Nine Tips for Workplace Improvement
07/20/2011
By Christy Lotz, CPE
Being a blog reader, one of the first things I try to do when writing a post is to KEEP IT SHORT! Reading epic blog posts that require 25 scrolls on my phone is not fun. Here are some quick tips for workplace improvement:
- Keep the wrists neutral – Neutral wrists provide the most strength and promote blood flow.
- Keep it in the comfort zone – The comfort zone (aka. the strike zone) includes the area above the knees and below the shoulders.
- Keep heavy and frequently-used products above the knees – Get those heavy parts off the floor or skids. Placing products just about the knees, although a baby step, can go a long way towards back health.
- Keep it in line with the spine – Eliminate twisting wherever possible.
- Keep it close – Keeping loads in close to your body is very important. The farther out your reach, it becomes exponentially worse on the shoulders and back.
- Avoid static hold of awkward postures - Holding poor postures or high forces for long periods of time is just as bad as repetition.
- Eliminate contact stress – Removing pressure on soft body tissue will increase blood flow and and bring oxygen and nutrients to the muscles.
- Design for a seated or standing workstation – Just putting a chair at a standing workstation, does not make it a seated workstation! Design properly for one or the other.
- Decrease vibration exposure – Watch out for high vibration exposure as it can increase onset of musculoskeletal disorders such as white finger.
Can you think of a 10th to round out the list??
