Ergonomics don’t avoid it
By now I’m sure you will have heard of the words `Ergonomics` and `DSE `being thrown around. You may have seen the odd article appear on your screen combining images of Spinal x-rays and daunting images of office workers in scrutinizing pain…
A little bit like this…
Well, we want to do things a little bit differently instead of scaring you with graphic images and telling you ‘sitting is the new smoking’ etc. We want to simply advise you, guide you and open your eyes to some easy ergonomic tips. These easy tips will minimise any pain you may already occur; helping you adapt your workstation to prevent any further occurrence.
Don’t worry we are not going to tell you to sit on an exercise ball. (Although that may help for some)
After all, at Bevlan, we understand that we don’t all have the perfect posture when sitting at a desk. We all have bad habits and ‘comfy’ positions that our bodies, in fact, aren’t comfy in for such a long time. ( For example, I personally need to stop crossing my legs, which Alicia our ergonomic assessor, enforces with a slight nudge on her way past) In fact, those ‘comfy’ position and bad habits could seriously be damaging your spine and leading to more serious complications.
We want to express the importance of ergonomics and the fact it shouldn’t be ignored and what better timing than back awareness week. Firstly, as an estimated 10 million working days are lost per year due to musculoskeletal disorders, contributing to 14% of all work-related illnesses. Don’t you think it’s about time we changed and looked after our bodies more!
After all, you sit in your office seat for let’s say 8 hours on average a day, five days a week. You have one of the most personal relationships with your office chair as you spend a hell of a lot of time together! So how well do you actually get on? Does it cause you any pain? Or do you find yourself sat in an awkward position just to satisfy the way your desk is laid out?
Or are you a business owner confused why all your employees are suddenly starting to complain about the odd aches and pains? Well, have you ever thought the problem could be their desk set up?
Musculoskeletal problems 18.6%
At Bevlan Office Interiors we take Ergonomics very seriously by selling a range of affordable ergonomic equipment and even having our own Ergonomic assessors Alicia and Danni, who are both ergonomically qualified and offer free ergonomic consultations for our clients. The objective of an ergonomic assessment to adapt the workplace to a specific worker, their required daily tasks and the job itself.
I actually received one of Alicia’s ergonomic assessments myself, to help me really come to terms with the topic more. I realised during the assessment ` wait that makes sense`, `Ok that’s why my wrists are hurting’. Although these assessments are free, Alica’s knowledge, as well as Danni’s, surrounding ergonomics, is undoubtedly high quality and these assessments can save you lot of money through preventing future problems. I certainly recommend that every business owner or home office owner should get every workstation and all their employee’s workstations ergonomically assessed.
I am sure you will have come across many social media posts, telling you to raise your monitor screen a little, nudge your mouse to one side and maybe even purchase a really expensive chair. As silly as some of these movements may sound, Alicia and Danni really can understand how these slight adjustments can adapt your work-life amazingly. (Oh and by the way she doesn’t sell really expensive chairs, they are very reasonably priced)
So, without further ado let me show you some of the ergonomic equipment that Bevlan can provide you with; to guarantee you spend your office days comfy and content at your desk.
Let’s start with something to sit on…
Ergonomic chairs
ICP- The ICP ergonomic task chair works around you and your body. With wrap around comfort with over four backrest styles, this chair is perfect for everyday office life. Combined with a synchronised body responsive mechanism and weight activated movement, you can mould this chair to prevent any back pain.
HARVEY- A highly supportive ergonomic chair designed by ergonomists with the user comfort in mind. Two back sizes and three seat sizes ensure a good fit can be achieved for most people. Ideally, to select the correct chair, you need to book an ergonomic assessment as everybody’s dimensions are different. People are multi-variate which means they may be longer in the legs than the back and vice versa; weight also has a bearing on correct chair choice.
ACT- This chair comes with contoured backrest/plastic outer shell and a lumbar panel. Armed with ergonomic height adjustable arms (optional), with also body weight tension control and optional inflatable lumbar support. This is a great starter chair to get your office ergonomically equipped and prevent any muscular injuries you may occur.
Additional ergonomic equipment
Laptop stand- Used in conjunction with a vision polearm the laptop can then be positioned or rotated to a suited position for the users. The stand holds up to 8kg and has a 360-degree rotation option around the pole. Again, this product prevents the user straining their neck, wrists or eyes just to use their laptop.
Monitor arm- Available in a single and double arm configuration making it ideal for users who have two screens. This arm also makes sure that the screen is positioned at the correct height to make sure the user is not straining their eyes or their neck to see the screen.
Footrest- A footrest can help promote good body posture by keeping the user’s legs and feet fully supported with a natural foot and ankle angle.
Finally, we hope that this article has helped you gain a brief insight into ergonomics and that you understand how important it is to look after your body. The next step now is to take a quick look at this checklist we have provided you with, then book an ergonomic assessment with Alicia or Danni at Bevlan. Furthermore, if you are interested in any of the ergonomic equipment shown in this post, do not hesitate to contact us on 01254 876666
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