Avoid Needless Back Pain--Use Care When Choosing Your Office ChairWritten by Larry Denton
Sitting at your desk can be hazardous to your health. Office workers often spend seven hours a day seated, and using wrong chair can reduce their efficiency by causing pain in back, arms, wrist and literally--in neck. If you leave your office-- whether it be in your home or a corporation setting--at end of each workday with aches and pains, it could be result of sitting in a chair that is not physically appropriate for you. Experts in ergonomics--the study of efficiency of persons in work place--have shown that productivity increases as a direct consequence of using chairs that have ergonomic considerations. A well-designed chair is comfortable and supports key areas of body without restricting movement. Since you spend so many hours in your chair typing, talking on phone, surfing Web, and meeting with clients and co-workers, it is absolutely imperative that you have correct chair for your unique body shape. OfficeChair.com has gathered countless tips and hundreds of useful resources by diligently searching Internet for information concerning office chairs. How much should I spend? How can I find right chair? Which manufacturer can I trust? How long will a good chair last? Is leather a good choice for a seat cover? Once considered "luxury" items by Ebenezer Scrooge school of office managers, lumbar support chairs actually empower employees to relax while they work. Research now shows that high-quality, supportive chairs create more productive offices and have a major impact on worker satisfaction. A catch-all phrase in today's working environment is "repetitive strain injury"--"RSI". This term includes a wide range of ailments resulting from strain to shoulders, arms, hands, neck and back. Poorly designed or improperly adjusted office chairs can cause great discomfort which may surface years later as a chronic health problem. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD's) currently account for one-third of all occupational injuries reported to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by employers each year. According to Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), employers paid $15-$20 billion in workers' compensation costs for these disorders in 1997. Thousands of companies have already taken action to prevent these problems and hundreds of them starting by purchasing office chairs that were ergonomically designed and which provided better support for their users.
| | Peggy Smedley and TR Cutler to Address PRONTO North America Users ConferenceWritten by Tom Verzi
Peggy Smedley is editor of Start Magazine and will be addressing first annual PRONTO North America Users Conference on Thursday, May 5th. Smedley was recently profiled in Wall Street Journal and authored Mending Manufacturing, How America Can Manufacture its Survival. She is an award-winning journalist. Wednesday, May 4th, Thomas R. Cutler, CEO of TR Cutler, Inc., author of Manufacturers Public Relations and Media Guide, Associate Editor of Industrial Connection, and Contributing Editor to InMFG magazine will be addressing PRONTO North America Users Conference. Cutler is also founder of Manufacturing Media Consortium, a group of 2000 journalists writing about various aspects of manufacturing and industrial trends. PRONTO North America, (www.prontoerp.com) based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is North American Master Distributor of PRONTO-Xi, a comprehensive software system allowing manufacturers,
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