This article originally appeared in
Svoboda's Home and Small Business Review
The Computer Contrarian
Wm. R. Stocking May, 1998

A Safe Computing Environment

by William R. Stocking

Computing can be challenging, cost effective but sometimes it's a royal pain in the hands, elbow, neck head and backsides. Computer use is a given in today's world so do it right for the sake of your physical well being, your peace of mind and perhaps even your business!

Provide proper tools even if you are a one person business. Lets talk about doing it right without spending a lot of money. Primary matters to consider are:

• Keyboards
• Pointing devices such as mice or trackballs
• Monitors and light reflections
• Positioning of printers, scanners, etc.
• Workstations

Keyboards

This is an area where great damage can occur. It is also one of the easiest areas to fix. One irony of keyboard use is that the better you are as a typist, the greater the possibility you will suffer injuries. Here are some ideas that may be of help.

The height of the surface on which the keyboard sits should probably be around 25 or 26 inches. This will vary, or course, depending on the stature of the person at the keyboard, the height of the chair, etc., but 25" or 26" is a good place to start.

The first computer workstation I used in business was a formica topped kitchen table with legs cut-down to obtain a comfortable keyboard height. A cheap solution that works splendidly. Probable cost at a resale store: $25.

With rare exceptions, you should never try to use a keyboard sitting on a desk top. The angle will be wrong; your hands will have to bend upwards creating the type of stress that causes Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. My personal solution is to put the keyboard in the drawer of my desk. I made a removable 1/4" thick panel that drops on top of the dividers in the front part of the drawer. The height it still a little high at 27 inches, but I make up for the difference by raising my chair.

Keyboard drawers that mount under the desk top: You can buy these for around $20. If you do not have a desk drawer, then this is an ideal solution. Some of the more elaborate ones even have a small slide-out panel on the side for mouse or trackball usage.

Keyboard legs: In most situations, do not use these things - the legs should really be under the part of the keyboard that is closest to you! Tipping the keyboard away from you can often be more comfortable because it keeps the wrists straighter. You can do this with a strip of 1/2 to 1 inch thick foam rubber under the front edge.

New style keyboards: Microsoft and a number of other manufacturers sell a style of keyboard that splits the characters in left and right hand sections and arranges them in a "V" pattern that feels much more natural to the hands and wrists. The cheap ones are around $40 and the Microsoft one is about $75. If you are already experiencing problems, RUN, not walk, to your nearest computer supplier. Our editor, Jill, developed wrist problems two years ago and the Microsoft keyboard probably saved her from having surgery.

Mice, Trackballs and other Pointers

Necessary evils, that's what they are! In my case, I just pull out the little shelf above my right hand desk drawer and put my mouse pad on it. Once again, height and wrist support is very important. There are several mouse pads that have wrist supports built into them. Before using one of these, I nearly wound up with my arm in a sling! Even then, after four years of using mice, I developed a case of very painful "mouse elbow." There are several things that can help.

Try a trackball. Recently, cheaper trackballs have come on the market. I picked up an USA Identity Systems unit at CompUSA for $20 just to try out. I didn't know if I could get used to using one. It DID take getting used to - I'd guess it took 10 hours before I ceased noticing that I was using something different. However, by that time some of the pain of my "mouse elbow" was gone too!

Another solution for avoiding "mouse arm" is to learn the keystroke equivalents to various mouse functions. It turns out that the most experienced and adept keyboard operators have been doing this ever since "mousing" with the Mac and Windows first started. If the ONLY environment you have ever used is some version of Windows or a Mac, then this will take some getting used to, but it is worth the effort because you will also become faster at what you do. Hint: you might even consider using a DOS program such as WordPerfect 5.1 in addition to a current Windows version, forcing you to abandon the mouse temporarily, heaven forbid !

The Monitor

This is not a place to skimp. Eye strain can lead to debilitating headaches and other types of stress. Particularly worrisome are the older 12 and 14 inch units. If you still have one of these around, save it for a non-critical application or for a spare. Less than $300 buys a higher resolution 15 inch unit and for less than $500 you can get a 17 inch unit. The 17 is becoming the standard for Windows 95 work. The minimum acceptable monitor for today's computing is a 14 inch unit with 800 X 600 resolution and a dot pitch of .28 or less - newer programs put so much detail on the screen that viewing suffers greatly at lower resolutions. If most of your work consist of tasks like large spread sheets, desk top publishing or presentation production then you must think about spending more. If you can possibly afford it, go to a 19 inch, (or larger), monitor. This newer size is available for around $750 and up.

Using the monitor: Generally, you'll want the monitor at a height so that your eyes are level with or slightly above the top of the screen. You should neither have to bend down or crane you neck upwards to read the screen. The minimum suggested distance from the screen is 18 to 20 inches. 22 to 24 inches will be more comfortable for most people.

DON'T tilt it upwards so that it picks up reflections from ceiling lights ! This too can cause eye strain. If you need to tilt the screen upwards, then the monitor is probably sitting too low. Raise it three or four inches and tilt the monitor slightly downward.

If you still have reflection problems, there are anti-glare filters that can be put over the screen. A no-cost remedy can sometimes be as simple as a piece of cardboard jutting out over the top of the monitor to provide "shade" for the screen. Looks awful, but often works.

Positioning of Printers, Scanners, etc.

I learned the hard way that keyboards and mice aren't the only things that can cause damage in a computing environment! Last year I was working on a publishing project for three weeks straight for about ten hours a day. My printer was on a table to the left of my chair and slightly behind me. Every time I made an adjustment in positioning I would print out a proof and then reach back with my left arm to grab the copy. I did this dozens of times a day and so intent was I on finishing the project that I totally ignored the creeping pain in my left shoulder. After the project was over the pain didn't go away but gradually got worse and worse. Four months later the shoulder "locked up" and my arm lost function. The "fix" was another three months of equally painful physical therapy.

WARNING: ANY Kind of repetitive motion of an unnatural and persistent nature can cause you great harm. Be very careful of where you position accessory computing items such as printers and scanners so as not to cause you to reach out in an unnatural manner.

Workstation Furniture

If you are going out to buy a commercial workstation, you can actually get something usable for around $55 in a small unit that looks a little like a TV stand with slide out shelves for the keyboard and printer. Inexpensive workstations from Sauder, O'Sullivan, Bush and Rubbermaid have become well designed in the last couple of years. Most have a pull out keyboard shelf and are deep enough to keep the monitor at a proper distance. There is quite a selection available for less than $50 to over $600 at your local office super-store.

There, I've managed to go through this whole article without once using the word Ergonomics. I'm not sure I really know what that word means anymore - I only know what works!

(William Stocking is President of First Business Systems, Ltd. an information management consultant to businesses of all sizes. He can be e-mailed at wrs@firstbiz.com. Visit the web site at http://www.firstbiz.com.)