Ergonomic Review of Seating
For some time, the Union has been raising concerns regarding the non-provision of proper ergonomically designed workstation seating in Mail Centres for members sorting at Impact/Box Frame Fittings. Dave Joyce, National Health, Safety and Environment Officer.
Royal Mail's position originally was that they would not adopt a national policy of either providing seating or funding the repair and maintenance of seating that had been provided locally in many offices on an ad-hoc basis.
Subsequently, the Health & Safety enforcing authorities became involved when concerns were pressed both Nationally and locally via Area Health & Safety Representatives. As a result, an Improvement Notice was served under Regulation 11 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 at Romford Mail Centre on 4th October 2001. The notice alleged that the Business had failed to provide suitable seating for all staff who work at the Impact Fittings for a substantial part of their time. The notice stated that the Business shall supply all staff working at the sorting frames with suitable and sufficient seating.
At Romford, the EHO, with the support of the HSE served the notice on the grounds that:-
- Staff told him that they sorted for 8 hours/day.
- He took photographs to show people sitting and sorting, indicating that the work can be done seated.
A further Improvement Notice was also served at Gateshead Mail Centre, on 27th December 2001. This alleged a breach of Regulation 6 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1992. This regulation states that every employer shall ensure that work equipment is maintained in efficient working order and in good repair.
As a result, the Business decided to comply with the conditions of the Improvement Notices by providing and maintaining seating for Romford and Gateshead rather than challenging the notices.
After discussions between Dave Joyce on behalf of CWU HQ and Adrian Warren Royal Mail National Safety Manager, Royal Mail commissioned an ergonomics evaluation of seating at these sorting frames with the following aims:-
- Phase 1. To establish relevant findings and conclusions from previous research and records
- Phase 2. To carry out an ergonomic study of manual sorting activities for C4 letters in current Mail Centre operations in order to quantify the risks associated with sorting from the seated and standing positions.
- Phase 3. Recommend the most suitable seating and seating protocols for the Impact Fittings for different sorting types.
An extensive survey of Mail Centres was undertaken and evaluations of Seating and prototype footrests were carried out at a number of Mail Centres.
The main findings were:- Many offices have some kind of seats provided and staff are able to choose whether they stand or sit to sort. Many of the staff sort letters for their whole shift, including overtime. The study showed that almost all of the staff prefer to sit for the majority of the time when sorting at Impact Fittings, and the staff found that sorting seated was comfortable and appropriate. Most of the staff used letter trays as footrests. Staff generally collected their own mail from trays in a York container and this practice gave a welcome change in posture. Royal Mail's risk assessment of the postures during sorting from both the seated and standing position showed that the risk of the development of upper limb disorders from sorting was comparable for both sitting and standing. Sorting to the lower boxes when standing caused poor neck postures for taller staff and a static muscle load from reading addresses and holding a bundle of mail, whilst reaching to the top boxes when seated caused poor shoulder postures for smaller members of staff. Royal Mail Legal Services and Employee Health Service records show that although letter sorting is a common task in Royal Mail, very few health problems have been recorded, or would be expected, as a result. In 1995, risk assessments for repetitive tasks were carried out and letter sorting was assessed as a low risk task, as were most Mail Centre activities.
On completion of the evaluation study, the recommendations were that the:-
- Appropriate high seating should be provided for all Impact Fittings.
- A standard draughtsman style upholstered chair with height (minimum adjustment range 660- 760mm) and backrest adjustment and glides or feet rather than castors would be suitable.
- The seat fabric should be highly durable to protect against wear when getting on and off the seat.
- As with all contract seating, it would be advisable to carry out trials of proposed seating before letting a contract.
- Appropriate footrests are necessary at all Impact Fittings and so an operational specification should be developed.
- Local fault reporting processes should be enforced and damaged chairs taken out of service. A maintenance contract should be put in place to ensure that the chairs are kept in a serviceable condition.
- All heavy selections should be directed to rows 2 - 5 of the frame (counting from the bottom up)
- Rotation of staff between different mail centre tasks during the shift should be encouraged to reduce the risk of the development of musculo-skeletal disorders. Continuing the practice of sorting staff collecting their own mail from a York container also helps to vary the activity
Dave Joyce has held further discussions with The Royal Mail National Equipment Manager David Gibson who is currently establishing:-
- The number of Impact Fitting in all Mail Centres.
- The number of chairs required.
- The number of existing chairs not meeting the agreed standard.
- The number of Chairs meeting the standard which require repairs and maintenance.
The current estimate is that 1600 chairs will be required at an estimated cost of £70 per chair, totalling £1 to £1.5 million.
Further development, design and trials are being carried out in order to provide a suitable footrest to accompany the chairs with the aim of completing the provision of these items at the same time or shortly after the roll out of the chairs.
Dave Joyce is also involved in further discussions regarding the provision of seating at Letter Sorting Frames and Packet Stamping Tables as well as the provision of sufficient space at the workstations for the tasks to be carried out safely. Royal Mail has agreed to look further at these issues.
Click here to download a copy of the report: "Ergonomic Review of Seating at Impact Sorting Fittings" for your information.
To contact the department: healthandsafety@cwu.org
