Workstation Design. When the operator is seated at a VDT, the workstation design should satisfy certain physical dimensions. The following dimensions are best for most people (adjustments may be needed for shorter or taller operators):
a. view angle - 10-20 degrees below horizontal, to edge of screen no higher than eye level b. viewing distance – 17 1/2 - 19 1/2 c. keyboard height - 29-31 inches at home row keys (see Figure 1) Other important features include: detachable keyboard, adjustable chair, and adjustable table height. Screen tilt and document holder are also highly desirable. It is important that attention be given to the workstation to insure safe and comfortable conditions for the operator.
Workstation Design. When the operator is seated at a VDT, the workstation design should satisfy certain physical dimensions. The following dimensions are best for most people (adjustments may be needed for shorter or taller operators):
Workstation Design. Less than 1 percent of the agreements with safety and health provisions address workstation design to prevent hazards. Some of these clauses call for the parties to recognize the importance of considering ergonomics in the workplace. Others require employer commitment to correct any adverse ergonomic conditions in the workplace or to take other actions to minimize their effects. Some of the provisions con- tain specific actions such as studying the effects of video dis- play terminals, providing training to employees who work a specified percentage of each workday or specified hours per day in an environment in which cumulative trauma hazards exist, and maintaining records of cumulative trauma disorders. Joint labor-management ergonomic committees. Joint la- bor-management ergonomic committees are provided for in 5 percent of the agreements with safety and health provisions. This representation is in addition to union involvement on local labor-management safety and health committees, dis- cussed subsequently. Union safety representation on ergonomic issues. Union safety representation in management initiatives to address er- gonomic issues appears in 2 percent of the agreements with Industry variations. Table 5 shows the frequency of contract clauses related to ergonomics and the numbers of employees (in thousands) covered by each clause, by industry. Only one provision (local labor-management safety and health commit- tee involvement in the review of new technology or facilities for ergonomic compliance) is present in contracts in the mining industry. Furthermore, this same provision is the only ergo- nomic provision (and it shows up in only one agreement) ap- pearing in agreements in the construction industry. Most of the ergonomic clauses are found in manufacturing contracts, in which the specific provisions are typically those assigning the local labor-management safety and health committee the task of conducting ergonomic evaluations or studies. How- ever, the provision that covers the most workers involves iden- tifying cumulative trauma hazards. The provision covering the second-largest number of workers has to do with the estab- lishment of joint ergonomic committees. Only contracts in the transportation manufacturing industry had clauses covering all six provisions selected for study. Finally, with the exception of the motor freight transportation, communications, and elec- tric, gas, and sanitary services industries, no other contracts in the no...
