The Ergonomics of Healthy Working Environments Tertiary Education Facilities Managers Association Dr Verna Blewett Director, New Horizon Consulting Pty.

The Ergonomics of Healthy Working Environments

Tertiary Education Facilities Managers Association

Dr Verna Blewett

Director, New Horizon Consulting Pty LtdVisiting Research Fellow, University of Adelaide

TEFMA March 2006 © working to improve organisations

working to improve organisationswww.newhorizon.com.au

A picture of FMs… (TEFMA website 2006)

Our members have responsibility for planning, capital works, design and construction, maintenance, cleaning and landscape services, environmental management, lifts, energy management, engineering services, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, lighting, safety, training, hazardous materials management, and financial planning for infrastructure. Their responsibility for campus services includes Security (both physical and personal), and depending on the institution, may include timetabling, mail, transport, stores, catering, and printing services. All these activities take place under an umbrella of compliance with disabilities, heritage and environmental legislation, and workplacehealth and safety requirements. ……………………………………



Facilities managers are important• You make key decisions on behalf of users

• You have big budgets

• You maintain, preserve and promote the quality of educational facilities

• You have influence over, or control others’ physical working environments

• Therefore, you have impact on the working lives of people in your organisations, their comfort, well-being, and productivity

• You are, therefore, powerful…



…so, you need to know about and use ergonomics…



What is ergonomics?

• Sometimes called human factors

• The study of people and their interaction with work - a science as well as an art

• It’s not all bums and backs or chair design

• It’s about making work fit people…

• …not people fit work

• Ensuring tasks, environments and machines do not exceed human capabilities



Formal definitionErgonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.

Ergonomists contribute to the design and evaluation of tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems in order to make them compatible with the needs, abilities and limitations of people.

(IEA 2006 <http://www.iea.cc/ergonomics>) ) (HFESA 2006 < http://www.ergonomics.org.au>))



The ergonomist’s view of the world• A people-centred perspective

• Start with people’s needs and limitations

• Consider domains:- physical - psychological/cognitive - organisational and environmental

• Participatory design

environment

workstation

equipment



The measurement ofvariation of the body and its range of movement

Physical ergonomics:Anthropometrics



Physical ergonomics:physical environment

At immediate interface of user and work - the workstation

The quality of their workstation has meaning for the user. For example, what is the user’s perception of their worth to the organisation when their bench is not re-surfaced for 10 years?



Physical ergonomics:physical environment

•At immediate interface of user

and work

•Workstation

•Equipment

•Has much changed since the

mid-1980s?

A newly installed computer circa 1984



Improving laptop use• Use external keyboard and

mouse

• Use laptop stand

• Raise screen to comfortable height

• Use in-built document holder

• Can be used permanently, or can be portable

Ergo-Q2 ALU Portable Laptop Station - www.ergonomicoffice.com.au



Physical ergonomics:

Workplace layout - the next interface of user and work



Physical ergonomics: workplace layoutContributes to your experience of work. Consider:

– Open communication vs reinforcing privacy

– Mobility vs congestion

– Quiet work space vs lack of auditory privacy

– Creating a social environment

– A sense of your own place

– An abundance of literature now available on the psychosocial impact of the physical workplace



Wrong job, wrong time, wrong place?

(Inalhan and Finch 2004)



Physical ergonomics

• Affects working postures, safety

• Affects health, well-being, impacts on level of stress (more later…)

• Consider: – Interior design: colour, surfaces…– Space: work area, social, circulation…– Lighting: quality, quantity – Noise– Vibration – Temperature, humidity

At outer interface of user and work: the physical environment



What are the results of poor design?• Negative impact on work quality, quantity and efficiency?

• Reduces sense of personal satisfaction at work?

• Helps create a poor social environment?

• Adds to sense of poor job control?

• Reduces autonomy?

• What are the relative costs of poor design and good design when these effects are considered?



Cognitive ergonomicsAbout how we -

• Pick up information in the environment

• Decide what it means

• React to it

• Remember it

• Act as a result

– eg design and labelling of controls and signs



Ergonomics is about where your hand goes in an emergency…



Can you reach the controls, read the displays and still drive your car safely?



The meaning of signs and symbols should be clear to all…



Symbols in building

How do I use the doors?

(reproduced from Evans and McCoy

1998)

A room with a view…

…is good for the soul



Organisational ergonomics

• Optimisation of sociotechnical systems

• Organisational structures

• Policies

• Processes

• Facilities have impact



Organisational ergonomicsstress

Needs an organisational response, not only a personal response



Personal responses• We have different personalities

as well different physical attributes

• But our personal response to stress is only a small part of the story

• Can’t design jobs and workplaces only for the robust and optimistic - wouldn’t be enough workers to go around!



Organisational response to stress

Design to reduce stress

Identify hot spots using

worker surveys, valid instruments

interviews, focus groups

body mapping

hazard mapping

checklists



What are the effects of stress?

• Health effects

• Counter-productive

behaviour

• Burnout



Health effects of stress include• Heart disease (strong

epidemiological evidence)

• Helps to cause physical injuries

• Autoimmune diseases

• Ulcers, arthritis, infectious diseases and mental illness, depression

• Alcoholism and drug abuse



Demand-Control Model(Karasek, 1979)

Decision Latitude

High Control

Low Strain Jobs

Active Jobs

Low Control

Passive Jobs

Low High

Job Demands

High Strain Jobs



Control over work environment• Contributes to perceived

job control

• Implicated in health outcomes

• Role of the FM in encouraging this?

• Implicit in design

• Participatory design processes essential



FM and designer - a partnership?

• “Team work between facilities managers, facilities planners and architect

• Introduced specialised expertise in technologies and environment

• Architecture for inspiring learning/creativity, not just as icon

• Insist the team that begins the project, finishes the project

• Facilitate, don’t manage!” (McClintock and Rayner TEFMA 2005 Workshop)

• But what about the workers?



Participation: a key to effective designa key to effective design• Identify who the users/stakeholders are:

– eg staff (academic, management, administrative, maintenance, contractors, sub-lessees…), staff unions, students (ug, pg, os, part-time full-time, external…), student union, disabled, alumni, benefactors, public, visitors…

• Include and hear voice of all players

• Gain direct understanding of users’ needs, limitations

• Get agreement about how to design for conflicting needs

• Participation improves chance of getting it right first time



Participation when?• Some legal obligations

(OHS&W)

• Any change: – new building, new external

environment, refurbishment…

• At design concept

• During design

• Design for maintenance

• Post-occupancy evaluation



What sort of participation?• Inclusive forum: whole system in

the room: many perspectives, common agenda

• Avoid talking heads: allow equal communication

• Focus on future, not problem solving: what works now?

• Find common ground• Choose a place where everyone

can see each other• Give control to participants



References• Bitner MJ (1992) Servicescapes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on

Customers and Employees. Journal of Marketing 56(2):57-71.

• Evans GW and McCoy JM (1998) When Buildings Don’t Work: The Role of

Architecture in Human Health. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 18(1): 85-

94.

• Grimshaw, B (1999) Facilities management: the wider implications of managing

change. Facilities 17(1/2): 24 - 30.

• Ilozor BD, Love PED, Treloar G (2002) The impact of work settings on

organisational performance measures in built facilities. Facilities 20(1/2) :61 - 67.



• Inalhan G and Finch E (2004) Place attachment and sense of belonging.

Facilities 22(5/6):120-128.

• Karasek RA Jr (1979) Job demands, job decision latitude and mental strain:

implications for job redesign. Administrative Science Quarterly 24(June):285-308.

• Kwallek N , Woodson H, Lewis CM and Sales C (1997) Impact of three interior

color schemes on worker mood and performance relative to individual

environmental sensitivity. Color Research and Application 22(2):121-132.

• Allan EL, Suchanek-Hudmon KL, Berger BA, Eiland SA (1992) Patient treatment

adherence. Facility design and counselling skills J Pharm Technol.8(6):242-51.

• Elle M, Englemark J, Jørgensen B, Kock C, Balslev Nielsen S and Vestergaard F

(2004) Managing facilities in a Scandinavian manner: creating a research

agenda. Facilities 22(11/12):311-316.



• Norman DA (2004) Emotional Design. Basic Books: New York.

• Norman DA (1988) The Psychology of Everyday Things. Basic Books: New York.

• Granath JÅ (1999) Workplace making - A strategic activity. Journal of Corporate

Real Estate 1(2):141-153.

• Crowe TD (2000) Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design: Applications

of architectural design and space management concepts. 2nd Edition

Butterworth-Heinemann: Woburn MA.

• van der Voordt TJM (2004) Productivity and employee satisfaction in flexible

workplaces. Journal of Corporate Real Estate 6(2):133-148.

• van Ree HJ (2002) The added value of office accommodation to organisational

performance. Work Study 51(7):357-363.



• White D (1995) Application of systems thinking to risk management: a review of

the literature. Management Decision 33(10):35-45.

• Weisbord M and Janoff S (2000) Future search: an action guide to

finding common ground in organizations and communities. San

Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

Consultation and participation increase control and are music to the ears!

Dr Verna BlewettNew Horizon Consulting Pty Ltd

email [email protected] www.newhorizon.com.au

Working to improve organisations

The Ergonomics of Healthy Working Environments Tertiary Education Facilities Managers Association Dr Verna Blewett Director, New Horizon Consulting Pty.

Documents

physical working environments

working lives of people

ergonomics slide

work slide

physical workplace slide

physical environment

anthropometrics slide

powerful slide