[Publib] Suggestions on Book Bins for Better Ergonomics?

[Paul Ericsson]

Hi Anne --

In a prior job, we had major, major issues with 
ergonomics at the circ desk.  The issues you 
describe were one of a string of challenges that 
we faced.  At that library it was a very 
difficult, multi-faceted problem and over the 4 
years I was there, I would honestly say it felt 
like we took one step forwards, one and a quarter 
steps backwards, then two steps forward and one 
step step backwards, and on & on.  Stated another 
way - we did alot of trial and error, and did not 
find easy solutions.  We also found that one 
solution then caused another set of problems.  It 
always seemed hard to know if we had net-gains as 
we experimented with solutions and assessed new problems.

We brought in ergonomic consultants and physical 
therapists and all kinds of outside 
resources.  There is no doubt that all this did 
help with making the overall problems less, but 
we never found a perfect solution.  And a good 
portion of that was because, we as people (staff) 
all have different heights, body shapes, leg & 
arm lengths, predisposition and/or history of 
physical injury not related to work, and  bazzillion other variables.

So, all of those are general comments, and a way 
of saying "Be patient, be persistent, and don't give up"

In terms of the specific problem with bookdrops 
and bookbins, and the related questions of the 
height of the bin, seating vs. standing when 
checking in materials, chairs vs. stools, swivel 
vs. fixed seat - my experience tells me that 
again, you will not find a "one size fits all" 
answer.  One clear pattern we found was that the 
more people relied on seating as a way to 
minimize fatigue to legs, feet, and back/bending 
problems,  the more they had knee problems from 
all the up&down from the chair to go to other 
areas of the desk and to put books on 
booktrucks.  Stated another way - there are 
tradeoffs and it really can depend upon the 
individual person as to what is the best solution for them.

We did several workshops for staff training, used 
coaching techniques, and repeated this as often 
as possible -- to reinforce with staff that they 
needed to make smart decisions and develop healthy habits:
- Change the task you are doing to avoid 
repetitive tasks.  The workflow at that library 
was to always have at least two people at 
circ.  So we had staff switch between the checkin 
bookdrop station and the checkout/registration 
station.  Unfortunately some staff did not "like" 
to do the work at one station or the other and resisted this solution.
- Always bend from the knees and not from the 
back.  This is standard advice for people with 
lower back problems but hard for people with knee problems to do.

We also experienced the problem you had with 
spring-loaded bookdrops not springing back up 
into place.  We never did get that solved.

Booktrucks with larger wheels roll easier than 
booktrucks with small wheels,  and NEVER fill a 
booktruck to capacity. Have available many 
smaller booktrucks rather than using large ones.

I hope that some of these observations 
help.  There is no doubt in my mind that 
management needs to take seriously and to try as 
best as it can to resolve these ergonomic issues 
in the workplace.  But some of it also is up to 
staff to make healthy choices, follow known 
medical advice, and take responsibility for what 
they do outside of the workplace that ultimately 
affects their ability to do the work.

Best wishes with it.

Paul




At 12:09 PM 2/1/2008, Lefkofsky, Anne, DCA wrote:
>Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
>Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
>         boundary="----_=_NextPart_001_01C864FD.A43036DD"
>
>Greetings from the NM State Library – we are avid followers of PUBLIB!
>
>I’d like to ask for your wisdom on a circulation 
>workflow question from one of our public 
>libraries.  This site has one of the highest 
>circ and gate counts in the state.
>
>The library is in a newer building. It’s 
>circulation desk is an “island” located near the 
>site’s entrance, and away from the 
>workroom.  Unlike a number of companion 
>libraries in the area (which link the inside 
>book drop to the circ workroom via rollers for 
>discharging), in this library book drop returns 
>go into bins at the service island.  The 
>depressible bins have cloth liners, and are 30” tall.
>
>The manager reports that staff stand up when 
>checking in books, and do this at any available 
>computer at the service desks or in the back 
>work area.  She notes further that staff “must 
>bend over and pick up books, then twist forward 
>to check them in”.   The spring loaded feature 
>in the bins “doesn’t bring the books up very 
>high
 about 22 inches off the ground
 I think 
>the tension on the liners loosens over 
>time”.  The key concern emerging in this work 
>flow is the potential for back injuries.
>
>The manager is thinking that they have the wrong 
>height and style of bin for the ergonomics 
>involved in their circ workflow.  The current 
>bins seem to be designed for sit down 
>work.  She’d like any advice you all would be willing to share on:
>
>    * Whether or not bins that are 39” tall with 
> a floating tray or platform would be better 
> than the cloth liner bins.  She’s curious to 
> know if the spring load in the platform or tray 
> models hold their tension better over the years.
>    * Also – Has someone developed a good way to 
> move lots of material (in a similar set up) 
> with minimal physical impact to staff (esp. to their backs).
>
>Many thanks for your consideration – and any solutions you could suggest!
>
>Anne
>
>
>Anne E. Lefkofsky
>Development Services Bureau Director
>New Mexico State Library
>Garrey Carruthers Building
>1209 Camino Carlos Rey
>Santa Fe, NM 87507
>Ph: 505.476.9720 / Fax: 505.476.9721
><mailto:anne.lefkofsky at state.nm.us>anne.lefkofsky at state.nm.us
>
>
>
>
>Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail, including 
>all attachments is for the sole use of the 
>intended recipient(s) and may contain 
>confidential and privileged information. Any 
>unauthorized review, use, disclosure or 
>distribution is prohibited unless specifically 
>provided under the New Mexico Inspection of 
>Public Records Act. If you are not the intended 
>recipient, please contact the sender and destroy 
>all copies of this message. -- This email has 
>been scanned by the Sybari - Antigen Email System.
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Publib mailing list
>Publib at webjunction.org
>http://lists.webjunction.org/mailman/listinfo/publib
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/publib/attachments/20080201/62565006/attachment.htm