Sapper Monitor Arm: An Ergonomic Checklist

Knoll asked a leading workplace ergonomist, Tom Albin, to provide an independent ergonomic assessment of the Sapper Monitor Arm. Albin heads an ergonomic consulting practice, High Plains Engineering Services, and has more than 20 years of experience in office ergonomics. He also chaired the committee that published the ANSI/HFES 100-2007 standards and serves as a US representative to various international standards committees. Below is Albin’s assessment:

What Makes a Monitor Arm a Good Ergonomic Tool?

An objective way to evaluate any monitor arm’s performance is to assess whether it conforms to ergonomic technical standards, such as ANSI/HFES 100-2007. This standard contains ergonomic specifications for office furniture, displays, input devices, and the integration of all those components into a complete workstation, which accommodates at least 90% of the North American workforce.

It requires manufacturers to provide users with information on specific properties of the monitor arm, as described below. ANSI/HFES also provides guidelines for how a monitor arm should be set up in a workstation, which is fully explained in Knoll’s paper, A Guide to Trouble-Free Selection and Ergonomic Setup of Monitor Arms (on knoll.com).

A Brief Assessment of the Sapper Monitor Arm

The Sapper Monitor Arm Collection provides the adjustment capabilities necessary to accommodate a wide range of users and workstation arrangements.

The various mast heights available accommodate the vertical height adjustments necessary to provide the recommended screen viewing angles for individuals ranging between a small female (5th percentile) and a large male (95th percentile).

The 17-inch horizontal adjustability of the arm provides a great deal of flexibility in viewing distance and the 2.5-inch folded position allows for full utilization of the worksurface.

The Sapper arm has several means of adjusting the monitor in order to position the screen as close to perpendicular as possible to the user’s line of sight. First, the entire arm swivels 360º around the mast. Second, the mounting bracket allows 180º of swivel to either side. The mounting bracket also allows rotating the monitor between landscape and portrait mode.

The combination of this adjustability, plus the available options for mounting heavier monitors (up to 50 pounds) and multiple monitors, make the Sapper monitor arm a good ergonomic solution for any user.

DOWNLOAD "SAPPER MONITOR ARM: AN ERGONOMIC CHECKLIST" TO READ THE FULL PAPER