How Ergonomic Workstation Assessment Is the Need of the Hour
By Renato Parletta
- November 30, 2020
Table of Contents
It makes sense to ensure the health and safety of your staff in the workplace. By implementing proper ergonomic practices, you can invest in your employees’ health and well-being, and optimise the way they work. Over time, it may even help increase productivity and reduce expenses associated with healthcare and rehabilitation. To determine if your workplace is fit for your team, consider conducting an ergonomic workstation assessment. It will help you check the quality of their workstations to ensure their safety.
Understanding ergonomics and how it applies to workplace
Ergonomics looks into people in working environments to determine their bodily movements, rate of work, and equipment, which may be changed to fit their individual requirements. By changing and improving the environment, it may ensure more suitable, healthier, and safer working conditions to all employees, especially those with physical limitations or special needs. A workstation assessment can help you identify and verify the set-up and the working postures of your team.
Who conducts the assessment?
A proper ergonomic workstation assessment aims to minimise a worker’s exposure to any physical hazard, such as straining of their body, repetitive tasks, and poor or uncomfortable postures. It should be done by qualified Occupational Health and Safety professionals, who will prepare a report for the employer or worker. Temperature, movement, and posture are the most critical factors that are considered in an ergonomic assessment.
Advantages for your workplace
Bad ergonomics could result in chronic injuries, which could cause loss of productivity and plenty of time wasted. That could mean loss in profits, too. However, those injuries can be prevented when you know what is causing them. A workstation assessment can help you identify hazardous conditions that could compromise your employees’ health and well-being down the line. Enhanced ergonomics may improve employee engagement, productivity, and the quality of their work. Moreover, it establishes the importance of safety culture in the workplace.