Workplace - this is the name of the spatial area on which the specialist performs the task. If everything is organized very badly, then the same will be the result. Therefore, in order to increase the working capacity and labor efficiency, the correct organization of the workplace is necessary. Ergonomics is a scientific discipline that does just that. What is she like?
general information
Ergonomics of workplaces is one of the priorities for specialists who organize work processes. They need to harmoniously combine the requirements of efficiency, humanity and ergonomics. Proper organization allows you to ensure:
- Compliance with safety regulations.
- Minor overhead.
- The required quality.
- The tension and workload that an employee can endure.
- Cost-effective production volumes.
Anthropometry, a special science that studies the proportions and sizes of the human body, provides all possible assistance. For the organization of the workplace, it offers a large number of tables where all the necessary parameters are considered. In this case, the aim is to provide the optimal spatial and shaped adaptation for each employee. Since the possible number of options is very large, within the framework of the article one will be chosen, on which the ergonomics of the workplace with a personal computer will be explained. Why so? The fact is that talking about specific recommendations when working with the machine is quite difficult due to their large number and species diversity. While personal computers are more or less similar, and with them it is easy to explain the principles of the entire system.
General theory
So, what is ergonomics of a workstation with a personal computer? When a labor territory is created, it is necessary to take into account the size of the human body. It should be noted that focusing on an individual is not the best option. It is better to create jobs for a certain range of dimensions. It is also desirable to focus on the length of bones, the strength of muscles and tissues, on the shape and mechanics of the joints. It is necessary to take into account the structure of the human body. For example, the height of an adult male is about 175-180 sentiments. Most people are medium sized. But we must not forget that there are giants, and dwarfs, robust and skinny, fat and many others. All this must be taken into account. For if you focus only on one growth, it may come out not quite optimally.
Take, for example, a person who has 180 sentiments in height and 120 kilograms of weight. This can be either a fan of food with a significant belly, or a fan of sports equipment. In the first case, it will not be superfluous to take care of a wider chair, because fat is more voluminous than muscle. Ergonomics of the workplace at the computer has many details that have a significant impact on the level of comfort. Take, for example, the height of the seat on the chair. In this case, a clear orientation to the distance between the lower thigh and the floor is visible. Typically, a taller stool causes more inconvenience than a slightly lower one. Therefore, priority should be given to people with short legs. Although the interior space under the table should be designed for those with higher legs, so that their knees do not rest against the wall.
What provisions need attention?
Ergonomics of the workplace for a computer user involves two main poses: sitting and standing. But, besides this, the need / desire to lie down can be taken into account. Or squat. Or even kneeling. Many organizations practice creating a convenient place that can adapt to the needs of the person. For example - a bag chair. It follows from this that there are different positions, for each of which different variants of body position are possible. Expediency is considered from two positions:
- Job in progress.
- The ongoing workload on the employee.
Initially, it is necessary to make a decision about the position of the body, where to keep documents, whether to provide the employee with a table with drawers, and a lot of other points. If work is done only with a computer, then such excesses, of course, are not needed. Ergonomics of the user's workplace are looking for all these questions and requirements. In addition, it may be necessary to pay attention to the situation if it is necessary to ensure accurate observation and attentiveness. If viewed from a psychological point of view, then the ergonomics of the workplace with a personal computer should always include the ability to work while sitting, not standing. Indeed, in this situation, the load on the human body is much less. In addition, if a person is standing, then blood begins to collect in the legs. After a certain time, a violation of its circulation begins, which leads to varicose veins. But if you sit for a long time, then stagnation of blood near the pelvis and digestive upset is possible.
How to solve this?
It would seem that the ergonomics of a computer workstation fell into a disadvantageous situation. A man is sitting in the office - there will be problems. Standing at a computer - for example, at the airport when checking tickets - is also bad. What to do in this case to protect your health? The situation will be optimal if the employee, at his discretion, changes the position of the work as part of the work process. Fortunately, a number of operations can be performed both standing and sitting. How is this achieved? Initially, it is necessary to equip the territory of labor in such a way that the height is oriented to a standing position. In practice, this involves an increase in the distance to the floor from the seat by 40-45 sentiment. To compensate for the inconvenience of height, you can use a special footrest (or make a choice in favor of the chair / armchair on which it is already provided). At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that in both positions the eyes and palms are at the same level, and the seating means is easily movable for a simple change of position. Sounds complicated?
Well, you can recall a bar in a restaurant and make sure that this is not fiction from the realm of fantasy. And if there is no such opportunity? This does not mean that everything is bad, and the ergonomics of the workplace in the office will not be able to solve the existing problem. Just in this case, you need to act in a different direction, using other tools.
Sitting position
Consider the situation with the administrative building, in which employees need to work without getting up from a chair. In this case, it is necessary to provide an environment in which you can work safely with minimal fatigue and a wide range of amenities. If you choose the wrong place, the muscles of the back, shoulder girdle and neck will hurt. To avoid this, it is necessary to take into account:
- Working height. This is the distance from the floor on which the objects of labor should be placed (monitor, keyboard, printer). Calculating it is not as easy as it might seem at first glance. Since it is necessary to take into account the position taken by a person, the height of the devices, eye level, comfortable hand position and the ability to perform all necessary actions within the work area. Also, do not forget about the hips, which will be located in the space between the chair and the table.
- Seat height. Measured from leg support to the surface of the place. It is highly desirable that it be mutable. The desired range ranges from 38 to 51 centimeters.
- Capture space. This is the area that is above the table, which a person can easily cover with his hands. It is limited by individual arm length. Not all areas of this space are equally convenient for work. Depending on the structure of the joints, there may be certain favorable and convenient trajectories of movement. All this must be taken into account. It is possible to carry out space optimization. For example, mark a shelf slightly above the head from above or from the side.
- Workspace for legs. The position of the support is individually adjustable. The use of various orthopedic solutions is quite common.
A small historical excursion
Before continuing to consider the main topic of the article and study the requirements for ergonomics of the workplace, let's delve into the recent past. As a complex science, ergonomics was formed in the twenties of the last century. After all, with the development of technological progress, the problem of using a constantly increasing complexity of technology arose. If we talk about the USSR, then the main task was seen in rationalizing and improving labor efficiency. It is enough to study GOST for this. Ergonomics of the workplace in standards, sanitary rules and other documentation was used as a synonym for the concept of "technical safety". But over time, it became clear that ignoring the human factor is not only unprofitable, but even dangerous. As an example, we can cite the expert’s conclusion, according to which the contribution to the occurrence of the Chernobyl disaster was made by the fact that the parameter indicating the state of the nucleus was not suitable for perception and understanding by the maintenance staff. Therefore, the concept of ergonomics has been constantly expanded. And only with time did it come to understand that ergonomics is the field of application of scientific knowledge about a person during the design of objects, environments and systems. It should be noted that specialists distinguish between micro- and macroergonomics. We will consider only the first.
On the impact of legislation
The ergonomics of a computer workstation are not detailed and phased in the normative documents. But there are general requirements and recommendations. Article 209 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation contains basic information. First of all, care must be taken to ensure that the workplace meets safety requirements. But that's not all. In addition, it must meet the type of work, anthropometric, psychological and physiological requirements. It is also necessary to take care of protection from harmful and dangerous factors. For example, if a person works with computers in a biological research laboratory, then he should have overalls and personal protective equipment. However, they should not interfere with the workflow. It is necessary to make sure that a person can perceive visual and sound information well. If there is no desire to reinvent the wheel from scratch, then you can study GOST "Ergonomic requirements for office work using video display terminals." It examines a large amount of necessary and necessary information. In addition, there are a number of recommendations that are created by both state and commercial and public organizations. They should also be studied, because who knows what useful moments you can discover in them for yourself ?!
Lighting, aesthetics and other highlights
The correct organization of the territory of labor is not all that interests ergonomics. She also deals with a wide variety of tasks. There are two approaches to solving them. The first is based on increasing labor efficiency and adapting a person to existing conditions. The second approach focuses on creating exactly comfortable conditions. That is, the work is adjusted to the standards of a person. In practice, these approaches exist simultaneously. The only question is which of them receives more attention.
The increase in efficiency will be significantly affected by the adequate distribution of the functions performed between the technical means and the employee. Also, the selection of employees and their level of training, which will quickly, efficiently and consistently carry out all the necessary tasks, positively affect this. In addition, he must have reliable and sufficient information. Moreover, any visual, acoustic and other signals should be easily recognized. Everything that is used (mouse, keyboard) should be convenient and not create problems during operation. The environment should also be pleasant and work-oriented at the same time.
Let's say music lets you relax. But on an ongoing basis, it distracts from the work process. Moreover, not everyone has the same tastes. Therefore, it is better to do without it. Although, if someone cannot work without a player and headphones in his ears, then why deprive a person of the usual conditions for him? But if, in addition to this, there is a love of singing, which entails the distraction of other employees, then something needs to be done here. But if it likes, say, a system administrator sitting locked up and does not bother anyone, then you do not need to get into his work schedule.
Neglect is dangerous!
If mistakes were made at the very beginning, this leads to dangerous consequences. The worst thing is that it is not immediately visible, but only gradually, after years and even decades. Stiffness, excess or lack of lighting, excessive body tension, unhealthy postures, uncomfortable arrangement of technical equipment - these are far from the most terrible consequences. These factors, and even more so their combination, leads to psychological stresses, mistakes, diseases. It is no accident that in GOSTs ergonomics is considered as one of the tasks of labor protection. In this case, it is necessary to plan a lot of things, such as: maintenance, repair, operation.
Consider a small example. In computers, dust gradually settles, which leads to a decrease in their performance, overheating and failure. But, besides this, it also affects a person who works with devices. Although the harm is insignificant, but it exists for a long time and accumulates. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor all potentially dangerous and unpleasant moments. If it seems to someone that this is not serious, then we should talk about administrative and criminal liability in cases of ignoring the requirements of ergonomics. They are present in Article 5.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses and 143 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. As you can see, these are not jokes.
Conclusion
So the characteristic of the ergonomics of the workplace was considered. It should be noted that only a small fraction of the entire array of information received attention here. So, we can also mention exclusively human factors. For example, if you provide a person with the best workplace, it is not at all necessary that he will correspond to him, and productivity will increase to heaven. If he is used to sitting hunched over, then in the presence of a labor territory constructed according to all the rules, he will continue to remain in a similar position. Also, one should not forget about discipline. For you can prepare and transfer the cleanest and most correct workplace, but if a person is scruffy, then it can turn into a dump. Therefore, when organizing the process, it is necessary to take care not of individual points, but comprehensively of everything of value.