UpDown Desk is not your normal provider of standing desks. In fact, we don't really consider ourselves to be a retail store at all. Our background is in occupational health and safety. As such, the focus of our business is to ensure that all of our customers, both corporate and individual, have safe and comfortable workstations. Selling standing desks just helps us to achieve our business vision.
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Getting a standing desk goes part of the way in achieving an ergonomic workstation, as it at least provides you with the option to switch between sitting and standing, thereby helping to eliminate prolonged sitting. The next step is to get an ergonomic assessment of your workstation to ensure that everything is ergonomically friendly, and set up according to your individual requirements.
Our team of OHS professionals specialise in office and workplace ergonomics. Whilst UpDown Desk is based in Melbourne, we have ergonomic specialists performing ergonomic assessments in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide.
What is an Ergonomic Assessment?
An ergonomic assessment is focused around ensuring that your workstation is safe and comfortable for you, and that all of the furniture and equipment has been set up to suit your individual requirements.
Ergonomic assessments should involve three stages:
1) The assessor will have a discussion with you to find out important information, such as current or past injuries, areas of symptoms, and sitting tolerances. Providing the assessor is a qualified and experienced health professional who specialises in injury management (i.e. an Occupational Physiotherapist), they will use this information to make appropriate changes to your workstation.
2) The assessor will make appropriate changes to your workstation to improve the safety and comfort for you. Whilst there are general principles that apply when setting up a workstation, there is no one-size-fits-all that works for injured employees, or employees in pain. This is because their specific injuries need to be taken into consideration. Attempting to use a generic checklist to set up a workstation is often fine in preventative instances, where they individual does not have an injury. However, if the individual has an injury and/or is in pain, a generic checklist is likely to make their symptoms worse, leaving the employer liable to prosecution under the OHS legislation.
3) The final stage of an ergonomic assessment is a report, which outlines the changes that have been made, why they have been made, and also provides recommendations for further improvement, such as new furniture or equipment. The report component of an ergonomic assessment provides the employer with guidance on to manage the employee moving forwards, as well as providing legal protection.
Who should get an Ergonomic Assessment?
There are two forms of ergonomic assessments - proactive and reactive.
Proactive ergonomic assessments are suitable for everyone, and are performed as an injury prevention tool, or an employee wellbeing tool. The focus is to improve comfort and productivity, and help prevent any injuries from developing.
Reactive ergonomic assessments are for those who have an injury, or are complaining of pain at their workstation, or have a medical certificate requesting an ergonomic assessment. Such assessments are more in-depth than proactive ergonomic assessments and require more time with the individual.
Who performs Ergonomic Assessments?
There are many providers of ergonomic assessments out there. However, there is one rule that you should consider when choosing your provider:
Ergonomic assessments are aimed at improving comfort and safety, thereby eliminating the risk of injuries. If the overarching purpose is eliminating injuries, then the person performing the assessment must have an understanding of the causes of injuries, how to management injuries, and the pathology involved. If they do not have this knowledge, then how can they effectively prevent an injury from occurring? This is why all of our assessors are qualified and experienced physiotherapists, recognised experts in injury management.
How to book an Ergonomic Assessment in Melbourne
Our HQ is located in Melbourne. However, as well as performing ergonomic assessments in Melbourne, we have consultants located in Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide and perform ergonomic assessments in these cities and the surrounding areas.
To make a booking, please complete the form located on our
Ergonomic Assessment page
here. If you would like to learn more about ergonomic assessments and get further information on the services that we provide, please visit our partner business,
The Ergonomic Physio.
Anti-Fatigue Standing Mat ONLY $99
