MLT221:Medical laboratoratory

Operation:Safety
Laboratory Ergonomics
By
Nada elsayed ali elsawy.

Intended Leaning Objectives (ILOs)

By the end of this lecture, the student will be able to:
1. What is Ergonomics and Why Is It Important?
2. Ergonomic symbols in lab .
3. Ergonomic Hazard.
4. Resultant effect of Ergonomic Hazard.
5. MITIGATION OF ERGONOMICS HAZARD.
6. Ergonomic Risk Factors in the Lab.
7. Microscope ergonomics.

1
 What is Ergonomics and Why Is It Important?
-Ergonomics fits jobs to people.

-It helps prevent injuries.

-Good Ergonomics design removes

incompatibilities between the work

and the workers and creates the

Optimal work environment.

Good Ergonomics
•Makes the job safer by preventing ingury and
illness.
•Makes the job easier by adjusting the job to the
worker.
•Makes the job more pleasant by reducing
physical and mental stress.
•Saves money.

2
 Ergonomic Hazard
 There are a number of Medical laboratory Hazards but
the least discussed are ergonomics Hazard .

The others are Biological and Chemical Hazards.

Ergonomics Hazards are Work-related problems that
Primarily include Cumulative trauma disorders.

Ergonomic hazard.
• They are collective group of injures
involving the musculoskeletal and
Nervous system in response to
long-term repetitive twisting ,
bending, lifting,or assuming
static postures for an extended
period of time.

3
 Resultant effect of Ergonomic Hazard.
• Musculoskeletal Disorder of lower back,neck,
Wrist and hand.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
(compression and entrapment of nerve
from wrist to hand)
• Tendons(inflammation of tendon)
• Tenosynovitis(inflamation or ingury to
the synovial sheath).

Resultant Effect of Ergonomic Hazard.

• Hospitalization of staff.

• Blurred vision.

• Burning or watery eyes.

4
 MITIGATION OF ERGONOMICS HAZARD
• Put people first (Breaks,Exercise etc….).
• think of the process over result.
• Implement Design thinking.
• Educate employees on Ergonomic Hazard and programs.

Ergonomic symbols in lab.

10

5
 Ergonomic Risk Factors in the Lab.
Preventing ergonomic injury begins with proper training and
understanding four common risk factors.

11

1. Repetitive motion
• Repetitive motion is doing the same motion pattern over and over.
There are many tasks in the lab that are highly repetitive, and may be
repeated multiple times within one minute, over 60 minutes, over a
full day, every day—thousands of times. Such repetition takes a toll.

12

6
 •Some common tasks include:
• Repetitive thumb or finger motions with pipette use.
• Shaking liquids.
• Removing, replacing, or rotating lids or caps.
• Pouring into vials and beakers.
To reduce exposure to repetitive motion:
• Instead of performing one straight hour of pipetting, stop and interrupt the task
to rest, stretch, or perform an alternative task that doesn’t require the same
motion patterns.
• Another option is using a multi-channel pipette to help
reduce the repetition, but it doesn’t eliminate it entirely.

13

2. Forceful exertion
• Many tasks require exertional forces that require you to push hard with
your hands, thumb, or fingers to perform a manual task. This risk factor is
referred to as forceful exertion. This can include pushing the pipette tip
onto the pipette or pushing the plunger with your thumb, especially to eject
tips.

14

7
 Posture awareness.

15

Posture awareness.
• One of the most important aspects of good ergonomics is being aware of
your own posture. As a starting point, it is important to understand the
difference between neutral and non-neutral posture.
•

16

8
 Neutral standing posture:
• requires the head to be in line with the shoulders, shoulders over the hips,
hips over the knees and feet, and arms close to the trunk

17

Neutral seated posture:

• the same, except the hips align with the knees close to a right angle (or
slightly higher) and feet are on the floor, arms close to the trunk, with wrists
in line with the forearms.

18

9
 Some examples of awkward postures to the neck, arms, and
wrists include.
• Downward neck flexion with microscope use.
• Wrist extension or deviations with pipette use .
• or at a keyboard and mouse.

19

To mitigate postural concerns:

• look around the lab and observe employee’s postures compared to
the working height of the tools and equipment being used.

• Often, it is simply awareness of one’s posture that is the solution and

knowing how to use equipment properly, as well as how to set it up
to ensure neutral posture.

20

10
 4. Contact stress
• Contact stress is problematic because it results in reduced local blood flow to
the area that is experiencing the contact. This can affect your muscles and
nerves by causing pain and numbness due to compressive forces.

21

Examples of contact stress:

• Standing on a hard floor.
• Leaning forearms and wrists on the hard edge of the lab bench when using a
microscope
• Sitting on the edge of a hard surface or seat
• Leaning wrists on the desk surface when typing or mousing

•To manage or reduce contact stress:

• Use armrests to reduce contact on the hard desk and keep items within close reach.
• Ensure seats offer significant seated cushion support where appropriate.

22

11
 Microscope ergonomics.

23

How to avoid microscope ergonomics.

-Try to avoid using the microscope more than 5 hours a day.
-Try pulling the microscope toward the edge of the desk to position
The microscope in a more upright posture.
-use an ergonomically designed chair that provide full back
support,adjustable seat angle,and try elevating the
microscope or placing it at an angle so you can look directly
into the eyepiece.

24

12
25

26

13