Ergonomics standards and guidelines for computer workstation design and the impact on users’ health – a review

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of global ergonomics standards and guidelines for design of computer workstations, with particular focus on their inconsistency and associated health risk impact. Overall, considerable disagreements were found in the design specifications of computer workstations globally, particularly in relation to the results from previous ergonomics research and the outcomes from current ergonomics standards and guidelines. To cope with the rapid advancement in computer technology, this article provides justifications and suggestions for modifications in the current ergonomics standards and guidelines for the design of computer workstations.

Practitioner Summary:

A research gap exists in ergonomics standards and guidelines for computer workstations. We explore the validity and generalisability of ergonomics recommendations by comparing previous ergonomics research through to recommendations and outcomes from current ergonomics standards and guidelines.

Keywords:

• Computer workstation
• ergonomics
• standards and guidelines
• visual display terminal

Funding

This study was supported by funding from the Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.