Find out how using Dragon NaturallySpeaking could help reduce the risk of
Repetitive Strain Injury, plus read more hints and tips on keeping healthy at
your desktop…
ScanSoft has announced a campaign to raise awareness of the danger of Repetitive
Strain Injury (RSI) in the office workplace. ScanSoft is calling for employers
to offer their staff the option to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition
software as an alternative interface to the keyboard and mouse.
With 1 in 50 of all workers in the UK reporting an RSI condition – and
5.4million working days a year lost through sick leave due to this condition – RSI
is an issue that needs to be taken seriously by employers and employees alike.
Voice recognition technology is a viable alternative to the keyboard and mouse.
In addition to helping you to keep healthy at the desktop, it can help increase
your productivity too, as Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 turns speech into text
at 160 words per minute.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 is a simple to install and easy-to-use software
package that makes advanced speech recognition and dictation more accessible
and attainable for use in businesses, enterprises and homes around the world.
It allows users to control Microsoft Windows and their PC applications completely
by voice.
The product is tightly integrated with Microsoft Office, which allows users
to create new documents, or change the layout of existing documents, using their
voice. Dragon NaturallySpeaking 8 is the ideal solution for corporations looking
to reduce temporary labour costs and insurance premiums by keeping injured and
rehabbing employees on the job and highly productive.
Below are hints and tips that both employers and employees can take to keep
healthy at their desktop and reduce the risk of suffering from an RSI-related
injury:
Top RSI tips:
- Look after yourself! The fitter you are and the better your general health,
the less susceptible to you may be to an RSI-related injury
- Think logically. In your car you adopt the most comfortable and safest seating
position, and you should do so at your desktop.
- Ensure that your monitor is directly in front of you and not at an angle.
Ideally, ensure that the top of the monitor is at eye level.
- Sit up straight, don’t slouch or slump. Make sure your chair
supports your spine in an upright position. Is your chair, monitor
and keyboard
aligned correctly? You should not be sat at any offset angles to your
monitor or keyboard.
- Don’t spend long periods at you PC without a break. Take a
walk to get a drink or outside for some fresh air, try stretching
your arm,
neck and shoulder
muscles. You should take a break every 20 minutes.
- Find an alternative to using the keyboard and mouse to enter data. Voice recognition
software (link to the uk DNS page) can help reduce the risk of suffering from
an RSI related injury. Furthermore, you can dictate much faster than you can
type, so your productivity should increase, too.
- Use keyboard short cuts to avoid using the mouse. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q126449
- You should not work at the computer if you are experiencing any upper body
pain, or muscle fatigue or soreness.
Employers: Ask yourself:
- ‘What is our policy on RSI and Upper Limb disorders?’ and ‘how
does it fit with our policy on Display Screen Equipment Assessment?’
(Note: if you can’t answer these you need help urgently!)
- How might our performance standards be making matters better or worse?
- How aware are our managers of these conditions and their causes?
- Are we involving the work force enough in risk assessment and equipment
purchasing to make sure we get it right?
- Can we offer alternative input devices to the keyboard that might reduce
risks for some workers?
Employees:
- Ask to see the risk assessment for your workplace (you should have
been involved in its preparation anyway!)
- Ask your employer if they might test out alternatives to the keyboard
and mouse, such as voice recognition software, in order to reduce the risk of
developing upper limb disorders
- Take regular ‘posture’ breaks whenever it is feasible, this
might include alternating between typing, and dictating to your PC to give
your fingers, hands and shoulders a rest
- See if you can become involved in user groups that might work with the
managers to develop better working practices, make better purchasing decisions
and improve the general working conditions.
And finally, if you have a problem, seek help!
All of these questions can be dealt with by ergonomists (see www.ergonomics.org.uk or www.eihms.surrey.ac.uk/robens/erg/)
If you are interested in buying ScanSoft’s Dragon NaturallySpeaking software
please visit http://www.scansoft.co.uk/naturallyspeaking/locator
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