There is always tremendous potential for improvement, and injury prevention, by working within the existing workspace. Beyond the important issues of keyboard, mouse, chair, monitor and other details, the placement of the phone, printer, binders and layout of the workspace have impact on general wear and tear that the employee experiences throughout the day.
Management may fear that an ergonomic program will cost thousands of dollars per person in furniture and accessories. Most employees already have ergonomic elements in their workstation, but until they are trained in how to adjust their chair, where to position keyboard/mouse and where to locate monitors, they are not utilizing the equipment properly and potentially causing a source of strain. Employees will usually see a meaningful difference after one workstation visit/audit with discomforts easing completely.
Experience reveals that greater than 80% of workstation discomfort can be resolved with minor equipment adjustments and posture/position instruction.
One workstation evaluation is less than the cost of initial office visit to medical specialist.
Estimated 90% of workstation evaluations eliminate a need to visit a health-care provider.
