EYES

The eyes should not be neglected. Muscles control the eyes and these muscles need a change in position too! So if you have been looking at a monitor for longer than about 10 minutes you need to swivel on your chair and focus on something straight ahead of you
in the distance. This relaxes the eye muscles. The object in the distance can be out the window – what kind of day is it? - or on the other side of the room. Take the opportunity to get up and stretch – this will provide a change in posture.

As computer monitors are generally positioned at a greater distance than for reading paper, standard “reading” prescription glasses for are often inappropriate for computer work. Discuss this with your eye specialist.

Eyes can get tired and sore if they have to deal with glare, flicker or fuzzy monitors.

FLICKER AND FUZZY IMAGES

Computer screens should not flicker and the image should be crisp and clear. Flickering monitors are usually caused when the monitor is not updated at a sufficiently fast refresh rate – a refresh rate of at least 70 Hz and preferably more is recommended. Another cause of flickering screens can be power packs or mains electrical wiring near by – moving the monitor slightly can dramatically affect this form of flicker. Lettering on the monitor should be sharp. If it is not, some of the reasons could be: the monitor is dirty, the video card may be inappropriate, the phosphor coating on the inside of the screen may be degrading or the monitor may need adjusting - consult a computer technician.
New LCD and other thin-screen all-digital displays have the potential of offering very sharp stable images. They do take up less work space and this can be a big advantage when positioning screens and sizing works paces and floor areas. As well as offering potential power savings and reducing the heat load, new LCD and other thin screen digital displays may reduce air conditioning costs.
LIGHTING

Many offices use general lighting for all areas of the office. This can lead to too much lighting for computer work. CAD operators (computer draughts people) often work in rooms with lower lighting with task lighting provided for specific areas e.g. desk top for documents. Lighting design that allows some flexibility in the lighting level is recommended.



download the PDF document approx 1.7mb

GLARE

Glare can be a major problem in modern office spaces particularly open plan spaces. Glare can result not just in sore eyes and headaches but poor postures. People adopt postures to place themselves between sources of glare and the monitor thus blocking reflections. Glare is best dealt with by finding its source and controlling it there. Some options for controlling glare are:

  • Putting diffusers on lights
  • Drawing blinds over windows at different times of the day
  • Repositioning the monitor but care needs to be taken that other posture problems are not introduced – it may require the work surface to be rearranged
  • Using partitions.

To minimise the opportunity for glare to be an issue on monitors, the screen surface would ideally be placed perpendicular to the windows.
<< previous page