This article sent by our workers’ compensation carrier has some great tips on setting up safe workstations. While we typically think of workstations in office settings, this includes tips in different locations, such as a construction area. I hope you find this informative and helpful.
Occasionally when conducting internal safety audits – poor workstation design will be observed. This can range from construction workers piling up stock on the floor and cutting it from a kneeling position on the same level – up to production stations where heavy tools are used to assemble heavy parts. No matter what type of work you are looking at, part of a workplace designer’s task is to arrange the controls, equipment, tools, and parts within a physical space that matches the user’s physical dimensions and constraints. This process is what human factors engineering terms: component arrangement.
The major guidelines for which are presented below in seven principles.
1. Frequency of Use Principle
The most frequently used components should be positioned in the most convenient locations. So frequently used hand tools or parts should be positioned close to the hand that will pick it up, or the foot that will press the pedal – most commonly the right side.
2. Importance Principle
Those components which are more critical to the achievement of system goals should be located in convenient locations. Sometimes, it helps to separate components into primary and secondary importance levels and secondary position components on the periphery.
3. Sequence of Use Principle
Components used in a sequence should be located next to one another, and their layout should reflect the sequence of operations. This says the parts bin should inevitably be located very close to where it is being installed.
4. Consistency Principle
Components should be laid out with the same component located in the same spatial locations to minimize memory and search requirements. This consistency should be maintained within the workplace itself and across workplaces that are designed for similar functions. (This is like when you drive a Ford daily but get a Mazda rental car – you manage because automobiles controls are designed using the consistency principle of standardization.)
5. Control-Display Compatibility Colocation Principle
This principle says that control devices should be close to their associated displays. In the case of multiple controls and displays, the layout should reflect the layout of displays to make the control-display relationship visible. Color-coding or bracketing off similar parts or signal indicators will often come into play here.
6. Clutter Avoidance Principle
Clutter in general is bad in workplaces – but this principle dictates that adequate space must be provided between adjacent controls such as buttons, knobs, or pedals to minimize the risk of accidental activation of controls.
7. Functional Grouping Principle
This principle states that components with closely related functions should be placed close to each other. For example, the power supplies will all be located together in one place, while the communication signals will be located together in a separate place.
Ideally, we would see all; seven principles applied and satisfied for each workstation. However, in practice, these can sometimes conflict with one another. For example, addressing a high-pressure warning signal could likely be critical to the safety of the operation – but it is not a frequently used component, so that the signal indicator will be positioned further away from the user. Situations such as this call for a careful tradeoff in determining the relative importance of the principle to the situation being examined, and this process can be subjective at times.
