Ergonomic Workplace: Chair Adjustment

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This lecture covers the importance of adjusting a chair correctly for an ergonomic workplace, focusing on seat height, seat depth, backrest height, and backrest dynamics to ensure a neutral posture and weight distribution. Regular readjustments are also emphasized.

Ergonomic hazards are physical conditions that may pose a risk of injury to the musculoskeletal system due to poor ergonomics. These hazards include awkward or static postures, high forces, repetitive motion, or short intervals between activities. The risk of injury is often magnified when multiple factors are present. Environmental, operational, or design factors can all negatively impact a worker or user; examples include whole-body or hand/arm vibration, poor lighting, or poorly designed tools, equipment, or workstations.

Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors engineering or HFE) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Primary goals of human factors engineering are to reduce human error, increase productivity and system availability, and enhance safety, health and comfort with a specific focus on the interaction between the human and equipment.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are injuries or pain in the human musculoskeletal system, including the joints, ligaments, muscles, nerves, tendons, and structures that support limbs, neck and back. MSDs can arise from a sudden exertion (e.g., lifting a heavy object), or they can arise from making the same motions repeatedly repetitive strain, or from repeated exposure to force, vibration, or awkward posture. Injuries and pain in the musculoskeletal system caused by acute traumatic events like a car accident or fall are not considered musculoskeletal disorders.