Osmond Ergonomics

This article was originally emailed as issue 155 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 12/10/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

TIME FOR SOME NOSTALGIA

As Osmond Group celebrates 60 years in business on 02.10.22, I have taken a look back at the changing world of ergonomics – a space we’ve inhabited for the past 3 decades.

When I think back to the beginnings of the business, the extent of change over that time is astonishing – not just for the company, but for the wider ergonomics sector and the world of work it serves.

Whilst Osmond Group has been around for 60 years, Osmond Ergonomics was founded 30 years ago, born of a serendipitous encounter with Dr James Robertson, the rheumatologist I went to see about my recurring back injury. [more]

ORGATEC

For the first time since 2018, I shall be attending the international furniture exhibition in Cologne this month. It is much smaller than in pre-Covid times so it will be interesting to see who’s exhibiting, who has decided not to bother and what’s new. In particular, I shall be looking for homeworker furniture that addresses the shortage of space that so many people experience in the UK. Apart from the excitement of my first international exhibition in 4 years, it is also my first trip abroad since before Covid and, as I’m driving, there will also be time for an essential pre-Christmas visit to Boursot’s Wine Collection!

DSE ASSESSOR EVENT

With less than a week to go, we still have a few spaces left at our Clerkenwell event on October 18th so don’t miss this excellent free opportunity. Delegate feedback from our July session rated ‘meeting expectations’ at over 100%! As well as great session content, delegates will each receive a new laptop stand and a new mouse. The post-event follow-up will include a CPD certificate and access to numerous online resources. Please note: it’s in-person only. The nature of the content is not suited to virtual delivery and the use of the whole showroom is crucial to the experience.

JOURNAL OF BIOPHILIC DESIGN

Issue 1 of this new publication is out now. It is available free as a Kindle download or can be purchased as a print-on-demand magazine. The first edition is packed with 140 pages of articles covering acoustics, wellbeing, mindfulness, vertical gardens, landscaped office, biophilic cities and, of course, the link between ergonomics and biophilia (on page 44 to save you searching!). Order/download here.

WORKPLACE TRENDS: EVOLVING WAYS OF WORKING

I shall be missing this month’s WT on October 18th due to the clash with our DSE Assessor Event (referred to above). However, it is worth your attention if you are not a DSE Assessor already committed to our event! I really enjoy the Workplace Trends conferences: they are packed with interesting and thought-provoking content from internationally renowned speakers. Coffee and lunch breaks are also stimulating due to the broad mix of delegates with whom to network. You can attend in person (my recommendation) or virtually. Details here.

DORSET CHAMBER BUSINESS EXHIBITION

Although we have cut right back on exhibition events since before the pandemic, we like to support our local Chamber of Commerce and we shall be participating in this small event on November 10th at AFC Bournemouth’s stadium. Come and chat with my colleague, Neil Hurst, between 9am and noon. Amongst other things, he will be displaying some new input devices that I can’t yet tell you about! Register here (it’s free).

This article was originally emailed as issue 154 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 14/09/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

KNOWLEDGE SHARING CONTINUES APACE

Whilst I have mentioned our plan to make 2022 our Year of Knowledge Sharing several times, it occurred to me that I have never created a single paragraph with all the key references in one location so here is my indulgence of hyperlinks – and it’s all free! After a summer hiatus, our Top Tips video portfolio is growing once again. We regularly add blogs on a range of ergonomics and workplace-related topics. Our free webinars typically last 30-60 minutes and are also recorded for viewing on demand. This eBulletin is published monthly at the same time on the same day and the archive is here. We also share our Product Radar new product updates on an ad hoc basis. I have been interviewed for the Journal of Biophilic Design and 1202 – The Human Factors Podcast. Our version of the Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) tool can be found here. Obviously, we also have our established Posture Guidance, Stretching Exercises and numerous other resources on our website. We are also hosting in-person days. See below for more details of our Clerkenwell Events in October.

DEATH OF HM QUEEN ELIZABETH II

We are saddened by the death of the Queen and offer our condolences to her family, friends and the millions whose lives she touched. Showing due respect for her funeral, the business will be closed on Monday September 19, 2022

BIG SUSTAINABILITY EXPO

We are delighted to be involved, once again, with this event. This year, it is at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on September 22nd from 09:30 to 15:00. I shall be speaking at noon with the topic title ‘Ergonomics, Wellbeing & Sustainability – keeping your people and the planet happy, healthy & productive’. There is a full card of interesting speakers and the exhibitor list covers everything from rum and coffee to cars and corporate uniforms. Let me know if you are attending and want to meet for a coffee

CLERKENWELL EVENTS

Spaces are still available for our two whole-day October events but numbers are limited so please book as soon as possible. Our ‘Unique Hybrid Working Event’, designed for Facilities Managers and Health & Safety Professionals, looks at homeworker wellbeing in the morning and the hybrid office in the afternoon. Our second ‘Unique DSE Assessors Event’ is aimed at those who carry out the assessments and explores face-to-face and virtual assessment issues before lunch, then the links between workplace design and wellbeing in the later sessions. Both are FREE events with CPD certificates and full catering included.

CLERKENWELL OPEN

Clerkenwell Open is a comparatively new occasion in the UK workplace design calendar, created by Women in Office Design (WOD). The recent event included some insightful (and animated!) discussions about the future of workplace design and I attended some stimulating presentations. Expect more blogs to emerge from these ideas in due course! The office furniture industry has had a poor sustainability record in the past and WOD’s Sustainable Design Collective shares ideas and best practice in various collaborative, knowledge sharing events. Some of the themes discussed in Clerkenwell will also be explored further at Orgatec in October.

This article was originally emailed as issue 153 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 10/08/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

UNIQUE HYBRID WORKING EVENT

Following the outstanding success of our recent session for DSE Assessors (see below), we have created a new event for Facilities Managers and Health & Safety professionals on Wednesday October 19th, 2022. Hosted at the fabulous 5-storey Orangebox showroom in Clerkenwell, London, the one-day event will delve into the management of homeworker wellbeing in the morning and then discuss and explore approaches to the Hybrid Office in the afternoon. Breakfast, lunch, refreshments and a goodie bag are included on the day and a CPD certificate will be issued after the event. There is no charge. You can find the agenda, further information and registration form here.

(NOT QUITE SO) UNIQUE DSE ASSESSOR EVENT

As mentioned above, our Unique DSE Assessor Event in July went even better than we expected – and we had high expectations. Afterwards, we asked delegates how well it met their expectations and the average result was over 100%! We are therefore repeating it (with minor adjustments in response to delegate feedback) on Tuesday October 18th, 2022. As before, it’s free and all catering and a CPD certificate are included. Get the whole story here.

MORE TOP TIPS

We have been adding short, simple video clips of less than a minute since the start of the year. There has been a little hiatus in the last few weeks but we are still committed to our Year of Knowledge Sharing and another new one has just been added. There will be many more in the next couple of months once the edits from our recent homeworker shoot are completed. You can now see the whole series on both Vimeo and YouTube so feel free to choose your preferred platform.

MORE KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Our Training Manager, Stuart Entwistle, has been running our Homeworking Done Right webinar series for the second time. At the time of writing, there is only Part 3 left but, if you read this before August 25th, you can sign up for it here. You can watch recordings of the first two webinars in your own time here (you will need to login to gain access). We have also been busy blogging on a variety of topics, including the impact of a poor workstation setup on your fitness goals and maximising team performance.

NO TRAINING FOR HOMEWORKERS

I am concerned at what seems to be a growing trend for employers to provide homeworkers with a lump-sum to spend on whatever they need to work at home. Some organisations are even advertising the fact as if it’s some sort of badge of a good employer. My primary concern (apart from the fact that it’s seldom enough money) is that this ‘gift’ is usually given without any guidance or training. The employee then buys online and their often-unsuitable products come with no advice about good practice. Workplace Insight published my recent article on this topic.

This article was originally emailed as issue 152 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/07/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

UNIQUE DSE ASSESSOR EVENT

We had been looking forward to this and our first event on July 12th went even better than expected. I say ‘first event’ because we are already planning the next – we have a substantial waiting list of people who could not attend this one. We have not yet set the date but it will be after the summer. Watch out for further information here and through social media or email me now to make sure you are one of the first to have access to registration. I suppose we shall have to think of a new name, though – if we have already done it once, it will no longer be ‘unique’!

WORKPLACE TRENDS – NET ZERO CONFERENCE

Much as I love the return of opportunities for face to face events, I felt that virtual attendance was definitely the right thing to do for this one. The day started with some truly thought- (and action-) provoking sessions by Georgia Elliott-Smith and Anicee Bauer and progressed through case study presentations demonstrating real net zero action amongst today’s buildings and employers. One item I found particularly compelling was Neil Usher’s overview of the GoSpace artificial intelligence tools which provide dynamic occupancy management to directly impact the Triple Bottom Line (people, planet, profit).

HEALTH & SAFETY MATTERS

Yet another publication has been running our articles. The first online piece was about our Homeworking Done Right webinar series. That set of free webinars has been completed so the dates in the article are wrong but everything else is still relevant because we are rerunning the series from July 21st. The magazine also picked up on our article about sit-stand desks and the problems of buying online without training. The piece appears here.

ON-SITE SERVICE FOR FEE EARNERS

Professionals like lawyers and accountants, who bill their working hours, are notoriously bad at ‘getting something done about it’ when they start to suffer from back ache or other musculoskeletal issues. Inevitably, this leads to presenteeism and reduced productivity. Our friends at FitBack have created an onsite physiotherapy and advice service that ensures quick access to effective treatment in a really time-efficient way. Complete the short form here for further information.

DSE ASSESSOR TRAINING

We have just added some more dates for our highly-regarded virtual course, taking us through to the year end. We are also offering face-to-face courses around the country. This often works best if an employer wants a small number of staff trained and is prepared to allow external delegates to join the session. It results in a lower cost to the employer and a ready-made venue for us to use! To discuss ideas for face-to-face training, contact Stuart Entwistle, our Training Manager.

This article was originally emailed as issue 151 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 08/06/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK

It was a delight to be back in London in May and networking face-to-face. Clerkenwell was impressively busy. The majority of products fell into one of two categories: 1) designs for collaboration, meetings, breakout and social interactions and 2) products and settings to get some peace and quiet from the people in 1)!

A conspicuous change in showroom displays was the absence of traditional desks. Almost everything that could be termed ‘a desk’ was part of something else and very few would be suitable for the serried ranks of identical workstations we used to know. By contrast, pods, booths and telephone boxes were everywhere. I was amused by the irony of bringing people back into the office from homeworking alone so that they could sit, alone, in an office telephone box!

Another significant observation was the strong environmental credentials that manufacturers have been working on in recent years. With a global focus on Net Zero trading, this is an area of interest that I expect to grow in the traditionally wasteful office furniture industry.

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR DSE ASSESSORS (UPDATE)

Our free event at the Orangebox showroom on June 21st is ready. Places are filling steadily but there is still time and space to register. In case you missed last month’s information, it is aimed at experienced DSE assessors who are ready to be challenged and want to broaden their horizons. It is a  whole day programme with refreshments and lunch provided. You can see the full agenda and book your place here.

We appreciate that this may need to be postponed due to train strike activity but are continuing to take bookings and will keep attendees updated.

HOMEWORKING DONE RIGHT WEBINARS

You are probably too late to enrol for the second episode in this three-part webinar series but there is still time to register for Part 3: Posture Tips for Home and Office. All three instalments are being made available as an on-demand video after each live event. If you haven’t attended from the beginning, you can benefit from the full series in your own time: just find your missing event recording(s) here.

NEW PRODUCTS FROM BAKKER ELKHUIZEN

Over the last few months, our Dutch friends have been working hard on restyling some of their key products. Most significant are the new, compact additions to their laptop stand portfolio. Beautifully styled to reduce the quantity of material used, they are delivered in an elegant cork envelope and include a QR code link to their setup video. Our favourite is the Flextop 170 laptop stand.

TOP TIPS VIDEOS

We continue to add to these short videos at the rate of about one more each week so you are definitely missing out if you haven’t looked for a while! Each lasts between 30 and 60 seconds and addresses an issue we come across on a regular basis. Access is free so you can share relevant topic links with colleagues and clients as you see fit. Check the latest list here.

This article was originally emailed as issue 150 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 11/05/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR DSE ASSESSORS

We are working on an exciting one-day event that will take place on 21.06.22 at the fabulous five-storey Orangebox showroom in Clerkenwell, London. Aimed at established DSE Assessors, the morning will explore existing experience, such as the demands of virtual assessments, domestic fire regulations and keeping abreast of the latest products. The afternoon will look at how you can widen your influence and involvement in the broader wellbeing discussion with clients. The event is completely free and includes refreshments and lunch. You just need to bring an open mind (we plan to challenge some of your thinking!). A CPD certificate will be provided. Spaces are limited so register here (without obligation) to be kept informed of developments and ensure a place when booking opens.

HOMEWORKING DONE RIGHT – 3 FREE WEBINARS

Our Training Manager, Stuart Entwistle, has been working on a 3-part series of free webinars, based on our experience of both employer and employee responses to homeworking since the start of the pandemic. The three topics covered are 1) the Employer’s Duty of Care, 2) Homeworking Products and 3) Posture Tips for Home & Office. Find out more and register here.

WORLD FM DAY

Today is World FM Day, an opportunity to recognise the crucial work of Facilities Managers across the globe and remember that they are responsible for so much more than making sure the lights are on and the toilets aren’t blocked! As we address Hybrid Working and Sustainability, FMs are central to the management of where and how people work, whilst minimising impact in the move to Net Zero.

RULA – RAPID UPPER LIMB ASSESSMENT

As we continue to expand our 2022 Knowledge Sharing (more Top Tips videos here), it is worth remembering that there are many free resources we have been offering for years. One of the most established is RULA, the internationally recognised Rapid Upper Limb Assessment tool which helps to quantify and prioritise risks. This was refreshed three years ago and provides a much cleaner graphical interface.

IN THE PRESS (AGAIN!)

As mentioned last month, we have been broadening our publication reach beyond blogs and social media and our articles are appearing in a number of general and specialist publications. Once upon a time these would have been newspapers and magazines but now, of course, they are mostly online. Here is a piece in Facilities Management Journal. We have four more items appearing in the next month.

This article was originally emailed as issue 149 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/04/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

PERSONAL PERFORMANCE

Our friends at Bakker Elkhuizen have just launched an extensive programme of events and information looking at ways employers can enhance the performance of their people. This is done simply by ensuring they can work comfortably and productively wherever they are. We already know that millions of homeworkers have been neglected over the last two years and the Bakker campaign will explore what can be done to enhance wellbeing and reduce musculoskeletal problems. To support this, we have some exciting new products coming very soon! Watch out for more information through all our usual channels or sign up directly for the Bakker Elkhuizen newsletter here.

MORE TOP TIPS

We are now adding at least one video per week to the collection. Feedback suggests people are finding them really useful. For some topics, we are going right back to basics with questions like ‘Do I need a footrest?’ and ‘Why use a vertical mouse?’ but every one addresses a common question or misunderstanding that we encounter on a regular basis. View the latest selection here.

SMALLEST ROOM PORTFOLIO

Many thanks to those of you who appreciated and commented on this year’s April Fools’ Day article. If you haven’t yet seen it, a quick read on LinkedIn will also help to make it our most viewed article ever! We felt that some light relief from the woes of the world would be in order and it’s pleasing to see that so many people agree. If you would like to see some of our AFD articles from previous years, you can find them here.

IN THE PRESS

Since the start of the year, we have been spreading the word about worker wellbeing beyond our trade and professional communities. We have learned that what we take for granted – things we think are blindingly obvious – are anything but obvious to lots of people. This is the rationale behind some of our very basic video tips but also some of the blogs and articles we have been sharing with the wider press. This piece caught the attention of the Bournemouth Echo. I expect to disclose the publication of one or two more pieces in next month’s eBulletin.

PRIZE WINNERS

We have been handing out little bundles of health and wellbeing again this month. Our bimonthly voucher prize of £180 was won by a customer in London and our most recent B2B Expo draw was won by John Mullally of Cartwright. If you have bought from us or recommended our products and services in the past, you can enter the bimonthly draw by answering a brief survey here.

This article was originally emailed as an April Fools Day version of our monthly eBulletin at 10.00 on 01/04/2022. You can register here to receive the usual version monthly.

TOPICAL NEWS FROM OSMOND ERGONOMICS

Following extensive research into homeworker needs and habits, we are delighted to launch our new Smallest Room Product Portfolio, curated specifically and exclusively for homeworkers with no designated room to work in.

We know that Leesman Index and others have found that a separate room is key to healthy, productive homeworking and our new portfolio unlocks that ‘spare’ room you had all along!

The carefully chosen products enable homeworkers to configure their smallest room and address all these issues:

• We know that a high proportion of homeworkers are desperately short of space to work.
• For house-sharers and those with young families, it provides a concentration/contemplation space that is, quite literally, locked away from domestic distractions.
• For real estate managers, it maximises utilisation of under-occupied space.
  For facilities managers, it optimises the use of existing seating and negates the need to purchase an extra chair.
• It recognises that the most productive and happy homeworkers are those who can close the door on their home office at the end of the day.
• It introduces an unprecedented and innovative approach to worker ergonomics.
• Finally, it is a timely, cost-effective and, above all, universal solution – everybody has a Smallest Room!

Coming soon: Our battery-operated, Bluetooth-enabled NudgeFlush^TM device will sit inside your cistern. It links to a range of sit-stand-move apps and actuates the flush at pre-determined intervals to prompt regular movement.

For further information, Contact our Bogonomics team!

This article was originally emailed as issue 148 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 09/03/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

REFRESHMENT TIME

Welcome to our newly ‘refreshed’ eBulletin layout! As mentioned previously, we already had excellent engagement so the brief was always to refresh the design rather than create something radical. We have aimed for a cleaner overall look with our tried-and-tested format of a small number (usually 5) short pieces, offering links to further articles and information. We have also included easy access to our most popular ongoing resources, which can now be found from the four buttons below.

As inboxes get more and more full, it gets harder to make an impact so I really value your support. The number of people who have remained long-term subscribers is particularly gratifying and that makes it even more important that we remain relevant and current, especially in a time of so much uncertainty. I am always delighted to receive comments or criticisms and I would love to hear from you about the new design or any other topic. Just drop me an email.

TOP TIPS VIDEOS

The next stage of our Knowledge Sharing plan for 2022 is our Top Tips Video series. We already have nearly 50 topics lined up and the first ones have just been published. They are deliberately short and to-the-point and usually last less than a minute. The intention is that you will not only learn from these but also be able to share them with colleagues or clients for crystal clear demonstrations of a particular issue. We have created an obvious web location at bit.ly/oe-top-tips or you can find them by clicking on the turquoise button just above my signature.

FACE-TO-FACE EVENTS

We have no plans to exhibit at any national exhibitions in the near future but I shall be visiting several events as a delegate. Please let me know if you want to meet up. These are the events I already have in my diary and the days I shall be attending:

Health & Wellbeing, NEC – March 15th/16th – more here
Workplace Trends Spring Summit – March 31st – more here
CIEHF Conference – April 25th/26th – more here
Clerkenwell Design Week – May 25th/26th – more here
IWFM Conference – June 8th – more here.

REGIONAL EXHIBITIONS

Although we have suspended national exhibitions, we shall be participating in various regional and local events throughout the year. You may recall that we took part in the Business Expo in Southampton in November so we are now progressing through Hampshire. We shall be in Portsmouth on March 24th and Basingstoke on April 7th. To find out more, please contact my colleague, Neil Hurst, who can give you venue and timing details as well as meeting you on the day if you decide to attend.

UKRAINE

Political events are not normally a topic for this newsletter but the crisis in Ukraine certainly puts our own wellbeing challenges very much into context. We are making a company donation to the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal through the British Red Cross and our thoughts and hopes are with all those who are impacted by the barbaric actions we see in the news every day

This article was originally emailed as issue 147 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 09/02/2022. You can register here to receive them monthly.

TIME FOR ACTION

Nearly two years after the start of the pandemic, I am surprised how many businesses have still not properly come to terms with the needs of their homeworkers. Back in September 2020, I proposed my 3 Phases of Workplace Accommodation and Phase 2 was ‘Getting a Grip’. At the time, I had no idea that so many organisations would still be in Phase 2 seventeen months later!

Whilst some employers now have staff portals for individual equipment requests or an approved products catalogue for homeworkers, many others continue to ignore the issues or have simply not understood the extent of the problem. With the conspicuous focus on mental health over the last two years, physical health issues have been overshadowed and often ignored. It is worth remembering that days lost through mental health absence have been far less than musculoskeletal absences for the last ten years. I am convinced that many employers will be surprised by the level of musculoskeletal issues they are now facing. The good news is that we are fully prepared and equipped to assist! Whatever phase you find yourself in, we shall be delighted to help you catch up.

1202 – THE HUMAN FACTORS PODCAST

I am most grateful to Barry Kirby for the recent invitation to participate in his podcast series: 1202–The Human Factors Podcast. He has welcomed a wide variety of guests since it started in September 2019 so I was delighted to be in such impressive company.

We had a relaxed and wide-ranging conversation around the topics of workplace ergonomics, hybrid- and homeworking. I encounter so much misinformation and idea laundering these days that it’s easy for me to slip into a rant on these topics. I think I avoided doing so this time but you can make your own judgement here!

KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Our commitment to wider knowledge sharing in 2022 continues to gain momentum. Our first blog of the year looks at Instagram Nightmares – those carefully curated images that look fabulous at a glance but make ergonomists tear their hair out!

We have also started to prepare a series of brief videos to provide hints, tips, quick-fixes and ideas to improve health and wellbeing at home and in the office. Finally (for the moment), I have been inspired by my recent podcast experience to create a format for a series of ‘in conversation with …’ events. Stay informed about all this through the social media links below or our resources portal.

CUSTOMER FEEDBACK & PRIZE DRAW

We have been requesting more customer feedback recently and the results have been really heartening. I am delighted to see how much the conscientious efforts of my team are recognised. You may well have seen some of the comments through our social media channels and you can see real-time feedback on Trustpilot.

For those willing to spare the time to give us more comprehensive responses, we offer a prize draw every two months. The prize is a Voucher Code for £180 and the December/January winner was RR of Southampton.