Office Ergonomics
Ergonomics, the study of people in their working environments, aims to eliminate discomfort and reduce the risk of injury. When designing a workstation, it is essential to tailor it to fit the worker’s needs.
Here are the seven key ergonomic risk factors to consider when evaluating office ergonomics:
- Proper Positioning: Ensure all equipment and furniture are positioned to maintain a neutral body posture.
- Appropriate Desk or Workstation: Choose a desk that provides ample space and supports proper posture.
- Monitor Location: Position the monitor at eye level and at a comfortable distance to reduce neck and eye strain.
- Adjustable Chair: Use a chair that supports the lower back and allows for adjustments in height and angle.
- Keyboard and Mouse Location: Place the keyboard and mouse at a height that keeps wrists straight and allows for relaxed shoulders.
- Telephone Placement: Ensure the phone is within easy reach and consider using a headset to avoid neck strain.
- Desk Setup – Function Over Style: Arrange desk items in a way that promotes efficiency and minimizes clutter.
The Iowa Municipalities Workers’ Compensation Association (IMWCA) offers three short videos through their LEARN platform to provide additional guidance:
- General Safety Boost Episode 1: Ergonomics
- Home Office Ergonomics
- Workplace Ergonomics
For assistance with evaluating an office workstation or for training, contact your Safety and Risk Improvement Advisor.
Company Nurse recently sent out information about updating your designated facility and primary contact. Please take the time to verify and change accordingly to help with the claims process.
Member Highlight: Davis County
Linda Humphrey, Davis County Auditor provided some insight on what the county has been doing to develop and maintain their safety culture.
What is your county doing to provide a safe workplace?
We have created a county-wide safety committee and have hopes of helping every employee to be aware of things that make our workplace “safe”.
Do you have a Designated Provider and a Return-To-Work policy?
Yes.
Please describe your safety committee structure? Who is on the safety committee, how often do you meet and what are the short-term goals of the committee?
Our Safety Committee’s membership consists of either a department head, or a staff member from each department. Our short-term goals are to educate ourselves and employees about workplace safety and how safe practices and awareness can become an ordinary part of every workday. We also discuss any concerns that need our attention and attempt to resolve an issue before it becomes one. We would ultimately like to make safe practices something that happens instinctively, and creates our own “safety culture”.
What other proactive safety steps do you practice?
Since creating our safety committee, we have implemented a mandate for every employee to complete safety “trainings” (from the IMWCA website), and covering various topics. Our committee agrees on 6 subjects and then every employee is expected to complete all 6 trainings within the next 12 months.
What words of wisdom do you have for other members of IMWCA to help them develop their safety culture?
It may seem like just another demand on your time, when everyone’s time seems limited, but just taking the step of asking each department to send 1 representative to a meeting every couple of months is a pretty simple thing and it is an important contribution. The meetings follow an agenda and don’t usually take very long, but the conversations are focused on safe practices, and again as we relay the meeting concerns to the rest of our offices.
What current issues is the committee working on now?
What we are trying to add to our practices is how to fill out an accurate and detailed “incident review”, so that we can revisit these as a committee, and then determine what measures can be taken to prevent something similar from happening again.
Our office will be closed July 4 & 5 in observation of Independence Day.
Find firework safety tips online.
Audits Coming Soon
The 2023-2024 fiscal year is almost over and that means payroll audits are coming soon. For 2023-2024, your entity estimated the payroll based on the workers’ compensation premium. The purpose of the audit is to verify actual payroll figures to ensure that the appropriate amount of premium was contributed. IMWCA partners with Information Providers, Inc. (IPI), who will perform audits from July to September.
Each member received an email from IMWCA detailing the information needed to complete the audit. Having this information readily available will help the auditor efficiently complete the audit with fewer callbacks to obtain missing information.
IPI will be mailing an appointment letter in the coming weeks with information on how to submit your payroll records for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.
If you have questions about the audit process, please contact Andrew Justice, Underwriting Manager at andrewjustice@iowaleague.org or (800) 257-2708.
