1. Introduction to Programming
Department of Computer Science and Information Systems
Tingting Han (afternoon), Steve Maybank (evening)
Autumn 2018
Week 2a: Safe Operation of Computing Equipment
Birkbeck College, U. London

2. Working Posture
Sit back and move chair close to the desk. Maintain contact between your back and the seat back to support the inward curve of the
lumbar spine.
Tilt the seat forward 5°-15°to keep the knees lower than the hips.
Do not perch on the front of your seat. Move the keyboard close to the front of the desk.
Avoid incorrect slouching in which the pelvis rotates backwards. The inward curve in the lumbar spine is lost and the lumbar discs are strained.

3. Slouch Do not slide the hips forward as this will
Release the seat and back of the chair and lean back supported by the chair.
Ensure that the hips are pushed back and the chair back follows the lumbar spine.
Do not slide the hips forward as this will
prevent the natural inward curve of the lumbar spine.
Keep the angle of the chair back within 90°to retain the curve of the lumbar spine.

4. Birkbeck College, U. London
Sitting at a PC
Birkbeck College, U. London

5. Birkbeck College, U. London
Posture
Lower back: supported by the chair back
Forearms: horizontal
Head: up and balanced with the screen at eye level
Wrists: straight, in line with the forearms
Do not rest wrists on the edge of the desk or bend the hands up at the wrists
Birkbeck College, U. London

6. Birkbeck College, U. London
Equipment
Chair: sit well back with the lower back supported
Footrest: if the feet do not rest on the floor
Screen: at arm’s length with the top at eye level
Keyboard: near to the edge of the desk
Mouse: near to the keyboard
Document holder: place near to the screen and at the same height and angle
Birkbeck College, U. London

7. Birkbeck College, U. London
Lighting
Avoid windows or lights in line with the screen
Avoid reflections from the screen
Sit sideways to windows
Glare on monitors
Prevent source of glare from reaching monitor, (i.e. use opaque vertical blinds, use glare screens).
Place monitor at right angles to windows.
Use LCD monitors.
Birkbeck College, U. London

8. Birkbeck College, U. London
Movement
Avoid sitting in the same position and staring at the screen for long periods
Vary the activity at the desk
Get up and move around every hour or so
Sitting in the same position and staring at the screen for long periods is undesirable so if your time at the keyboard is not interrupted naturally by phone calls, discussions with colleagues etc, plan to break the work up with other work activities which do not involve similar movements of the arms and wrists and preferably require some walking about. Drink some water.  There is no set legal length for such breaks minutes each hour is often mentioned but just how long and how frequently depends on the person and the task.  Little and often is best. Some staff use the free software from   remind themselves to take a break.  Whatever, make sure you give your eyes, muscles and joints that needed break from sitting, staring, typing and clicking.   'Don't wait until you ache.'   
Birkbeck College, U. London

9. Birkbeck College, U. London
Laptops
Poor ergonomics because screen and keyboard are close together
Where possible, use a laptop stand and a desk
Do not lean forward with the head
Forearms parallel to the desk
Screen at about arms length
Feet flat on floor
laptop-workstation-setup
Birkbeck College, U. London

10. Birkbeck College, U. London
References
Birkbeck College, U. London