If you think that you are immune to workplace injuries because you sit in front of a computer, think again. A group of researchers at the School of Public Health at Texas A&M University have found that a poorly designed software package can produce hand and wrist problems. Luckily they have done something to cure you of these ailments.

The researchers created a tool to determine how much stress computer programs put on their users. The team expects that their self-report ergonomic assessment tool (SEAT) could be used by software developers to design more user-friendly, safer software.

"You can fix a bad design on a drawing board," Paul Ritchey, a doctoral candidate at the School of Public Health and co-author, explained, "with SEAT, you can fix software before it goes out, and there's no need to buy special equipment."

Discovering ergonomic faults in software is ordinarily very expensive and time consuming, even requiring outside experts. To use SEAT, however, requires neither experts nor special training. Instead, SEAT relies on software users self-reporting strain or pain when using a particular software.

"SEAT can look at two concepts of ergonomic risk: stressors, like bad posture, and strain, pain or discomfort that comes from the stressor," Ritchey said. "The idea is for SEAT to be used as a barometer for ergonomic risks through software design cycles."

Existing ergonomic programs focus on the devices and setup of the computer systems, not on how the user interacts with the software. In a 2006 study by Dennerlein and Johnson, it was found that for the tasks of graphing and web browsing, the level of risks associated with non-natural posture were very similar. However, the two tasks differ in the way the mouse is used. It was found that the risk of muscle damage associated with these two activities was completely different. This conclusion suggests that it is not the device itself (the mouse, in this case) or the user’s posture that produces ergonomic risk, but the way the device is used. The software interaction method (clicking or dragging) places a different risks on the user.

An example of a geoscientist's desk setup for interpreting images of seismic data. The icon menu toward the far left side of the left screen is one that is used frequently. (Source: Texas A&M University)

SEAT development started when Andrew Muddimer, and ergonomist at Schlumberger, an oilfield services company, wondered if software used by the oil and gas industry was to blame for the number of debilitating hand or wrist injuries among geoscientists.

"Geoscientists are an interesting workforce — they are the highly trained 'rainmakers' of the oil and gas industry," Ritchey said. "The more you work, the more you are at risk. Injured geoscientists results in a lot of pain and time off."

The software used by these scientists requires lots of clicking and dragging of the mouse. Muddimer thought that the injuries were a direct result of poor software design, and shared his view with Dr. Camille Peres an assistant professor at the School of Public Health and the main developer of SEAT, who recruited geoscientitsts to start the development.

"The overarching goal of the development of the SEAT was to find an effective method for integrating the science and practice of ergonomics into the development lifecycle of software. Therefore, it had to provide accurate information that was available very quickly," Peres said. "We initially leveraged items from existing ergonomic measures and adjusted them so they would be appropriate for self-report and the office environment."

"We hope this tool will make geoscientists and other people who spend hours at their computers better able to do their jobs safely," added Ranjana Mehta, PhD, assistant professor at the School of Public Health and co-author of the research. "Better designed software will not only prevent injuries that result in lost productivity but also avoid a great deal of discomfort and pain."