Most building managers frequently make the mistake of purchasing ready-made workstations to furnish their laboratory.
While generic lab tables, office chair/s, and workstations are typically marketed as the most cost-effective choice due to their one-size-fits-all nature and ready-made lab furniture rarely fit ergonomically or adequately.
A quality laboratory should be built with an intentional and efficient layout and office equipment that include laboratory furniture that fosters a productive and healthy work environment.
As such, custom laboratory workspaces should be designed with a variety of basic needs in mind while also meeting the functional requirements of the laboratory and its workers.
6 Things to Look for in Ergonomic Laboratory Workstations
Once you’ve decided that your laboratory needs ergonomic workstations, you may be wondering what components you should be looking for next. You need choices that can be customized to meet the needs of your laboratory, but what are the general features that your workplace should have?
Here are some of the features you should look for when selecting your ergonomic workspaces.
-
Adaptability
The work being performed in laboratories is continuously changing and evolving, including new research, new experiments, or new environments.
Quality lab design should be versatile and ergonomics, this level of consistency should also apply to the laboratory furniture.
Workspaces and other lab furniture should be able to move and adjust to sitting and standing quickly and easily, to accommodate many research environments.
-
Storage
All workspaces should be outfitted with sufficient storage. Although some facilities may have less extensive storage needs than others, it is still essential to look for options that may allow your workspace storage to expand if necessary in the future.
Having adequate storage space to store tools, supplies, and personal items without creating cluttered work surfaces is one of the most critical elements for any laboratory to ensure optimum efficiency, concentration, precision, and safety.
-
Durability
One of the primary reasons why consumers prefer ready-made lab furniture is because of the price. Unfortunately, low prices don’t always mean good quality or durability.
Poor quality and easily damaged parts are common characteristics of ready-made lab furniture, something to avoid at all costs if you want your workspace to last.
-
Posture
Bad posture can cause pain and stress in the back, shoulders, and neck of any lab technician. It may also cause injuries and muscle problems.
Over time, bad posture can have a significant effect on the productivity of employees due to stress in muscles and joints.
By maintaining good posture, workers can avoid any injury and unnecessary stress. So it’s critical to ensure that your workspaces promote good posture with each of your employees.
-
Monitor Placement
For most laboratory work environments, viewing a computer or monitor and using a keyboard and mouse is part of the daily routine.
However, working on a monitor for several hours at a time can cause back and neck strain. Before purchasing computer workstations, look for workspaces that promote comfortable monitor placement that is also easy to move the monitor out of the way when not in use.
-
Space
Free movement or position, including sitting and standing within workspaces, are essential to both comfort and freedom of movement for every employee.
Not only do lab technicians have several pieces of equipment and paperwork out at one time, but they still need to be able to use the ergonomic workstation without feeling constricted.
With a sufficient amount of space, lab employees can spread their work out more comfortably and use their workspace efficiently.
Benefits of Ergonomic Laboratory Workstations
Ideally, ergonomic laboratory workspaces have several advantages compared to traditional workspaces.
Let’s take a look at some of the fantastic benefits that ergonomic workspaces provide.
-
Flexible Work Environment
Adjustable workspaces give employees the versatility they need while also providing the freedom to make all kinds of adjustments to the computer workstation.
From being able to raise the height or change the location or layout, your workspace should give you the freedom to make modifications. You should make your computer workstation work the way your employees need it to.
-
Employee Productivity
When properly applied, ergonomic laboratory workspaces increase employee efficiency across the board.
Workstation ergonomics incorporates various concepts such as good posture to make workspaces feel more comfortable, thus contributing to improved productivity.
Designing a lab environment that promotes good posture and more comfortable movements, is beneficial to your employees.
Not only does ergonomics lead to healthier and more pain-free for them, but having an ergonomic workstation makes your employees’ work more effective.
-
Quality of Work
Bad ergonomics can result in more stress and exhaustion to your staff. In return, they won’t be able to perform at their best.
Pain, aches, discomfort, exhaustion, and other issues can take a toll on any lab employee. When a job or activity is too physically demanding for an employee or workspace use, they will not perform their job or work as they have been trained to do.
Ergonomics should not only solve these problems and motivate staff to work but will also allow them to concentrate more easily on their work.
-
Encourages Good Health and Safety
Overall, ergonomics creates a healthy working environment by eliminating health risks and improving employee and user safety.
By providing your workers with a consistent and stable work environment, you can create a healthy workplace where all of your workers can excel in their work while keeping their bodies safe and healthy at all times.
6 Things to Consider Before Planning Your Ergonomic Laboratory Workstations
Before starting the process of picking out your ergonomic laboratory workspaces, there are a few things that you should be considering before reaching a final decision.
When you begin choosing your ergonomic laboratory workspaces, be sure to remember some of the tips and things listed below.
-
Available Space
It might seem obvious, but a surprising number of building managers find themselves with too much lab furniture and not enough area because they have not taken stock of the space available inside the laboratory.
Any error can create an unfortunate miscalculation of space that can lead to several problems. So it is essential to account for how much space your lab has before purchasing any lab furniture. This can save you a lot of time and frustration.
-
Nature of Work to Be Performed
Before you can make the right choice of furniture for your lab, you will need to know what kind of work will be performed on the surfaces of your workspace.
Laboratories use several chemicals, solvents, and harsh cleaners in their work, so it is critical to know which can react negatively with specific surface materials to make the right choice for your lab.
Choosing suitable ergonomic workstation materials will help you better understand what features you need to incorporate in your lab furniture and avoid unintended harm. This also helps to ensure that your lab furniture lasts longer.
-
Items Needing Storage
As previously mentioned, laboratory workstations should be outfitted with all the equipment and resources required for users to carry out their daily duties and role.
Additionally, each computer workstation should also provide enough storage to safely store and arrange all the necessary tools and personal objects. This lets your users keep the surface of each ergonomic workstation clean and organized.
Before making a final decision, understand the full spectrum of your storage needs so that you make the best choice for your lab.
-
HVAC
Much like plumbing, some labs may need their workspace to be connected to the air and ventilation system of the facility to take advantage of the environment.
Whether researchers need filtration devices to eliminate fumes from the testing area or filter air to create filtered air recirculated, this is another critical item to consider.
Determining what pieces of equipment or add-on accessories that your ergonomic workstation should include, saves you a lot of time later down the road, and will help you arrange the ergonomic workstation correctly so that it can be successfully connected to your existing HVAC system.
-
Outlets & Electrical Cord Management
Most workspaces have some kind of electrical requirements. Whether to power a computer, scientific equipment, or to charge personal devices.
During the planning process of your laboratory design, it is essential to consider if your computer workstation will need additional outlets or plugs to be included.
Additionally, it’s also worth considering cord management equipment to help keep workspaces organized and clutter-free.
-
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is often ignored in laboratory and research environments, but it is another critical factor to consider during the decision process.
While aesthetics may not be the first thing you consider during the process, it should be discussed.
Having a workspace with aesthetic value will not only help keep staff focused on their work but can also help make guests feel more comfortable. It also boosts the overall mood and energy of the lab facility.
Why Choose LabTech Supply
When it comes to custom lab furniture, it would be hard for you to find a business that is more professional and experienced than LabTech Supply.
Our custom-built lab furniture is made to the exact specifications and requirements of our customers, using only the highest quality materials and the most reliable techniques to ensure complete satisfaction.
LabTech Supply Co believes in making the experience of finding custom lab furniture for your laboratory incredibly simple and hassle-free. Here are a few more great reasons to work with us:
Manufactured in the U.S.
At LabTech Supply Co, we keep every part of the design process here in the U.S. to ensure all of our workstations and lab furniture are made of only the highest quality and most durable materials. Ensuring that we comply with all industry standards and requirements.
Professional Design and Installation
We simply don’t believe in cutting corners. That means that our customers never have to worry about being handed over to a third-party company at any point during the process. From start to finish, we make sure that our lab furniture works the way it should in your laboratory.
Does Your Laboratory Need a Custom Lab Workstation?
With over 30 years of sales and design experience in the custom lab furniture industry, we remain committed to maintaining the highest industry standards to drive our company forward.
If you’re looking for custom lab furniture that will improve the work environment of your laboratory, reach out to LabTech Supply Company at (855) 611-6232.
