Working from home, Tips for workstation set up.

Working from home can have some challenges, but there are things you can do to minimise risks and improve your comfort and productivity.

Even though many people are working from home unexpectedly, we must make sure that your home workspace meets legal requirements

Organising your workspace

You should try to have your workspace set-up at home similar to your set-up at work, so that it’s comfortable and user-friendly.

Setting up your work desk correctly will help you to have good posture. This reduces musculoskeletal disorders, including upper limb disorders and repetitive strain injuries.

See Getting ready to work from home

Improving your workspace

Even though many people are working from home unexpectedly because of the coronavirus outbreak, we must make sure that your workspace meets legal requirements

Position your screen correctly

Reduce eyestrain by positioning your screen at arm’s length from your face and at the correct height to allow a comfortable neck position. You should aim to have your eyes roughly level with the top of your screen.

Avoid glare

To reduce eyestrain, you should avoid having a glare on your screen. It’s best to position your screen away from direct window light and close curtains when necessary.

Keyboard

Having awkward wrist, arm and shoulder positions may lead to discomfort and injury. Adjust the height of your keyboard so that your wrists are in line with your forearms.

Change positions

Change your position from sitting to standing regularly to avoid awkward, static postures.

Give your eyes a break

To allow your eye muscles to rest, focus on an object 20 feet away every 20 minutes for 20 seconds.

Chair

Adjust your chair so your feet are flat on the floor, without uncomfortable pressure on your thighs. You can use a foot rest. Your lower back should be fully supported by the lumbar support in your chair. Ideally, you should have an office chair, otherwise you could use a cushion for lumbar support.

Get up and move

Break up long spells of screen work with rest breaks or changes in activity (for at least 5 minutes every hour).

Regular stretching

These stretches should be done slowly. If you feel any discomfort or pain, do not push beyond the intended stretch.

Here are some simple examples of muscle stretches that you can do at home

Improve your laptop set-up (laptop stand, keyboard and mouse)

Laptops are not intended for long term use as a workstation. If you are using it a lot at home then your workstation should meet the principles of workstation set-up, with a separate mouse, screen and keyboard.

Viewing angle, head and neck position

Use a laptop stand as it helps your head to stay up, straightening your neck, shoulders and back. If you do not have a laptop stand, try using books to improve your viewing angle.

Back position and support

You should use a purpose designed office chair where possible. If you’re using a kitchen chair then use a cushion to support a more upright posture.

Forearm and wrist position

Your hand, wrist and forearm should form a level line from your keyboard to your elbow. Your wrist should not be bent and should float above your keyboard.

Move your mouse through a combination of elbow and shoulder movements – your wrist should not be involved.

You can use cushions to elevate your seating position, helping to keep your forearm, wrist and hand level.

Leg and foot position

You should use a footrest to ensure your thighs remain almost parallel to the floor, with your hips slightly higher than your knees. Keep space between the back of your knees and the edge of the chair. If you do not have a footrest, you can use a plastic box.

Covid-19 Applying the Principles of Prevention (Part 2)

Continuing on from my post on the 28th of October

Covid-19 Applying the Principles of Prevention (Part 1)

Part 2

5. The adaptation of the place of work to technical progress.

The use of virtual conferencing and meeting technology is nothing new but it has seen a massive increase in uptake and implementation across many sectors in Ireland. The apparent short-term benefits are, the removal of the risk of physical contact and elimination of commuting to and from meetings.

It’s important to remember that when we introduce a control measure that it, in itself, should be risk assessed.  Articles such as “Tips to avoid Zoom Burnout” indicate that there may be a need for more investigation before virtual meetings are accepted as a long term approach to conferencing.

6. The replacement of dangerous articles, substances or systems of work by safe or less dangerous articles, substances or systems of work.

We’ve seen examples of new systems being implemented in every type of workplace in the country. Supermarkets have one-way systems and limits on capacity. Food outlets have become take away only.  Multiple storey buildings will reserve lifts for limited use. There are a myriad of systems being implemented all over the country which attempt to interpret government guidance to some degree. Washing your hands before entering a premises and maintain a distance of 2 meters while at work, a common theme throughout.

7. The giving of priority to collective protective measures over individual protective measures.

Priority opening times for vulnerable persons is a good example of a collective preventative measure. Any measure that aims to protect a larger group of people without the need for the individual to have to remember to comply with a particular measure will be more effective. If we put a guardrail on a roof then we don’t need to issue each individual with a personal fall arrest system. With such high responsibility on each individual person this will remain a difficult challenge.

8. The development of an adequate prevention policy in relation to safety, health and welfare at work, which takes account of technology, organisation of work, working conditions, social factors and the influence of factors related to the working environment.

This may include use of personal protective equipment (PPE).  Where PPE is to be used it should be noted that this is a “Last resort” control measure. PPE is not a catch all solution and, in many cases, it can provide a false sense of security.

The face coverings we see people wearing now are not a form of personal protective equipment. Face coverings are there primarily to reduce the spread of airborne water droplets that might carry the virus. The source of these are the nose and mouth.

By wearing a mask you are not protecting yourself but you are potentially protecting the people around you.

9. The giving of appropriate training and instructions to employees.

People need to understand the reason why they are being asked to act in a certain way. This is important to achieve full compliance. Training may need to be preceded by a consultation process.  Information needs to come from a reputable source, be concise and be credible.

Whichever approach you decide to take for your workplace you should measure the effectiveness and not be afraid to try a new approach if something is not working.

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog. Feel free to get in touch if you have comments or suggestions for any future articles.

Shane Lynam

 

 

(Shane Lynam has been a safety practitioner in Ireland for 15 Years. Shane holds a Masters Degree in Environmental Health & Safety Management, a Post Graduate Diploma in Occupational Safety, Health & Hygiene and a Bachelor’s Degree in Science (Microbiology and Human Physiology)    

 

Covid-19 Applying the Principles of Prevention (Part 1)

Applying the Principles to the controlling the spread of Covid-19 (Part 1 – Principle 1-4)

      1. Avoid the risk: -If you can get rid of the hazard then people are not exposed to the risks. You should apply this principle first. With regards to Covid-19 it is virtually impossible to “get rid” of the hazard without there being a large scale, global vaccination and public health program. It took over 100 years to get rid of smallpox and the motivation to eliminate that disease was much higher…

We cannot avoid the risk when it comes to Covid-19.

     2.  Evaluate unavoidable risks -: This requires you to undertake risk assessments. If you can’t get rid of a hazard, you must assess it. This is where we need to apply logic and common sense and determine the level of risk presented by the hazard.  A risk assessment is done by calculating the chances of something bad occurring multiplied by the level of harm that may be caused.

In simplest terms Risk = Likelihood x Consequence

How likely is it that someone is going to catch Covid-19 at an event of 5, 50 or 500 people or at a location that is frequented by larger numbers of people? Increasing likely depending on the increasing numbers of people and possibly their attitudes towards personal hygiene.

What is the consequence? Covid-19 has been proven to be fatal. There are a range of consequences depending on individual and community vulnerability factors.

In summary. The more people we encounter, the higher the risk.

    3. Combat the risks at source: – Here you are trying to deal with the hazard at its root.

The source of this particular hazard has been identified as coming from Wuhan, China. It’s gone beyond being able to combat the risk at source so what can we do? In order to combat the risk at course locally we have to do our best to identify positive cases or individuals who may be infectious.

In theory, if an infectious person is prevented from coming in contact with your workforce or your community you have combated the risk at source and prevented the hazard coming in contact with the people you are trying to protect.

Visitor and worker screening go some of the way towards combating the risk at source but’s not an airtight solution.

     4.  Adapt the work to the individual-: This is the principle of arranging the workplace and tasks to take into account your employees and to reduce the effect of work on health.

Not everyone can work from home but where it has proven to be practical, this measure has been adopted by many workplaces.

(Principles 5-9 will be covered in Part 2)

Infection Prevention and Control: Breaking the Chain of Infection

What is infection control and prevention?

Traditionally this means preventing and controlling illnesses that can be spread in the health-care setting. Of course with the current situation regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus, this now means preventing and controlling illnesses that can be spread in any setting.

The purpose of infection prevention and control is to identify and reduce the risk of infections among patients, employees, medical staff members, contract service workers, volunteers, students, vendor representatives and visitors. Again this has now expanded to include anyone.

This is accomplished through many types of activities, for example, • monitoring infection occurrences in patients and employees • developing and implementing infection control policies and procedures • Infection Control and Prevention education • Safety programs, e.g. hand hygiene, blood borne pathogen prevention • quality improvement activities, e.g. reduction in infection rates, such as catheter related bloodstream infections • monitoring compliance with regulatory requirements • evaluating the environment • provide consultation on Infection Control and Prevention.

Breaking the chain of Infection

Jonathon Corum (April 2020) accessed from ‘The New York Times’ April 2nd 2020.

The main ways the public can help prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at the personal level.

This includes:

● Hand washing
● Avoid touching your face (especially your eyes, nose and mouth)
● Social distancing
● Self-quarantining
● Preparing your home for possible COVID-19 exposure

While much has been written concerning hand washing, social distancing, and the now enforced quarantining, not much has been said about preparing our homes regarding Infection Protection and Control. It’s really quite simple. According to Armando Meza, M.D., chief of infectious diseases and associate academic dean of graduate medical education at the TTUHSC El Paso Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, it’s a case of keeping your home clean, ‘especially your kitchen and bathroom. Use of commercially available antimicrobial towels and sprays is appropriate.’

According to epidemiologist Bill Hanage, of Harvard, we’ve got to think like the virus – to ‘see it from the point of view of the pathogens and their evolution. What is going to be most helpful to them? What is going to enable them to leave the most descendants?’

At Myelearnsafety we want to do our bit to combat the COVID-19 Coronavirus through Infection Prevention and Control. To this effect we have launched our Infection Prevention and Control course.

You can also view our COVID-19 explainer  video here.