Ergonomic Tips for Mobile Workers

In a previous post I shared my story of working at home and not following good ergonomic principles.  The result was a stiff neck and sore back.  This made me think about all the office ergonomics training I’ve had and have given.  This is the second post on the subject of Ergonomics for Road Warriors,  providing ergonomics tips for when working with specific pieces or types of equipment.   I hope you find the information useful.

Mobile Equipment

The very design of hand-held devices with small screens and keyboards,
and the design of laptops with the screen fixed to the keyboard can make
working in a neutral posture difficult.
Knowing the optimal positions of screens and keyboards, and know the
best choices for chairs and work surface can help you adapt and modify your
work habits.

 Laptops

Laptops offer many ergonomic challenges. Their small size and connected
screens and keyboards mean that you have to compromise posture for either good
viewing height or proper hand height. While there is no single best position,
there are things you can do to minimize stress and strain:

• Position the screen for comfortable viewing when you are primarily reading material on the screen.
• Place the laptop in a way that gives you the best arm and wrist position when you are mostly typing.
• Stand at a counter to work for a while if you are doing a combination of typing and reading.
• When using the computer in your lap, put a pillow on your lap first and then a hard surface like a tray or book on the pillow; now put the laptop on the hard surface to protect it from overheating and to give yourself a more stable surface.
• Try using a laptop stand and a document holder for the best head position.
• Use an external mouse instead of the device’s touchpad.
• When you are at your office desk, consider using an external keyboard, mouse and monitor.
• Change positions frequently and take regular breaks.
• When carrying your laptop use a wheeled case, messenger-style bag that goes across your upper body or be sure to frequently switch hands with a briefcase style bag.

Hand-held Devices

Frequent users of hand-held devices like cell phones and smart phones
are especially prone to repetitive stress injury of the thumbs, hands and
wrists. To avoid these chronic conditions follow these guidelines:

• Only use them for quick work: short emails, texts and limited researching; use a full-size keyboard and monitor when working for prolonged periods.
• Hold smart phones and cell phones with two hands in loose neutral grip; avoid the one-handed hold using the same thumb to scroll or type.
• Alternate using thumbs and index fingers when texting and typing.
• Hold the device up so you are only looking slightly down at the screen.
• Use a headset when making calls and avoid cradling the phone between your neck and shoulder.

Tablet Devices

These increasingly popular devices have their own unique challenges because they are heavier and larger than other hand-held devices. As such, we tend to pinch grip them using one hand, so we can access the device with the other hand. This causes strain to the hand, wrist and shoulder.  Instead:

• Place the device on a stand, counter or chair back to use it while you are standing.
• If you can’t do this, rest the tablet on your open hand and forearm.
• Avoid placing it flat on a work surface and looking down on it to minimize neck strain when sitting and working.
• If you don’t have a stand, place the device on a pillow or cushion or even prop it up on your knee. Your goal is to have the screen at a height where you are only looking slightly down on it.

Screens

Our eyes lead our body into its working position. Wherever we look and
focus, we tend to position our bodies to follow and maintain that focus. To
reduce neck stress and eyestrain:

• Place your laptop on the work surface so you can look slightly down on the screen.
• For smart phones and other hand-held devices such as tablets, try to hold the device up close to eye level, again so you are looking slightly down.
• Keep windows to the left or right of the screen; not directly in front of or behind it to minimize glare.

Eyestrain

Up to ninety percent of people who work with computers experience
eyestrain. To minimize this bothersome situation:

• Have regular eye exams and tell your doctor about your computer and hand-held device use.
• Get fitted with the right types of lenses that may include bifocals, trifocals and anti-glare coatings.
• Blink frequently.  Your eyecare professional may recommend eye drops or artificial tears for dry eyes.
• Keep your head in its proper position of looking slightly down at the screen.
• Adjust screen contrast and brightness settings and increase zoom controls.

In Summary

As I said at the end of Part One, following these simple tips can make a world of difference.  Your comfort is important, so taking a few minutes to consider your work area and how you can configure it for better ergonomics will keep you from the strains and stress that plagues Road Warriors.  Be Safe!

“I never thought it would happen to me.”

How many incidents have we investigated and had someone who was involved say this or something like it?

No one sees it coming until BAM, they’re in the middle of a situation.  Sometimes it’s nothing and no bad consequences result; a Near Miss/Near Hit.  Other times the holes in James Reason’s swiss cheese model of human error align and something serious results.

The topic and related situation I’m going to discuss today isn’t that serious.  Given what I was doing….. I should have known it would happen to me!

Working at Home and On The Road

Many people like me either work at home or on the road in airports, hotels and coffee shops.  Some could call us “Road Warriors” based on all the miles we drive or fly.  Every day can present a different work environment.

As a safety professional, I’ve not only attended many sessions on ergonomics at symposia or conferences, but have taught them.  Together with Rick Johnson and others who have consulted here at CLMI, I’ve also written and produced a couple of dozen training and “how to” ergonomics courses.  That’s why I should know better.

Ergonomics has some basic elements that we all know:  force, repetition, posture, distance, vibration, temperature, etc.  My problem and that of many Road Warriors is how I sit and do my work:  posture…bad posture!

When I work at home I am either sitting at the dining room table or on the couch in the living room with my laptop on the coffee table.  First off, neither of these work surfaces are adjustable in any way, nor is my seating.  At least when I sit at the table I can pull the chair all the way in and limit my reach.  But when I work at the couch all bets are off.  My lighting is pretty good, so I don’t think there are vision issues.  But if I am working with any reference materials I’m forever reaching and shuffling to find what I need.  You get the picture, and it’s not pretty.

My Sore Neck and Back

This past week I was working on a lengthy proposal that took a couple of days to complete.  I don’t know about you, but I’m very intense when writing and drafting proposals, articles and creating coursework.  This intensity creates tension, and the tension results in me not moving as much as I should.   After 2 full days of sitting, intensely writing away and not moving very much, I was in trouble.  I realized that my neck was getting stiff and when I stood up my back ached!  Thank goodness I knew about reversing exercises that can release tension, so I did my neck and back stretches.  Fortunately I was okay the next day.

This episode helped me realize just how bad I’ve set up my work area at home.  CLMI recently released an office ergonomics program for mobile workers, so I decided to take a few minutes and watch the DVD online.  In watching it I was reminded how simple good ergonomics can be, if only you take a few minutes to think, make adjustments and move a bit.

From the CLMI Office Ergonomics – Mobile Workers program here are some tips to help all of you - Road Warriors:

What Impacts Ergonomics

There are three key areas to look at when deciding how to properly use
mobile office equipment:

1. Posture – keeping our bodies in a neutral
   position which provides us with the most strength and the least amount of
   stress and strain on muscles and joints.
2. Environment – creating work spaces that
   allow us to keep our bodies in as neutral a position as possible.
3. Equipment Use – finding ways to
   interactive with the equipment that allows us to keep our bodies in as
   neutral position as possible.

Neutral Posture

A neutral body posture maintains the natural curves of our spine. When
we are in neutral, the head and back are aligned with the ears over the
shoulders, the line of sight is ahead or slightly down and the shoulders are
relaxed over the hips.

• Think: Ears over shoulders — Shoulders over hips.

Out of Office Environment

Working at home, in airports, coffee shops, conference centers and
hotel rooms often causes us to sit in chairs that don’t fit us and to work at
surfaces that are either too high or too low. Even slightly modifying seating
and work surfaces can have a positive impact on keeping our bodies as neutral
as possible.

Chairs -  No matter where we “office” we frequently work sitting down. To
minimize back and shoulder pain, leg pressure and neck strain, choose a chair
that is the right height, depth and one that offers lumbar support. Your chair
is the right:

• Height
  when you can sit back in the chair with your thighs parallel to the floor
  and your feet comfortably on the floor – sit on a pillow if a chair is too
  low; use a book as a foot rest if a chair is too high.
• Depth
  when you can place two to three fingers between the back of your knees and
  the seat – place a rolled towel or pillow behind your back if a chair is
  too deep.
• Lumbar
  support, when you can sit back comfortably with your back having the
  natural S-curve – use a pillow or rolled towel for extra support.
• Arm
  rests can also cause strain. If you find yourself leaning on the arm
  rests, lower them or move to a chair without arm rests.

Work Surfaces – Ideally the desk top or work surface should allow you to have a
straight alignment of your forearm, wrist and hand at your elbow height. Your
arms should hang naturally at your side.

When you can’t adjust the surface, try placing your work, laptop or
tablet on books, magazines or pillows to raise the height. If the surface is
too high, consider standing to do your work. In either case, remember to change
up your position frequently and to take regular breaks.

 Move Around and Stretch

Our bodies are meant to move. Even when you create a good environment
and use devices appropriately it is still important to:

• Try to move every 30 minutes – change your body positions; stand up even when talking on the phone; and, stretch.
• Rest your eyes – look up from the screen and scan around the room;  look off into the distance and let your eyes blurr.
• Take regular breaks – get up and get a drink of water; short 2-3 minute breaks are all you need to release tension.
• Make frequent adjustments – move your chair closer to the table; concentrate on your posture and sit up straight.
• Listen to your body – don’t ignore discomfort and pain.

Summing It Up

When working at home or on the road it’s easy to forget about our posture and how we are working.  That’s why keeping these simple ergonomics Tips for Road Warriors in mind will help you get your work done, without the strain and stress that I encountered.  I hope this helps.  Look for another blog post soon where I provide more ergonomics tips on how to use specific pieces of mobile equipment stress free.  Until then…..

The Future of Training Today

Training of employees is perhaps the single biggest challenge to the safety professional today.  Time is always an issue, and making the training experience relavent to the individual worker is difficult.   We all agree that the training content and delivery methods need to ensure that employees are able to recognize workplace hazards, follow control procedures/processes and use any necessary PPE to work safely on the job.  However, work and the nature of work are changing.  With change comes the need to reassess our training methods.

Traditional classroom training with a credible instructor is still the best way to assure that learning takes place.  The instructor can employ a number of techniques to involve the workers in the leaning.  He/she can also include demonstrations and hands-on exercises that validate an understanding of the proper control methods, etc.   However instructor led classes are often infrequent, delivered from a fixed location, and can be epensive particularly when travel time is involved. More and more the workforce of today is becoming dispersed with jobs that don’t always have a home base, so traveling to take training is almost cost-prohibitive. The instructor led model itself has some inherant problems. Mass training of employees with a one-size-fits-all curriculum does not always meet the learner’s specific needs. To address these unique situations companies are increasingly relying on distance learning supported by one-on-one supervisory discussions, team interactions, observable exercises and demonstrations.  Essentially, the nature of training is changing.

• Training needs to provide learners with what they need to know when they need to know it.
• Training content must be relevant and specific to their work tasks.
• The training experience needs to include interactivity that requires the learner to engage with the content.
• Demonstrations, exercises and hands-on learning must be considered, even with distance learning
• Periodic testing or quizing should be built in to validate that the information is understood.
• Employees need the flexibility to take training when and where they want.
• Training content needs to be delivered on a variety of electronic devices from laptops, tablets, and mobile phones to the normal fixed workstation.

To meet these needs, many safety trainers are considering newly developed web/cloud based learning system.  These systems are available from a few top safety training companies, including CLMI.  Whatever system you choose, it should allow employees to control their learning, educating themselves in a manner that gives them rapid access to the information needed to keep themselves safe.  The system should also provide the flexibility to adapt the information to the specific needs of the organization.  The newest systems now support the delivery of a wide variety of content from written documents, videos,  interactive training from any content source including vendors, producers and in-house.  They also include information and tips for supervisors and managers to help them bring the training to life for their remote workers. 

The CLMI “cloud” learning system is called ResourceNow and was developed as a content mangement system for clients so they could upload, store, assign and deliver hazard control information and activities.  Utilizing a “content-on-demand” model,  now it is used to deliver all types of training to dispersed workers, primarily in the direct delivery industry.  One major client uses this method to train over 20,000 route drivers on several key safety topics, including defensive driving.  Another insurance company provides this service to its clients all over the globe.

For more information click to the CLMI homepage or on the ResourceNow link.