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Performance enhancement

Improve keyboard performance with workstation ergonomics.

We live in a modern world where communication is speeding up. To participate we need to capture and share our thoughts in writing. We need to communicate with customers to build relationships. We need assign work and to motivate teams so our projects are successful.

To communicate more effectively we need to communicate our thoughts in writing and drawing. 

We spend longer and longer hours sitting and typing on a keyboard and discovering the cost to our bodies and health which impacts our performance.

Business benefits that you achieve by paying attention to ergonomic factors include:

  1. Higher productivity. 
  2. Can capture more ideas with less fatigue.
Improve performance with Workstation ergonomics.
OpportunityPerformance improvement descriptionBenefits
Ergonomic Keyboards

Ergonomic Keyboards place the wrists in a more natural position. They provide a wrist rest between typing.

  • Reduce wrist strain.
  • Provide a wrist rest when not typing.
Kneeling chairs

Kneeling chairs encourage an up right posture and take the strain off your back. Others will think you are crazy if you use these chairs in the office but OK when you work at home.
  • Reduce back pain.
  • Increase the time you can work at your keyboard.
  • Reduce space for furniture.
Dvorak keyboards

Keys on Dvorak keyboards were positioned to minimize finger movement. Up to 80% of the 4000 most common words con be typed without moving the fingers from the home row. Only 300 common words can be typed in the home row with the Qwerty keyboard. Because the major vowels and consonants are in the home row, A good typists fingers will move 12 miles per day whereas they move 1 mile per day on a Dvorak keyboard. You can convert to a Dvorack layout using Control Panel -> Regional and Language settings ->  Languages -> Details -> US Dvorak
  • Type the most commonly used words in the home row reducing finger movement 10 times.
  • Learn to type faster
  • Type faster
  • Reduce finger movement
  • Reduce carpal tunnel syndrome
Scroll-wheel mice

Investment in a scroll mouse can improve your navigation amongst your windows
  1. Get a mouse with scroll wheel.
  2. Get a mouse pad with a wrist rest.
  • Reduce mouse movement to scroll the screen.
  • Reduce eye strain incurred when you are using scroll bars to the left of your window.
  • Speed navigation on your windows and web pages.
Buy the biggest LCD monitor you can.

Screen movement strains your eyes. Screen movement requires hand movements that add strain to you hands and arms.

  • Reduce horizontal scrolling
  • Reduce vertical scrolling
  • Reduce risk of back injury when you move a larger CRT screen.
  • LCD screens take less space required.
  • Have more windows open concurrently
  •  
Use keyboard short-cuts rather than the mouse to reduce hand movement.

Selecting menu choices and icons on the screen with the mouse requires wrist movement and eye concentration  that add strain to you eyes, hands and arms.

  1. Switch between applications with Alt-Tab.
  2. Select menu items with Alt-X-Y
  3. Use ctrl-C and ctrl-P to copy and paste.
  4. Use shift (+ctrl) and cursor arrows to select text.
  5. plus many, many more.
  • Reduce wrist strain.
  • Reduce eye strain
  • Reduce reaching for the mouse.
Exercise for stress reduction
  1. Take rest breaks during work.
  2. Aerobic exercise after work to reduce stress hormones.
  3. Build core strength to reduce back pain and injury.
  4. Watch much less television.
  5. Walk before going to bed.
  6. Eat healthy food.
  7. Maintain a healthy metabolism and body weight.
  8. Engage in outdoor exercise such as hiking, swimming, bicycling or skiing.
  9. Walk up stairs instead of taking the elevator.
  • Flush unhealthy stress hormones from our body and replace them with healthy hormones such as endorphins.
  • Reduce back problems by building core strength.
  • Enjoy life more
  • Sleep better at night.
Learn to type Keyboard literacy is a basic capability to communicate.
  • Faster communication. 
  • Better communication with written information.

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Click here List of Recommended books on Project Management, Team Building, Estimating, Software Development methodologies, requirements definition, and Microsoft Project.

  I.S.P.  

 information
systems
planning corp. 		5361 Malaspina Place
North Vancouver
B.C.V7R 4L9

Copyright Feb. 1, 2007 Brian Mullen, I.S.P. information systems planning corp.

About Brian Mullen, M.Sc., president of I.S.P. information systems planning corp.

email Brian Mullen with your questions
Last updated: April 5, 2007