Individual ergonomic assessment
The client:
Manufacturing – Head Office
The Problem:
A team member had been off work for six weeks due to a serious low back injury. His GP had recently cleared him to return to work on reduced hours and modified duties, however, he had complained that his computer workstation at head office was aggravating his low back pain. The employer had provided the worker with a height adjustable desktop workstation but he was still experiencing low back pain while working at his workstation. They wanted to ensure that they were doing everything they could to support the worker’s return to work and minimise the risk of him exacerbating his condition and prolonging the return to full pre-injury duties.
How we helped:
An AHP Occupational Physiotherapist attended the client’s head office to conduct an ergonomic assessment of the team member’s workstation.
They spoke with the worker in order to understand the history of his recent low back injury, current physical capacity, medical restrictions and the issues he was having with his current workstation. He advised that he couldn’t sit for more than 30 min before he had to move due to pain, but was much more comfortable standing. He informed us that the sit-stand workstation that had been provided for him didn’t go high enough and that his pain was often aggravated when he had to lift it for standing, as it was quite heavy. He also advised that he experienced much less pain on days he worked from home as he had a standing desk and could take regular breaks to walk and occasionally lie down to rest.
Our Occupational Physiotherapist assessed the worker at his office workstation and identified some key issues:
The chair should not have been in service as the backrest mechanism was broken and could not be adjusted to provided adequate lumbar support
The height adjustable desktop workstation needed to be adjusted manually and didn’t raise high enough for the worker when standing, as he was quite tall
The worker was using a triple monitor system, mounted on the workstation. This exceeded the weight rating for the workstation, causing it to tip forwards and creating a manual handling risk when adjusting the unit for standing.
Elements of the workstation were not positioned appropriately to promote a relaxed, neutral posture
To mitigate risk as much as possible on the day, the following interventions were made:
The chair was swapped for one that was still serviceable and provided better lumbar support.
One of the monitors was removed to reduce weight on the workstation and prevent it from tipping
The workstation was temporarily propped up to the correct height until a more permanent solution could be arranged
The worker was shown how to adjust their chair and arrange monitors and other workstation items to the appropriate position for him
Due to the manual handling risk of raising the workstation, we advised the worker to leave the desk set up for standing for the majority of the day, take short breaks every 30 minutes to walk and occasionally lie down in the first aid room
When the assessment was completed, we briefed the employer about the key findings and recommendations and advised they consider:
Providing the worker with a new ergonomic chair and electric height adjustable workstation
Providing an anti-fatigue mat for prolonged standing work
Allowing the worker to take short breaks every 30 min to walk and to lie down in the first aid room occasionally throughout the day.
Arranging an ergonomic assessment of the worker’s home workspace
The next day we provided the client with a detailed report including photos of the office workstation, highlighting the issues we had identified and the interventions recommended. Arrangements were made for our Occupational Physiotherapist to assess the worker’s home workstation via a video call, later that week.
Outcome
On following up a few weeks later, the client advised that they had provided the worker with a new ergonomic chair and replaced the manual height-adjustable desktop workstation with a new electric version. His condition was reportedly stable and he had returned to his full pre-injury hours, without further incident.