Lecture 9 - Office Ergonomics 2 Flashcards
factors that must be considered when designing an office space
- > nature of work
- > cultural aspects influence our perception of sufffient space
- > a corporate climate
- > individual perception
- > anthropometry
EXTRA - > does the space have any privacy
- > are the walls permanent/ space customizable
- > room for storage equipment or furniture
characteristics of the individual that must be considered when designing an office space
- > reach
- > working height
- > sequence of use (how items are used within the space
- > movement within the area
- > communication needs
- > safety
explain the idea of office landscape
Concept: a large office space can be made appealing by setting it up like a park or a large garden
- > irregular arrangement of furniture, office machine and dividers
disadvantages of an open office design
- > lack of privacy
- > disruptive noise (people and equipment) may reduce performance
steps of evaluating office design
- Evaluate needs of people inhabiting office
- Identify range of design options from which practical solutions can be chosen (some compromise needed)
- Evaluating the candidate designs
- Selecting final design, implementing it and putting it to use
why is it important to consider lighting during office design
- > poor lighting affects not only the ocular system but also contributes to stiff neck and achy shoulders
*these problems can occur when people adopt poor or awkward postures when trying to read something under poor lighting conditions
a good visual environment will:
- > have sufficient light that comes from the same direction and does not cause obscuring shadows
- > provides good (but not excessive) contrast between the task and background
- > limit glare and extreme contrasts and provide the right type of light
examples of work place factors (besides light) that contribute to eye discomfort
- > maintaing a fixed and close visual distance for a long time
- > glare from unshaded or un diffused lighting
- > poor lighting
- > uncorrected vision problems
- > lack of colour variety in one’s surroundings
non visual effects of poor lighting
- > when people are exposed to glare or have uncorrected vision problems they tend to lean forward/backward in an attempt to compensate
- > an awkward body position leads to eye strain and accelerates postural fatigue that contributes to MS injury
luminance vs luminance contrast
Luminance
- > portion of illumination that objects reflect into our eye
Luminance contrast
- > strong luminance contrast between visual target and its background allow us to see details well
why is the climate of the office important
control of physical climate is important because it influences how people in the office fee and how they execute their tasks
- > in particular, air temp and humidity affect well-being and performance
- > consider fresh vs stale air
- > airflow should not generate a draft
Indoor Air Quality problems
IAQ problems result from interactions between building materials and furnishing, activities within the building, climate, and building occupants
may arise from…
Indoor environment
- > inadequate temp, humidity, poor air circulation
Indoor air contaminants
- > chemicals, dust, molds/fungi, odours
which interrelated aspects of the ergonomic design of the office workplace must you consider
- > work tasks
- > work movement
- > work activities
office furniture must: - > accommodate the full range of body sizes, varying body postures and diverse activities
- > further tasks performance
- > be appealing to help make people feel well in their work environment
What are the 3 main links between a person and the task that we must consider for proper layout of a workstation
- Visual interface
- Manipulation
- Body Support
designing for vision
- > display or source document should be at the proper viewing distance from the operator and objects upon which we focus our eyesight should be located directly in front at a convenient distance and height from the eye
*make things as easy on the eyes as possible
CONSIDER - > viewing angle
- > viewing distance
- > accommodation
- > convergence
