It may sound really banal, but workplaces are there for people. The objective of our advice and workplace configuration is to give you the best support at your work. What counts is: just as everyone is different, the workplace also has to be individually adaptable to the needs of its user.
WINI products not only comply with the currently valid standards, but go far beyond them. With over 50,000 electromotive stand-sit tables from the WINEA PRO, WINEA ECO and WINEA ACTIVE ranges delivered to customers, we now count ourselves as one of the ergonomics experts on the German office furniture market.
For us, the ergonomic quality of workplaces defines itself for us predominantly in the perfect interaction of space, furniture, light and acoustics. Adapted to the physical and mental state of the user and the requirements of the respective job task. At this point, the health of the user takes centre stage.
When backache becomes a real headache
Working at the office, travelling by car, eating or watching TV in the evening: people spend up to 15 hours a day seated – which is equal to more than 65 % of their lifetime. Lack of exercise, particularly at work, is the most common cause today for illnesses related to the muscles and joints. About 80 % of the population suffer from acute back pain at least once in the course of their lifetime. Of these, up to 35 % develop into long-term illness. The source of all evil is mostly the workplace itself: according to a study carried out by the University of Applied Sciences of Gießen-Friedberg for the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS, 2007/2008), about three out of four workplaces show defects, especially in small and medium-sized companies. According to estimates made by the German Office Furniture Forum (2008), about 3.6 million display device workstations – i.e. approx. 20 % of all display device workstations – still do not comply with the minimum legal requirements.
A widespread condition with consequences for the national economy
According to information from the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA, 2012) and the Federal Office of Statistics, illnesses related to muscles and the skeletal system cause about 99.7 million days of absence from work every year, with costs of approx. 30 billion euros for continued payment of wages and expenses for health insurance. But the damage to companies must be calculated as even more severe, since permanently wrong posture at the desk means the staff hardly enjoy their work anymore, leading to a loss in performance of up to 36 %* for those involved.
Minimum ergonomic requirements
The most important pre-requisite for relaxed posture at the workplace is the correct, individual height setting of office chair and desk. In the process, the desk must possess sufficient space for legs and feet, which means that legs and feet may not bump against the table top or constructional parts of the table during normal use. The optimal range of height-setting is laid down nowadays by the European table standard EN 527-1:2011, which demands height-setting of at least 65 to 85 cm.
Dynamism instead of statics
In order to compensate in the best way for the general lack of exercise at the workplace, and to counteract the one-sided strain on the back, specialists in occupational medicine recommend the healthy mix – as a so-called ergonomics formula: a person should sit for a maximum of 50 % of his working day at the office, and stand or move during the remaining time. Thus, ergonomics at the workplace demand dynamic furnishing: furniture which promotes movement and adapts itself perfectly to individual situations and different work processes. The more flexibly the fit out can be tuned to the requirements of its user, the higher its ergonomic value. Stand-sit tables whose height can be defined electrically are suited best to comply with the ergonomics formula required. For optimal posture both while standing and sitting, it must be possible to set the work surface height absolutely individually. A height-adjusting range from 65 to at least 125 cm in this case provides ideal working conditions for almost every size of person (approx. 1.50 to 1.95 m).
Health at the touch of a button
Through simple, electromotive height adjustment by pressing a button, a stand-sit table system brings the necessary dynamism into daily office work.
- Switching regularly from standing to sitting activates the muscular system and also the cardio-vascular system, thus preventing physical complaints. For more health.
- Many tasks – a phone call, perhaps, or a meeting – are dealt with significantly faster while standing, making this a real time-saver. For more effectivity.
- Working while standing up boosts the supply of blood to the brain, increasing the ability to concentrate and staff performance by up to 20 %. For more productivity and cost-effectiveness.
Health reform for companies: lower costs with ‚backing‘
These days, 80 % of expenditure in offices are staff costs – and, in comparison, a mere 1 to 2 % are invested in the office fit out. However, the same applies as before: investing in an ergonomically top-class office fit out is, at the same time, an investment into the production factor ‘person’. With double profit for the companies who invest. For setting up stand-sit workplaces not only boosts office workers’ health, satisfaction, motivation and performance. It saves costs for staff by reducing days of absence for the whole duration of using the furniture, which means it pays off fast. For more productivity.
Table systems from WINI: ergonomics made-to-measure and complying with regulations
Height-adjustable, height-defining or rigid: WINEA PRO and WINEA ECO e.g. are table systems from WINI which implement the levels of the EU standard DIN EN 527-1:2011 exactly. Rigid tables are 74 cm high, and height-definable frames allow working heights from 65 to 85 cm – with tool-based height definition or, as is the case for WINEA PRO, tool-free at the touch of a button. Ergonomically perfect: the WINEA PRO and WINEA ECO’s stand-sit table variant, with quiet electromotive adjustment in the 65 – 125 cm range.
We would be delighted to advise you extensively – for a personalised ergonomics solution in your office!
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