Promoting Healthy Computing
Ergonomics make good business sense
A good work posture can help prevent RSI. A direct benefit is obviously increased worker comfort and less stress and strain. Working in a cleanroom gown and hood for 12 hour shifts or longer can be very stressful in itself. The ability to set your equipment at a correct ergonomic position improves productivity and reduces stress and strain. A good working posture may therefore have a positive influence on the amount of sick days within the organisation and keep screenworkers at work. This is good news in times when further efficiency improvements are difficult and increased worker productivity plays a key role.
The need to address ergonomics specifically for screenworkers is increased by the higher automation levels and implementation of Electronic Work Instructions (EWI) in the industry. This industry wide effort to improve efficiency and reduce paper usage means fab and computer workers will be more exposed to computers for longer periods of time, thus increasing the need to operate them as ergonomically as possible. And there is more to gain from implementing ergonomics.
Ergonomics is a way of maintaining a competitive advantage when consolidation in the wafer fab equipment business is leading to fewer suppliers. Many fabs and other semiconductor related production companies are endorsing and complying with the Ergonomic Guidelines as set forth by the leading organisation of the industry, SEMI. Many of those companies also require their suppliers and tool equipment vendors to incorporate these guidelines. SEMI guideline S8-0701 addresses safety aspects of ergonomics engineering in the design of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Display positioning is one of the subjects of the guideline. If the guidelines are followed and complied with, no doubt it will help reduce the RSI contribution to lost man-hours.
Healthy computing
The use of LCD and touch screen displays is an important step towards a more ergonomic and safer workplace. Although the radiation output of cathode ray tube (CRT) monitors has never been proved to have any noticeable influence on humans, the absence of such radiations from LCD displays makes you feel safer, and therefore more comfortable. Besides, contrast levels on an LCD screen are higher, which is easier on the eyes.
An LCD screen needs to be combined with a swivel-arm to create the optimum ergonomic workplace. Not everyone is the same height and if people in adjacent work shifts are using the same screen, they need to be able to adjust the screen to their personal ergonomic requirements. For comfortable viewing, the top of the screen needs to be at or slightly below eye-level, which, for an average person using a screen in standing position, means the screen needs to be mounted at 156cm off of the floor. However, if the majority of screenworkers need to be able to access that monitor at their best ergonomic height, a range of vertical movement of 33cm is necessary. Once the monitor is placed at the right height, it also needs to be placed directly in front of the user. If the monitor is placed off-centre to the left or right of the body, this can cause neck and shoulder pain due to twisting and awkward posture.
Andrew Gillespie, Manufacturing engineer, at Seagate Technology, Springtown, Ireland, uses mobile workcentres from Ergotron because they provide an easily moveable workplace which is easily adjusted for any user. “We tend to use this application where an operator would be using the terminal for longer periods of time,” he says.
Another factor, which makes an adjustable monitor arm necessary is the need to adjust the viewing distance to the screen. This depends on the monitor size, but needs to be a minimum of 50cm. A telescopic or pivoting mounting arm provides the ability to move the monitor closer or further from the user. Besides, monitor arms allow you to tilt and turn the screen to avoid glare, leading to better monitor visibility, which reduces stress and strain. These improvements are very important when you realise that 40% of all computer users have eye problems to some extent.
Addressing this issue once by installing monitors at the correct level for each worker is not the complete solution. A good ergonomic rule is that the best working posture is always the next one. Variety in work posture and breaks at intervals are recommended. A flexible, adjustable, mounting solution that does not require the use of knobs or levers for movement, is the best
answer.
For Bruno Vintenon, finance representative and manufacturing superintendent at Dupont Photomasks in Corbeil, France, ergonomics are an important factor. The company is phasing out their CRTs and replacing them all with LCDs. “They are much more comfortable for the operators, produce less heath and help save space”, says Vintenon. Dupont mounted Dell 1503 monitors to Ergotron 200 series swivel-arms that are mounted to the wall. "We did not want to position the monitors on the metallic worksurfaces we have here, because of security reasons. They could easily be pushed off. Mounting them to a swivel-arm kept them solid and off the work surface. Besides, it made monitor viewing much easier for our operators, because they can pivot the screen and adapt it to their personal preferences. This is important to us, because in this facility everything is computerised”
Space savings
Within the semiconductor industry there are other factors that make the implementation of LCD screens and monitor arms a good investment. In office environments, European guidelines set the amount of space required for a work environment with CRT monitor at 1m2 more than when using LCD. Evidently, such space saving can also be achieved in fabs, where the cost of a square meter is considerably higher than in the office environment. Using swivel-arms allow for even more space saving, because you no longer need a desk for the monitors.
Seagate's Gillespie recognises these benefits of using swivelarms: "In our facility we saved approximately 450m2 by using a total of 70 Ergotron 400 Series Combination arms, which is a combined mounting solution for keyboard and monitor. The arms still hang over the floor, but the floor is now easy to clean and it also promotes better airflow for the cleanroom facility. Work and floor space is in great demand so where possible we try to mount monitors over the work area. We also use Ergotron double pivot joints and deskstands simply to mount flat screens onto walls and equipment.”
Microcontamination
As a supplier of ceiling, floor, pole and wall LCD mounting solutions specifically for the semiconductor industry, Ergotron is aware of the microcontamination risks a moving arm can pose and tries to avoid metal on metal in product design. The company also tries to use materials that do not produce unacceptable off gassing or particle generation dependent on the cleanliness Class of the target environment.
For example, Dupont's Vintenon says: “The clean concept was of vital importance to us. We work in a Class 1 environment here and keeping an LCD screen with a wall-mounted arm clean is so much easier than a different set-up would have been.”
