware, telecomm. lines, and HTTP server software.
World Wide Web, WWW, or The Web
An intricate and vast web of information, tied together by hypertext links betwe
en multimedia documents residing on thousands of Internet computers around the g
lobe.