{"id":18647,"date":"2020-06-18T08:00:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T13:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/?p=18647"},"modified":"2025-11-03T15:12:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T21:12:59","slug":"workstation-ergonomics-eliminating-extreme-movements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/18\/workstation-ergonomics-eliminating-extreme-movements\/","title":{"rendered":"Workstation Ergonomics: Eliminating Extreme Movements"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 600px; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Workstation-Reach-Zones.jpg\" alt=\"An illustration of ergonomic reach zone areas on a work surface\" \/><br \/>\nWith the massive worker compensation costs related to musculoskeletal disorders, finding ways to reduce the risks is imperative. In May, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/2020\/05\/14\/the-effect-of-work-position-on-picking-assembly-packing-and-shipping\/\">we discussed the impact of work positioning<\/a>. This time, the focus on the effects of <strong>extreme movements<\/strong> and how to counteract the risks.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<aside class=\"tldr-summary\" style=\"padding: 10px 20px 15px 25px; margin-bottom: 50px; border-radius: 15px; border: 2px solid #e4dddd; margin: 4px 10px 4px 10px; box-shadow: 0 4px 8px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2), 0 6px 20px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.19);\" data-type=\"summary\">\n<h4>TL;DR \u2013 Designing workstations to prevent extreme movements<\/h4>\n<p>The primary goal of workstation ergonomics is to eliminate extreme movements (like reaching above the shoulder or bending below the waist) which are the main cause of musculoskeletal disorders. By strategically designing workbenches, positioning tools, and providing pull-out shelves, you can keep work movements within a neutral comfort zone.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"BlogPosting\",\n  \"headline\": \"Workstation Ergonomics: Eliminating Extreme Movements\",\n  \"name\": \"Workstation Ergonomics: Eliminating Extreme Movements\",\n  \"description\": \"The primary goal of workstation ergonomics is to eliminate extreme movements (like reaching above the shoulder or bending below the waist) which are the main cause of musculoskeletal disorders. By strategically designing workbenches, positioning tools, and providing pull-out shelves, you can keep work movements within a neutral comfort zone.\",\n  \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/18\/workstation-ergonomics-eliminating-extreme-movements\",\n  \"datePublished\": \"2020-06-18\",\n  \"author\": {\n    \"@type\": \"Person\",\n    \"name\": \"Scott Stone\"\n  }\n}\n<\/script><br \/>\nThis is the second part of our series on the effect of workstation ergonomics on work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Jeff Hoyle, Director of Ergonomic Services for North Carolina State University, and Robert Doucette of BOSTONtec discussed these issues at Modex 2020. <a href=\"http:\/\/cdn.modexshow.com\/seminars\/videos-2020\/1586.mp4?_ga=2.69017111.789748691.1586960961-160901012.1586960961\">Their presentation can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Reducing movements above the shoulder<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 474px; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Extreme-Motions-Position.jpg\" alt=\"Motions above the shoulder in a packing station application\" \/><br \/>\nMovements above the shoulder are not recommended on a daily work basis. Good ergonomics practice is to always keep lifting within the comfort zone between your hips and shoulder height.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 404px; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Extreme-WS2.jpg\" alt=\"Ergonomic workstation with various options\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Above: workstation with pull-out shelves label troughs, monitor arms and other accessible functions that help workers to keep their movements within neutral zones. Courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostontec.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">BOSTONtec<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>An example is box building and loading. Many times these are relatively small boxes, and are often in the same size range, but sometimes there are larger boxes\u2014one or two larger sizes that may not fit on the working surfaces. For small and medium boxes, many workstations are ergonomically fine.<\/p>\n<p>When there is a larger box, there may be times when the worker must reach up and over the top of a tall box, which causes the packer to lift their arm above the shoulder\u2014an extreme movement that can directly affect ergonomics.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>Try to observe the 10:1 ratio for every lift performed. This means that a 10-pound object requires 100 pounds of back pressure to lift. Limiting these types of lifts will always help reduce strains and injuries.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>To combat this, and keep the shoulder in a neutral position, the under-shelf box building table lets the packer build their box at a neutral and comfortable working height. They\u2019re not reaching over their shoulder. Aside from the ergonomic benefits, the packer can have greater visibility into the large carton for accuracy and better product arrangement. Many of these box shelves can slide back into the workstation so that they don\u2019t take up space until needed.<\/p>\n<h3>Don&#8217;t store packing materials beneath the work surface<\/h3>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 620px; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Extreme-Motion-Bending.jpg\" alt=\"Reducing motions below the waist with ergonomic workstation\" \/><br \/>\nWhenever packers must access materials (such as labels or bubble wrap rolls) beneath the work surface, they\u2019re forced to bend down to access the materials, which is one of the most problematic work positions, particularly if any weight or physical manipulation below the waist is involved.<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" style=\"width: 100%; margin-bottom: 10px; max-width: 450px; height: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/images.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Extreme-WS1.jpg\" alt=\"Ergonomic workstation with various options\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Above: Box building shelves slide out so that any box of the right height can be placed on them for packing or arrangement, without forcing people to reach over the top of a tall box on the work surface. This helps reduce bending at the hips and awkward arm positions.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Moving these materials to a neutral position that doesn\u2019t force a bend, stretch or reach is ideal. In the example above, bubble wrap can be mounted on a spool above the table surface. Workers no longer have to reach above or below the work surface to access the wrapping materials.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>The idea is to move anything that doesn\u2019t need to be on the surface off it, in an ergonomic manner<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h4>Final thoughts<\/h4>\n<p>Ergonomics isn&#8217;t an exact science, and requires the active participation of workers, management and process design. Most every industrial operation can find ways to enhance its physical ergonomics and reduce stress and injuries. While workstations are a critical way to reduce these issues, other factors, such as conveyor ergonomics, working in rack aisles and more can contribute to a more productive, safer operation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the massive worker compensation costs related to musculoskeletal disorders, finding ways to reduce the risks is imperative. In May, we discussed the impact of work positioning. This time, the focus on the effects of extreme movements and how to counteract the risks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[98],"tags":[232,231],"series":[],"class_list":["post-18647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industrial-shelving","tag-ergonomics","tag-workstations"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2027-04-13 01:03:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18647"}],"version-history":[{"count":32,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33146,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18647\/revisions\/33146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18647"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cisco-eagle.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=18647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}