BOTHELL – People who stare at monitors and type on keyboards every day too often adjust themselves to their computers rather than bending the technology to make themselves comfortable.
The result can be work-related injuries or reduced productivity.
| Work-related musculoskeletal disorders, from injured muscles to pinched nerves, account for more than 40 percent of all state injury claims among Washington’s office workers. Of that class, 33 percent of injuries were attributed to computer use and another 35 percent to general office work, according to data from the state Department of Labor and Industries.
For more ergonomics information, visit: * The agency’s Web site: www.lni.wa.gov/safety/ topics/ergonomics * Bothell’s Kinesis Corp.: www.kinesis-ergo.com * Design 4 Work in Everett: www.design4work.com |
Jason Griffith, a certified professional ergonomist from Everett, said he sees two problems cropping up repeatedly in the average office.
“Chairs not being able to fit the person … and people who are using the keyboard and mouse nearly all day and are not positioned correctly,” Griffith said.
Kinesis Corp. of Bothell, however, specializes in making and selling keyboards, chairs, foot switches and other computer equipment that eases technology’s toll on the body.
“Our market is those who work intensively and want more comfort or productivity or both,” said Will Hargreaves, Kinesis’ founder and president.
Still, some workers wait until they are facing the possibility of carpal-tunnel surgery in their wrists before considering ergonomically designed keyboards, he said.
“Some people are intimidated by the idea they have to relearn how to type,” Hargreaves said as he examined Kinesis’ Evolution keyboard, a two-piece keyboard with rolling curves of plastic. “But we know if people are willing to try it, they can learn it in a couple of hours or days.”
Kinesis, which employs 11 people, also offers keyboards that are less radically altered and can be adjusted back into a traditional keyboard shape for other users.
Hargreaves, who has a doctorate in cell biology and a medical research background, founded Kinesis in 1991 and designed and sold his first keyboard after seeing a similar one made in England.
The privately held company grew from there – until 1994.
That was the year Microsoft Corp. introduced its own ergonomic keyboard. While Hargreaves and Biggs have their own opinion on that keyboard’s effectiveness at addressing ergonomic problems, the attractively priced product hit Kinesis hard.
Business dropped by half at first, Hargreaves said. Since then, by widening its product line and developing a reputation for quality, Kinesis has seen sales build again each year.
New technology also has helped the company make keyboards and other products more human-friendly.
For example, Kinesis’ wavy keyboards required the development of a rigid circuit board that could conform to concave curves. An outside contractor still makes those special circuit boards by hand for the company, Hargreaves said.
Also important to the evolution of the products was the spread of USB – Universal Serial Bus – technology, which allows for the easy connection of peripherals, such as special mouses and foot pedals, Hargreaves said.
“USB technology has made a lot of things possible. I guess the next step will be Bluetooth, which will eliminate most of the wires,” he said.
The short-range wireless technology called Bluetooth is still being improved as it catches on. Just last year, Microsoft began testing it for use with Windows-based computers.
In the meantime, as more people work away from their desks, Kinesis is trying to make ergonomic products that can follow.
“Last year, laptop sales surpassed desktop sales for the first time ever, so obviously we’re seeing increased demand for mobility devices,” said Jon Biggs, Kinesis’ director of sales and marketing.
The company offers several laptop stand models, as well as lap desks and minisized mouse devices and keyboards.
Biggs said the computer stands, which put the screen and keyboard at a more comfortable height and angle, have been successful after the company field tested them with social workers in Seattle. Other products are under development.
“Right now, we’re pushing the envelope with this, because it’s all very new,” he said. “So we’re doing a lot of product testing.”
The company also recently redesigned its line of foot pedals that can be programmed for a range of tasks, from controlling an industrial assembly machine to simply clicking a mouse.
“The majority of problems we see with the mouse aren’t from moving it, but from clicking, because that requires a grip or a pinch motion,” Biggs said.
Using foot pedals can eliminate the need for clicking with a finger, and it’s easy for most people to master.
“It’s very intuitive,” Biggs said, adding that fewer than 5 percent of those who purchase pedals return them.
The pedals and other specialized input devices also can help disabled computer users, Hargreaves added.
About half of what Kinesis sells is made or assembled at its Bothell headquarters. Other items are custom manufactured for the company, and Kinesis also distributes products made by others.
They are sold via distributors across the country, though the company also is experimenting with new ways to sell its products. It’s trying out sales on Amazon.com and recently enhanced the online catalog on its own Web site.
Frequent customers, besides large companies, include individual computer programmers, medical transcriptionists and data entry specialists, Biggs said.
While few other companies offer as wide a range of products, Biggs said the company’s competition includes products that are ergonomically designed in name only, what he calls “voodoo ergonomics.”
Griffith, who has done field testing for Kinesis through his local firm, Design 4 Work, uses one of the company’s keyboards, as well as an ergonomic computer tray. Since becoming a big issue more than a decade ago, he said office ergonomic issues aren’t going away.
“With the advent especially of the Windows operating system and the use of computer mice, it’s become that much more important,” he said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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