Repetitive Strain Injury-The Modern Achilles Heel of Commerce.
by NEAL ETCHELLS
The modern typewriter keyboard specification retains the "qwerty" keyboard layout because most typists were trained by teachers using manual typewriters or gained their early typing skills using a manual typewriter. It is therefore in the English speaking world the most commonly used keyboard layout Over the last ten years computers or dedicated word processors have been generally accepted as the normal keyboard data entry machine. So many functions are now carried out by stroking a computer keyboard it is hard to remember why we retained this traditional " qwerty" type keyboard layout. The reason the inventors laid out the mechanics in this way was to allow the old fashioned typewriters to operate without manual strike arm conflicts, when typing the most used letters of the alphabet creating the words in common or every day use. By arranging the keys in this way speed and accuracy could become a standard feature of every well constructed typing machine. This led to exceptional improvements in typists productivity and copy typists regularly achieved 90 WPM with the only constraint being the broken ink ribbon or running out of paper. For many years the winding on of paper and the changing of carbons where the only impediment to supersonic typing speeds. The "qwerty" layout managed to be retained as the universal layout employed by designers throughout this long development phase despite the fact that the keys could be arranged in any fashion after manual machines where phased out. However with the introduction of word processors and computers mechanical impediments to the speed and production of neatly typed work have ceased to exist. The net result of this situation is that we have typists using a ninety years old keyboard layout typing quicker than ever before without the natural work breaks imposed by changing paper, ribbons or the customary visit to the stationary cupboard. Fatigue and repetitive muscle strains are therefore becoming prevalent in the formerly benign work place " the office". This situation has been exposed by the requirement and duty of safety officers or company directors to enter into risk assessment procedures to identify risk and ill health in the work place. The hidden risk of injury to fingers, wrists, associated bone joints and tendons used whilst typing is a modern phenomena brought about by the tremendous improvements in speed and application of computing in the workplace. The quantum improvement that word processing software has delivered is allowing the ordinary typist to work longer and produce more typed documentation than ever before. This has in turn lowered the perceived status of typists and destroyed the secure nature of an office job. The net result of these improvements in productivity have led to a scramble to retain secure jobs and sometimes the necessity to keep quiet or cover up injuries sustained whilst typing. The Health and Safety Magazines are full of sad and notable cases of typists having to work to generate income whilst suffering immense pain. The need to be a compliant employee has sometimes transcended the actual rights of office workers and in some cases totally unknown to the board of directors and primary duty holders.
With the passage of time and the introduction of laid down criteria for risk and ergonomic assessment, the average office operative is becoming aware of their rights and the extent of duties all employers hold to minimise risk and ill health in the workplace (office). This has brought muscular skeletal problems and R.S.I to the forefront of priorities as the employer must have carried out a risk assessment if a claim for an industrial injury associated with typing is to be rebutted and not sustained by a clever or diligent lawyer. It may be not commonly known by small and medium sized enterprises that their duty has a legal imperative and the requirement to risk and ergonomically assess typing work stations is very important. The conditions and methods are clearly laid down in The Approved Codes of Practices governing office and commercial operations. We have all at one time worked at desks or benches not specifically designed for continued use, but the imposition of less than ideal ergonomics on a secretary or typist in a situation demanding keyboard inputting for sometimes up- to eight hours a day is downright dangerous. The situation now arising demands careful balancing of the productivity gains made with using computers for typing and the prerequisite to have properly assessed keyboards, workstations and agreed work-breaks. If employers do not quickly realise the need for positive awareness of work related R.S.I injuries they may face claims for compensation that have amounted to £80,000.00 in some extreme cases.
There are keyboards available in the marketplace that can alleviate and lesson the risk of typing and data input strain, the best keyboard in many of the simulated test situations has been the Maltron keyboard. This keyboard was invented to rehabilitate R.S.I sufferers and is proven and used by many typists to lessen the risk of contracting tendon strain. The ergonomic design of this board and its many imitators allow keystrokes to be achieved without the excessive bending and flexing of the hands, wrists and arms when typing constantly in a production situation. By allowing the wrists to rest between input decisions and momentary rest times the patented pattern of the keyboard can be measurably beneficial.
All types of enterprise are now under the magnifying glass regarding work place injury and risks associated with commercial operations, and the N.H.S are not able or have the resource to cure certain forms of industrial injury. Therefore the pressure will be imposed by insurance companies and they will ultimately motivate reluctant employers to accurately assess the work stations in offices, because if no action is taken to reduce risks to workers, larger claims will be sustained in the courts. There is a growing body of case law to support legitimate claims by typists suffering the results of R.S.I, and it would be an unwise employer who does not appoint a specialist or train a person in-house who can diagnose and solve problems associated with repetitive keying tasks. Work stations and typing operations have developed enormously over the last hundred years, the need for concurrent improvement in the work place will be imposed by government if commercial undertakings vacillate about risk assessment and fully implementing the results of qualitative assessment and the subsequent prognosis. Prevention has always been better than cure, so by employing Maltron type keyboards and changing patterns of work the secretary of the next century could be as healthy, happy and as productive as their predecessors.
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