Study of forward sloping seats for VDT workstations

The main focus of this study was to identify and evaluate various forward seat inclinations (5, 10, 15 degrees) for Video Display Terminal workstation type seating by constructing a fixture to be fitted to a test chair to achieve various seat angles. The discomfort in critical areas i.e. neck and lower back were evaluated by 25 male university students (avg. age 22 years) with no history of musculoskeletal disorders on a subjective scale for comfort. The comfortable or uncomfortable seat inclinations were identified after a statistical analysis. The heart rate and blood pressure were observed every 5 min for validation purposes. It was recommended that, to avoid neck problems, a chair with a forward incline greater than 5 degrees should not be used and to avoid lower back problems a chair with a seat angle of approximately 10 degrees be used. On the overall comfort criteria it is recommended to use a chair with a seat pan which inclines to approximately 15 degrees (forward). The findings and recommendations from this study can enhance the safety and productivity of the people whose jobs require continuous forward bending in a sitting task involving VDT workstations.