Properly organized, thought-out space, maximally adapted to the tasks assigned to a person - these are completely and completely fulfilled ergonomic requirements. Organizing such a workplace is necessary if only because it will increase productivity. But the most important goal pursued by ergonomic requirements is to maintain health.
At industrial enterprises
Jobs at industrial enterprises should be organized rationally, this is ensured by many norms and laws, including ergonomic requirements. Ergonomics as a science studies all the laws of human activity in production, its interaction with the working environment and tools. Almost all enterprises use the human-machine-environment system developed by scientists. Its essence is as follows.
Reliability and efficiency of the labor process appear only if the conditions for coordination of organizational equipment, machine parameters, the environment with the psychophysical data of the worker are met. In order to fully comply with ergonomic requirements, it is necessary to create the convenience of a working posture, to calibrate the optimal loads on the muscles, as well as their alternation throughout the shift. It is necessary to ensure the conformity of organizational equipment and equipment to the human body, which requires a good knowledge of anthropometric characteristics.
Methods
Ergonomic studies of workplaces should take into account the physiological characteristics of the employee, as well as evaluate the trajectories of the working movements and the efforts made. Physiologists recommend rationalizing every workplace, which can be done by various methods.
- Empirical improvement, in which experiments are conducted and the most successful version of the arrangement of the workplace is verified from the perspective of physiology. Ergonomic safety must be paramount.
- Characteristic in organizing a place for sedentary work is the choice of seating. It is necessary to adjust its height so that it is convenient for the whole body, especially the legs. It is very important to put an ergonomic chair in the office.
- The third way is the organization and improvement of jobs based on anthropometric data. If you have to work while standing, the work table should also correspond to the person’s height. Everything that is present at the workplace is taken into account: tables and chairs, equipment and so on, it must be proportionate, special attention is paid to the size of the zones of activity of the hands of the worker.
Improving working conditions
The biomechanics data helps a lot of ergonomic indicators of workplaces when the balance of the body or hands with respect to the field of gravity is studied. Each element must be transformed so that it leads to a decrease in the moment of application of muscle strength. That is, either the distance between the centers of gravity and the joint decreases, or the load (weight) held in the hands needs to be reduced.
Data on physiological processes occurring during work also help to improve working conditions. Ergonomic requirements for the workplace include a high degree of rationality of a person’s posture when performing certain operations. So you can calculate the amount of energy spent to maintain the posture. Work furniture has already been said, it makes sense to add that its choice should be based on perceived comfort. This should be a chair, and a table for work, and everything that is within reach.
Prerequisites for improvement
In order to make optimal decisions regarding the choice of a particular subject of the workplace environment, the survey method is widely used. It is important to clarify data on the well-being of workers with a particular type of work organization. It is much easier to improve ergonomic indicators, since the most acceptable conditions will be selected. If the worker has a choice regarding the working posture, recommendations and advice can only be given after conducting appropriate research.
Otherwise, it is better to rely on the convenience of the worker. It would seem that a sitting pose is much more preferable than a standing pose, but in fact it is completely individual. Even an ergonomic chair will sometimes not be more convenient for a person with some diseases, in which standing is more comfortable to work with. Physiological data and production conditions should be optimally combined. This is the main goal of ergonomic requirements for the workplace.
Aesthetics
Aesthetic requirements also need to be considered when organizing jobs. It is necessary that a harmonious working environment surrounds a person, because not only a conveniently designed workplace, but the whole interior also greatly affects labor productivity. If a person has satisfied his spiritual and material needs, it will certainly grow. Color in the design of a production facility means a lot. It should be correlated with the nature of the labor process, then the psychophysiological functions of the employee will be normal.
Dimensions, shape, brightness, color, contrast, the location in space of each element - all this affects the characteristics of the body, which is what a person feels. The machine is indifferent in this regard, but while robots have not yet been replaced in the production of people, it must be borne in mind that literally everything in the workplace should positively meet the tactile, auditory, visual and other characteristics of the psychophysiology of a living organism. For the proper organization of the workplace, first of all, of course, it is necessary to fulfill all the ergonomic requirements for equipment.
In the office
Even the workers behind the machines do not get sick as often or specifically as office workers. This is a rapidly developing myopia, and dry eyes, and overwork of the muscles of the neck and back, and even worse - tunnel syndrome. And all because jobs make people spend a lot of time in an uncomfortable position, in an unnatural position, and use uncomfortable tools.
First of all, it is necessary to provide every workplace with furniture that has ergonomic properties, the parameters of which are regulated so that you can independently choose the height of the countertop, the position of the back of the chair, the distance to the monitor, and the like. Then it is easy to turn a typical workplace into an individual, which will meet all the requirements of the body of a particular person.
Everything at hand
The second important ergonomic principle is the accessibility of each item needed for work, when the specialist knows exactly where the office is, where the office equipment is. He makes a minimum of movements, time and effort are saved, labor productivity grows and becomes better. Efficiency is increasing, the speed of action, according to research, is growing by twenty percent. There were no costs, but the quality of work improved.
Much less often, employees get sick, and this is also due to favorable working conditions. This, of course, is beneficial to both the employees themselves and the employer. Occupational diseases are generally minimized. Workplace injuries and accidents almost disappear at the enterprise. The staff turnover is significantly reduced, as people stay where they are comfortable, even if in a neighboring company they offer a little more money. Thus, it is possible to preserve valuable workers thanks to the ergonomics of workrooms. The main thing is inexpensive, these actions will not entail any significant investment.
If ergonomics is ignored
Not to take into account the human factor, especially when complex production is planned, is not only unprofitable, but also extremely dangerous. For example, when investigating the causes of the Chernobyl disaster, experts, among others, highlighted the fact that it was the incorrect organization of the workplace that influenced the decisions of the personnel serving the fourth block.
The most important parameter, which indicates the state of the nucleus, and specifically, the number of rods in the protective and control systems, was displayed on the panel in a form that was not suitable for understanding and perception. Ergonomics is now given the most serious attention, and not only nuclear power plants take care of the conditions in which they work comfortably, but also in every, even the smallest office.
Workspace
The general requirements applicable to the arrangement of the production space are contained in article 209 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which refers to labor safety, to the correspondence of the workplace with anthropometric, psychological and physiological parameters. And, of course, how important the type of work is.
When designing production in relation to each workplace, the following is taken into account: working position, placement space, the ability to see all the elements of the workplace and then the space outside it, the ability to conveniently record, document, and quickly and easily get any materials that are necessary for work.
Organization and Protection
The workspace should be organized in such a way that it is convenient for the employee to move around and make all necessary movements for servicing equipment. It is necessary to achieve a good perception of any visual and sound information.
It is also necessary to protect employees from any exposure to harmful and dangerous factors. There should be overalls and, when appropriate, personal protective equipment. However, if it is used, nothing should interfere with the work. An employee should be able to leave the premises at any time if an emergency occurs.
Rules and regulations
Depending on the position in which a person carries out activities, they distinguish between jobs, and this is also taken into account by production ergonomics. An optimally organized space ensures the free execution of all the necessary actions for the labor process. When performing work while sitting, the height of the working surface, legroom and seat are adjusted. If the seat height is not adjustable, a footrest is required. All this is selected optimally according to the growth of the worker.
When performing work while standing, the height of the working surface is adjusted. Here, footrests are necessary if the surface of the table is not adjustable. Everything must be accompanied by the fact that during operation a free and straight position of the housing is ensured, forward inclination is allowed no more than fifteen degrees. The footrest should be with a grooved surface and a side along the front edge of at least ten millimeters high. Also calculated norms regarding the width and length of surfaces, supports and space for feet, if you need to come close to the working surface. If there is a need, armrests are installed on it.
Technical means
The correct distribution of employee functions and technical means, of course, can influence labor efficiency in a way that is pleasant for the employer. To make work comfortable, you need to save physical strength and evenly distribute the load.
All signals — visual, acoustic, and the like — should be easily recognized, controls should be easy to move, tools should be convenient, all elements in the workplace should be arranged logically in accordance with the actions of the employee.
It should be especially noted that the documentation in which the employee’s activities are regulated must be made available to perception and extremely visual. Working conditions should be such that workers have the opportunity to interact.