How Slat Walls Can Enhance Your Workplace Ergonomics and Boost Employee Morale

Operators use a lot of tools that create a cluttered work environment. Operators have to switch their focus constantly and require different tools for each task. A vertical slat wall keeps all tools organized without contributing to clutter. In this article we explain how to maximize the available space on control consoles.

The benefits of incorporating vertical slat walls in a control console include: 

• The ability to mount adjustable monitor arms without taking up worksurface space 

• The ability to mount a glass panel with LED strips, or acoustic panels. 

• All accessories and utensils are organized and stay within reach. 

• They can be used to create a collaborative space.

We noticed some of our clients were working with outdated control consoles that hindered their productivity by creating a cluttered mess. This problem persisted because the consoles were not designed to take into account their specific needs and tools used for the job. This kept affecting the operators in the control room by forcing them to work with a console that doesn’t respect ergonomic guidelines.

The dangers of specialized furniture that doesn’t respect ergonomic guidelines, is that when tools are scattered all over the place operators perform repetitive movements that can result in discomfort and even in stress-related injuries.

Picture a control console riddled with tools and other utensils: Radios, telephones, headsets, notepads, secondary keyboards and other telecommunications equipment that don't have an easy-to-reach placement, all of them constantly causing disruption in the operator’s workflow. 

Now, imagine that an operator stretches over all of these objects constantly throughout the day. Every time they pick up any of these tools, the operators are consistently adopting uncomfortable postures that may cause fatigue. At an organization level, this issue contributes to morale problems in the center because operators are confronted everyday with an unorganized workstation that doesn't adapt to their needs.

Low morale in the control room leads to higher turnover. To solve this issue, supervisors have started to implement more and more ergonomic trends over the years. From height adjustable consoles to vertical slat walls and even personal environmental systems to control temperature at the workstation. 

Our clients who implement a vertical slat wall in their control consoles, see higher productivity in their centers because operators don’t have to waste time sorting through all of their tools every time they start a new task, since everything has its place and can be easily accessed.

A slat wall helps to maximize the available space on the control console by creating order out of disorder. This impacts positively in the performance of operators because they can swiftly use all of their tools at their disposal, and adjust their monitor arms, task lights and access their other utensils which they don't use that often. Operators are grateful when supervisors provide them with upgraded consoles create that incorporate ergonomic guidelines into their design.

To know which ergonomic guidelines to follow for each control console, it is important that during the design process, the manufacturer of the console consults with the end user to understand their special needs and requirements. This will allow them to have a complete picture of what their daily routine looks like, what kind of tools are always laying around that could be put to the side, which ones are essential, and how they plan to use the worksurface to their advantage. For example, in centers where operators have more than 1 keyboard and mouse, as well as communications equipment that they use interchangeably, these can be mounted on a slat wall and stay out of the way. Or another example can be in Air Traffic control where engineers can take advantage of the wide worksurface area to read large documents like aircraft factory plans.

Incorporating a vertical slatwall can help operators work in a clutter free environment. Not only can it support monitor arms and task lights, but it can also keep all of the tools they constantly use for different tasks but aren't used very often. Not only does a slat wall increase productivity, but it also can reduce stress-related injuries by creating a more ergonomic work setup in the control room, and boosting morale by having a workstation that reflects the identity of the organization and meets their daily needs and requirements.

Are you renovating your control center? Contact our team of design specialists to help you create a workspace that adapts to your needs.