July 29, 2014
There is quite a conundrum office workers and IT purchasers are facing these days, and they may not even know it! Here it is:
The latest monitor set-up (dual and/or large monitors) with resulting neck pain vs. Smaller monitor set-up with no neck pain
User & Buyer Beware In our practice, we are finding more and more ergonomic problems associated with the trend of providing dual monitors and/or really large monitors – and particularly dual large monitors. These set-ups are actually hurting the necks and eyes of the people who use them.
Why, you ask? It comes down to our visual system. There are natural and comfortable viewing angles from our eye sockets that allow our eyes to see up/down and side to side. Beyond those comfortable viewing angles, we move our heads to see. (We don’t have those really cool reptilian eyes yet.)
- The closer an object is to your eyes, the more side to side head motion is required to see that object’s right and left sides and the greater the eye strain.
- The wider an object is, the more side-to-side head motion is required to see that object’s right and left sides.
- Combining these to have both a close and a wide object – (picture in your mind two wide monitors side by side on your desk) – well, you get the idea.
The Design Disconnect I believe there is a disconnect in product design due to insufficient and downstream thinking. In the case of these trendy monitor set-ups, for example, the most significant mismatch is the shallow desk depths that were made trendy by the furniture industry first. These shallow desks (< 36” D and often as little as ~20” D) came into fashion when everyone was using one 17-inch-square LCD screen and businesses were looking to minimize their real estate square footage.
Read Full Article At Ohsonline.com
Related Ergonomics Safety Training DVDs:
Office Ergonomics Training DVD Program
Address how to recognize ergonomic problems, the potential of adverse effects and practical solutions. View Product
Office Ergonomics It’s Your Move Training DVD
Examines the musculoskeletal disorders and what you and your employees can do to prevent it. View Product
Office Ergonomics Today Training Video
Prevent lost workday injuries and compensation costs when you train with this program from Summit. View Product