Constrained postures in accounting machine operators

Abstract A field study was carried out with a group of 119 female accounting machine operators. The keyboard was operated with the right hand only, while the left hand was turning over coupons. The workplace had high table and keyboard levels. The whole group showed a high incidence of physical impairments, mainly localised in the right hand and arm. A significant increase of impairments was observed with increasing neck angles, increasing elbow angles and increasing lateral deviations of the right hand. The study showed that these operators have a repetitive task associated with unfavourable constrained postures. Recommendations for the ergonomic improvement of the workplace design are given.