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New Technology To Reduce Workplace Absences
November 2, 2006 - A new company might have a way to help organisations cut the costs of back pain, repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and other musculoskeletal disorders amongst their computer-based staff. 
Health and Safety Executive figures suggest that musculoskeletal problems cost UK businesses £5.7bn per year. That works out at an average of over £260 per employee per year, with individual cases averaging over £5000. Ergonomic furniture and training can only do so much to reduce these costs, and once the training is completed, how can you be sure that your employees give it a second thought? PostureMinder helps the user to reduce the amount of time they spend sitting in damaging postures, and continuously reinforces their training. By promoting good posture, PostureMinder has knock-on effects on other parts of the body. For example, if users lean forwards, they are more like to tuck their legs their chair, which reduces circulation. Their eyes are likely to get tired through peering too closely at the screen, and they're more likely to be typing with their wrists bent back, which carries increased risks of developing RSI. PostureMinder also provides reminders to encourage regular breaks, a comprehensive training package which covers the UK regulations and more, suggestions for discreet at-desk stretch exercises, and a hydration tracker to promote healthy drinking habits at work. All of these features work together to promote healthy working, all day, every day. PostureMinder has been developed a system for use on user's computer. It is expected to pay for itself through reduced absences within the first year. However, PostureMinder's sensitivity to poor posture can be increased to help users with existing back or RSI problems as part of their rehabilitation back to work. Some employees are bound to be concerned about the idea of having a webcam checking their posture, but they can be reassured that the webcam images are destroyed the moment their posture has been analysed. PostureMinder has been developed purely to help people to protect their health, so it doesn't collect or report any statistics about work rates or breaks, and the software license strictly forbids modifying it to do this. Early users report that they forget the webcam is there after a short time, and that PostureMinder is a tool that has helped them to significantly improve their health and posture at work.
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