Ergonomics

Impact of Poor Ergonomics on Human Response to Interior Design

People are faced with agronomical problems every day in their living.  And if those problems are to be continued then injuries may occur.  I spent two years working in an architectural firm in Hong Kong, during that time I did pick up a bad posture and now I have back pains now and then (picture below shows sitting in bad posture).  Ergonomically, the chair and desk of my work station was poor, the height of the work top didn’t match with the height of the chair.  Although the chair was actually quite comfortable to sit in, it didn’t fit into the limited space between my desk and the partition behind my work station.  I remember I had to get out of my sit in order to let the co worker out.  Space was very limited.  All those problems would lead to reduce in productivities, injuries to workers and dissatisfaction of their work space. 

Bad ergonomics are always felt by me after almost every long plane journey.  The chairs of planes aren’t designed to accommodate tall people and wide people.  In the picture below shows a man sitting with bad posture on the plane journey.  It is a big ask for me to stay seated for long hours, as my knees would be compressed by the back of chair in front.  As a result my body would automatically be seated in a bad posture and then back pains would occur.

Lighting is also a major factor in ergonomics.  Bad lighting at work stations would lead to fatigue in the eyes, which would cause drowsiness to the workers shown in the photo below.  On the other hand, when lighting is too strong, dizziness could occur.  It is important to maintain a comfortable level of light without glare, also keep a good distance between the eyes and the computer screen when working.

Another good example of bad ergonomics would be in the material room of our interior design department.  The fabric samples are stored on the rows of six foot tall shelves.  Material samples could be quite heavy at times, if I was to reach up towards the top shelves for some materials, a slight loss of focus or carelessness could lead to injury to the back or even from dropping the material onto me.  More on the shelves, if ones were to reach for the top shelves, but he or she is only 2/3 of the height of the shelves, then it would be impossible for them without climbing onto the shelve or stand onto the chairs with wheels on.  Poor design of ergonomics could lead to safety problems or even limiting the numbers of intended users. 

Reference-

http://www.journeyetc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/airline-etiquette.jpeg&imgrefurl

http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/Archives/EM570/alex2411/Photos/Bad_Ergonomics.gif

http://hometech.apartmenttherapy.com/images/uploads/2007_07_06%2520poor%2520light.jpg&imgrefurl

http://www.corbisimages.com/images/67/CB924B90-F045-48CD-B9C1-2F597FBDB6C7/42-15266454.jpg&imgrefurl

http://i.ehow.com/images/a04/fm/36/stiff-necks-200X200.jpg