Ergonomics

Ergonomic Evaluation

If you would like to have a free ergonomic evaluation of your work space on campus, please fill out this form.

Reed provides employees with free ergonomic evaluations for campus workspaces by Safety Northwest upon request. The evaluation takes about 30 minutes and the process starts with an interview. The evaluator will talk with the employee about their concerns, discuss their needs, look at their work tools, and see how they use them. The evaluator then takes a series of physical measures to determine proper heights, widths, and depths of chairs, as well as work surfaces. A report from the evaluation will be sent to EHS, who will then pass it along to the employee and supervisor.

For information on how to improve your off-campus workspaces please visit our Ergonomics at Home page.

Purchasing/Replacing Equipment

If you have not gotten an ergonomic evaluation, please read the section above and fill out the linked form before moving forward on equipment purchasing. If the ergonomic evaluator finds that equipment should be replaced or added to the workspace and the employee wants to follow through with these changes, supervisors must provide authorization to proceed with recommended equipment purchases. To authorize recommendations, please contact ergo@reed.edu. If approved, suitable equipment will be provided either from the current campus inventory or purchased from an outside entity. EHS will cover 50% of costs, up to $300, for equipment recommended in an ergonomic evaluation, one time per employee every 5 years.

Resources for Ergonomic Workplace Setup

For more information about ergonomics, contact ergo@reed.edu.