By Jason Hagerman

Volatile chemicals and other dangerous substances aren’t the only hazards lab workers face on a daily basis. Repetitive tasks and poorly organized workspaces result in repetitive strain injuries (RSI) in 10 per cent of the Canadian workforce, according to Statistics Canada, rendering workers unable to perform their jobs, or worse. To combat this, equipment manufacturers are pouring more and more resources into designing ergonomically correct tools and lab managers are taking a thorough look at how the lab can be adjusted to fit the worker.

“Most of the tasks in the laboratory are repetitive. Workers are constantly using small handheld tools and opening and closing vials or bottles,” says Wendy Vaccaro, Technical Services Manager at Artel, which specializes in liquid handling products and services. “They’re working with awkward body postures, the benches are old and not appropriate. They’re sitting and standing for long periods of time. This creates wear and tear on the body and, over time, can really be a bad thing.”

Pipetting, one of the staples of laboratory science, is also one of the staples of RSI. Advances in pipettes, such as form-fitting grips and smooth and easy-to-use plungers and ejector buttons, have made them much more ergonomically sound. However, these advances have not completely eliminated the stresses that repetitive tasks put on the body. Artel provides pipetting technique training to customers, which includes a strong emphasis on ergonomic awareness, but there are still challenges with the repetitive task.

“We had a woman here who used to do testing for us, pipetting for four or five hours every day. She got to the point where her ergonomic issue was such that she had to switch jobs,” says Vaccaro.

This kind of injury can happen to workers anywhere in the lab, from those working with microscopes to flow cyclometers to those manipulating other small tools.

According to many lab managers who have focused their efforts on improving ergonomics, the optimal working environment is a combination of the proper equipment and a wellplanned workspace.

Making the lab more comfortable
“In any lab, proper maintenance and calibration of pipettes is crucial,” says Constantine Christopoulos, Lab Manager for Guelph University’s Canadian Centre for DNA Bar Coding.

Maintaining manual pipettes means that plungers remain smooth and functional. Many labs, according to Doreen Rumery, Laboratory Technical Manager at Artel, are making the shift to electronic pipettes, which decrease repetitive movement.

“This is good, but they are heavy and if you hold them for an extended period of time you get fatigue in the arms and strain on the muscles,” she says. This is not to say that electronic pipettes are a bad choice; lab workers just need to be aware of the issues associated with choosing this alternative. Increasing weight supported by the arms and shoulders increases the possibility of developing an RSI.

Arms make up approximately 13 per cent of a person’s weight and holding them at an awkward angle, even without any additional weight, can be taxing on the body.

Many lab activities require extensive reaching and bending, which can very easily affect the proper functioning of the musculoskeletal system.

Flow cyclometers require both reaching and bending, but there are things that can be done to increase their usability.

Most flow cyclometers have a receiving port positioned at the bottom of the apparatus. Workers can benefit by raising the entire machine to a more comfortable level, through the use of adjustable benches, or by lowering an ergonomically correct chair to a suitable level.

Microscopy requires similar positioning adjustments to ergonomic positioning can minimize eye, neck and back strain. create the best possible work environment.

“We always talk about bringing the workspace close to you, keeping your arms in a neutral position, close to your body,” says Vaccaro.

Move the microscope to the near edge of the work surface, to eliminate the need for reaching or awkward hand positioning, which can result in carpel tunnel syndrome, the most common RSI in Canada, according to Stats Canada. The microscope should also be elevated to a position allowing the technician to look through the eyepiece without rounding the spine. To this end, workstations should be adjustable in height to allow all microscope users to comfortably operate the equipment. Because the head weighs around 12 pounds, leaning forward repeatedly will hurt the neck, shoulders and back and can cause longterm damage.

Fume hoods also force workers into awkward body positions. In this situation, tools can be stored on a turntable to reduce reaching and twisting. The work surface can again be lowered or raised, and the technician positioned close to reduce reaching.

“Posture is important,” says Vaccaro. An ergonomic chair and properly elevated work surface can make a significant impact on the comfort of the lab worker.

This general principal of neutral body positioning can apply to any area of the lab where a worker will be seated for extended periods of time.

Another option, which can apply to all seated workstation setups, is to raise the entire surface to allow workers to stand.

“Standing is actually much better for the body for prolonged periods of time, so to address that we use fatigue mats in the lab,” says Rumery. These mats consist of a rubbery standing surface that creates a soft barrier between the lab worker and the oftenhard concrete lab floor, reducing stress on the ankles and knees.

Replacing an entire lab with ergonomic equipment is a costly endeavour, and is beyond the budget of most labs. Making changes where possible, by purchasing what equipment you can and organizing the lab properly will be much less costly in the long run.

When workers begin to feel aching pain, experience swelling, numbness or loss of strength, they begin to cost the employer in reduced productivity and confidence.

“For each ergonomic injury, I’ve read that the cost to an employer is around $35,000,” says Vaccaro. “Training new people in that activity and retraining the injured worker, loss of work time, loss of productivity. Ergonomics does affect proficiency. Over time, as a person is getting fatigued and their hand is affecting them, their proficiency as far as what they’re testing is going to suffer.”

This could cause inaccurate results in testing, she says, and clients can see the reduced work quality.

If you can’t buy equipment, make changes to the geography of the lab and rotate activities. If you can, invest in equipment and tools that are most commonly used in your specific lab.

Allow all workspaces to be adjustable so that workers can make whatever task they may be doing appropriate for their body shape and size.

“If possible, bring in a consultant to aid in any changes that your lab may require. Some modifications are expensive… however; try to make some sort of compromise. This will pay off in the end,” says Christopoulos.