Cornell University Ergonomics Web
Southside Community Center Computer Room
Our
Mission: The Cornell Ithaca
Partnership contacted us to help develop the Southside Community Center's
computer lab. The Partnership is a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-funded
Outreach Partnership Center. Our goal consisted of providing ergonomic recommendations
for individual workstations and a proposed layout for their existing space.
The goal was to provide Southside with the ergonomic information necessary
to make decisions regarding the creation of their computer room.
Our
Team: Bethany
Johnson, Emily Kuperstein, Mari Mitchell, and
Heidi Tinnes
Our
Process: We worked with a
committee at Southside in order to help them achieve their
goals, and to provide ergonomic guidelines for the design of their computer
workstations. We began by doing research on computer workstations
and workstation components, and we quickly established a connection with the
Southside committee who had been working on the project during the past year. We
attended weekly meetings with their group in order to get updates on the progress
of the Computer Center Project, and to discuss what was being considered and
planned for the future. We felt that it was essential to provide some level
of understanding of the Science of Ergonomics, and how it could be applied
to their project, so that we could provide a useful and successful final summary.
We also wanted to provide tools that could be used to evaluate workstation
components, in order to ultimately find the best combination of ergonomics,
economics, and end product for their computing site.
Our
Recommendations: Because Southside's
computer lab users would be very diverse in age, size, and abilities, we tried
to recommend workstations that would accommodate these users through variations
in adjustability and compliance with ADA standards. We diagrammed
a computer workstation that showed dimensions needed for this adjustability.
In our presentation and the information packet we provided, we discussed the
best ways to implement this adjustability, so as to meet the appropriate ergonomic
standards for computer workstations. Ultimately, we recommended a workstation
comprised of a fixed desk with adjustable: monitor heights, keyboard and mouse
tray positions, chair heights, and footrests (if needed). We felt that this
type of layout, with its adjustable components, would be the best ergonomic
solution for Southside because it would meet their ergonomic needs while allowing
for the flexibility, efficiency, and economy that the center needs.
Our
Product:
1.
Basic ergonomic computer principles-bookmark
2. Desks
we evaluated: See pictures of the desks evaluated in this project.
3. Desk
evaluation: This checklist provides the ergonomic and functional requirements
for desks and shows how well each desk performed (downloads as a .pdf file
and needs Adobe Acrobat reader 4.0X plug-in to read this).
4.
Workstation evaluation: This checklist is specific to Southside Community
Center's existing spatial layout.
5. Chairs
we evaluated: See pictures of the chairs evaluated in this project
(downloads as a .pdf file and needs Adobe Acrobat reader 4.0X plug-in to read
this).
6. Chair
evaluation: This checklist provides the ergonomic and functional requirements
for chairs and shows how well each chair performed (downloads as a .pdf file
and needs Adobe Acrobat reader 4.0X plug-in to read this).
7. Blank
evaluation worksheet: If you like our checklist, download this worksheet
to help you evaluate your desk or chair (downloads as a .pdf file and needs
Adobe Acrobat reader 4.0X plug-in to read this).
8. Keyboard
trays, monitor stand, footrest evaluation: The checklist provide information
about what all these gadget should do (downloads as a .pdf file and needs
Adobe Acrobat reader 4.0X plug-in to read this).
9. Why
do I need all these gadgets? This document links each gadget to an ergonomic
principle.
10. Components
worksheet: Download this document to help you organize and prioritize
your purchases.
11.Possible Designs
for Southside Community Center Computer Lab
