Osmond Ergonomics

This article was originally emailed as issue 185 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/04/2025. You can register here to receive them monthly.

BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF NEURODIVERSITY

Following the recent success of the taster session provided by Robert Manson (see next item), we are delighted to host a half-day virtual neurodiversity explanation course on May 14th. This will be delivered for us by Robert on behalf of Creased Puddle. In it, he will provide excellent insights into the nature of neurodivergent conditions, behaviours and traits and the structure of a Workplace Needs Assessment. Robert will also describe support tools, furniture, equipment and assistive technology to improve productivity and effectiveness. Finally, he will suggest processes, management techniques and accommodations to support neurodivergent individuals. It is an ideal course for delegates who have little or no knowledge of neurodiversity and want a deeper understanding. Find out more and book here.

FACE-TO-FACE EVENTS

Our first two quarterly events in 2025 took place in London in March. Holistic Wellbeing: Aligning People, Purpose and Place was generously hosted by Flokk and featured Debbie Watts and Hayley O’Connor exploring workspace design for the senses to support both neurotypical and neurodivergent individuals. Then Bex Moorhouse asked ‘Who owns Wellbeing?’ and outlined her ‘Me-We-Us’ approach. A week later, we were at the Senator Allermuir showroom for Workplace Ergonomics for Individuals: Challenges in a Hybrid World with Jim Taylour discussing workplace ergonomics in the broadest sense for both office and homeworking. Then Robert Manson gave us an abridged overview of the neurodiversity course outlined above. We have a very exciting session already scheduled for June 18th. Make a note in your diary and watch out for more news on social media or in next month’s eBulletin.

DSE ASSESSMENTS

SIT-STAND-PERCH

It’s strange how some products sit in our portfolio for a while, ticking along, and then there’s a sudden flurry of interest. Sometimes, there’s an explanation and sometimes we have no idea what the reason is! Either way, it prompts me to raise their profile here. The Flokk Capisco is a steady seller that generates continued interest amongst homeworker sit and stand desk users we also have a portfolio of stools that are sometimes better suited to domestic use for budget or for space reasons. Take a look at our selection here.

EXTENSION SCREENS ON THE MOVE

Do you or your colleagues take a portable monitor when you are on the move? This seems to be a comparatively new, but growing population. We have clients whose auditors have laptops with 10” screens that are not much use for viewing spreadsheets! A USB-C extension monitor is a lightweight and practical solution. If this is a scenario you recognise, do these mobile workers also take a separate laptop stand, keyboard and mouse? I am trying to get an idea of the size of this population and the equipment they carry. Please send me any thoughts or comments.

This article was originally emailed as issue 184 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/03/2025. You can register here to receive them monthly.

CIEHF WORKSHOP

A few members of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics & Human Factors (including me!) have felt that Workplace has been somewhat neglected by the Institute in recent years. This has not been a deliberate intention so action has been taken to put that right. My December webinar with Chris Allen, was one of the early actions to raise the workplace profile within the professional ergonomics and human factors community and this was very well received. There is also work progressing in the background to update the Mobile Working Risk Management System document (which has been downloaded nearly 17,000 times). At the upcoming CIEHF conference, we have secured time on the Wednesday morning for a Workplace stream and this session will include contributions from Dr Nigel Oseland and Dr Kerstin Sailer. As I write this, details are being finalised and the event website has not been updated yet, so watch out for my LinkedIn postings for further information.

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENTS

It is now a year since we launched the Osmond Inclusive Wellbeing Services brand and it has been both a steep learning curve and a satisfying evolution of our products and services portfolio. We have said from the outset that, if we were starting from nothing today, ergonomics would be just one element of our wellbeing proposition, so the next stage is to merge the services into a holistic package whilst still maintaining our essential ‘Single Point of Contact’ and long-standing Customer Service reputation. Our revised website, which will be ready within the next couple of months, will serve that purpose. Watch this space for news of the launch!

IN-PERSON EVENTS

SENSORY NOOK®

The Nook range is not new (I first looked at it before the pandemic) but it has only recently become appropriate to include it in our portfolio. Whilst similar in overall design to many other pods, its unique features make it an ideal addition to any neuro-inclusive workplace. Its castors also make it very adaptable. Available with a choice of numerous options, a Nook Pod will make an ideal decompression zone in bustling environments – perfect for comfortable solitude, quiet meetings or focused work. Contact me for further information.

THE GUY OSMOND PODCAST

We had a mishap with this month’s scheduled podcast: we were unable to record it in time for the usual first Monday of the month. As a result, there was no March episode. However, we are recording two sessions this month. Our April guest is Jennifer Bryan. We haven’t recorded it yet and there’s lots to  explore, so I’m not quite sure where the conversation will go! The May edition will be with Paige Hodsman, talking about her ‘Didn’t I just say that?’ research. My daughter-in-law, Rebecca O’Dwyer, will also be joining us to add insights as a young female manager in the finance industry.

This article was originally emailed as issue 183 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/02/2025. You can register here to receive them monthly.

NO BOTS HERE

I love AI. I use ChatGPT, Grammarly, NotebookLM, Perplexity and other tools for research, ideas, tidying up my thoughts and correcting my spelling, but I never get it to do the writing for me. I tried it once and it was a disaster: I thought I could get ChatGPT to write the whole article and then I could just tinker with it afterwards but I ended up abandoning the AI piece and starting from scratch. We hear that marketing is all about ‘authenticity’ but I don’t understand what’s authentic about publishing material you didn’t create. I research, prepare and write every eBulletin and will continue to do so. For more authenticity, see our two upcoming events below, my podcasts and published articles like this one for the British Safety Council.

ERGONOMICS CHALLENGES IN A HYBRID WORLD

For DSE assessors, Occupational Health, Health & Safety, Facilities Managers and Ergonomists, our first 2025 event is at the Senator Showroom in London on Wednesday March 26, 2025. From feedback and conversations, we know you want topics that take you beyond your current experience and expand your knowledge so we have two excellent speakers. Jim Taylour (formerly of Orangebox and now at Senator) will talk about today’s workplace from his perspective as an ergonomist and furniture designer. Robert Manson will summarise several neurodiverse conditions with suggestions about adaptations and products to address individual needs. Attendees will also have a discounted opportunity to attend a virtual half-day course covering this topic fully in the near future. As always, we shall also have products to show you. Find out more and register here

HOLISTIC WELLBEING: ALIGNING PEOPLE, PURPOSE & PLACE

FLOOR WALK SERVICE

Despite strong evidence supporting hybrid working (when done well), many people are now spending more time in the office. As a result, we have noticed an increasing need for ergonomics awareness services. One offer that is proving both popular and valuable is our Floor Walk Service. Typically, Stuart Entwistle, our Training Manager with 20+ years’ experience and thousands of DSE assessments completed, simply walks through your office and talks to anyone who needs assistance with chair set-up, posture, sit-stand desk settings, monitor height, etc. Often, this is tied in with a Health & Safety Awareness Day or other event, which may also include one or more of our Posture Awareness workshops. For a bespoke proposal, contact Stuart directly.

SOCIAL MEDIA

If you follow social media, you may have noticed a boost in our activity in recent weeks. We have changed agencies and tuned our output so that we align our messages better to current marketing methodology and platform demand. More importantly, we aim to increase the value and usefulness of our posts, introducing even more of the latest research and insights into our messages. One possible downside is that you may have seen much more of me on video! I am told that the social media algorithms love video. I wish I felt the same: I find the recording easy enough but watching it back is excruciating! If you can bear to watch, you can find us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

This article was originally emailed as issue 182 of our monthly eBulletin at 11:30 on 13/01/2025. You can register here to receive them monthly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Our 2025 focus will be on making life even easier for our clients. We know the constant pressure experienced by the managers we work with and how hard it can be to juggle responsibilities and priorities. Many organisations have bewilderingly complex processes so we often find ourselves explaining to individuals how their employer operates and what they need to do to get action. We have even been known to tell people where to find things on their corporate intranet even though we have never seen it! Those are the sort of lengths we go to in order to ensure clients get outstanding service when dealing with us or navigating their employer’s internal communications process. In particular, we shall be stressing the single point of contact to get anything done. Our highly trained Customer Service team can respond to any enquiry and, if they don’t have the answer instantly, they will know where to find it quickly. Whether you need Osmond Ergonomics or Osmond Inclusive Wellbeing Services, a phone call (0345 345 0898), an email or LiveChat on either of our websites all connect you to the same small, knowledgeable team – no bots, no buts, just answers!

THE ENTICING OFFICE – WE KNOW WHAT WORKS: WHY DON’T WE DO IT?

As promised last month, my podcast is back! After a few months break, our first episode of the year was released at 6:30am on Monday 06.01.25. This month’s guest is Dr Nigel Oseland and we explored the impact of hybrid work, the necessity for physical offices, how to make them more inviting, the essential role of well-designed spaces in creating collaboration and innovation, as well as the quest for solitude and the challenges of managing hybrid teams. The discussion stemmed from some of Nigel’s research and my two-part blog inspired by it. For the podcast, choose your platform here.

2025 EVENTS

CORECHAIR ELITE

We had an overwhelmingly positive response to this new chair at the ACPOHE Study Day. The event, for occupational health physiotherapists, addressed the diagnosis and treatment of pelvic pain and the new CoreChair Elite was shown to be just the solution for sufferers of this debilitating condition. This new model is an enhancement of the established CoreChair Classic but the backrest is a dramatic enhancement to the product (with only a small price increase) and you don’t need to suffer from pelvic pain to love the unique design, function and comfort. Full production is still a couple of months away but contact us if you want to arrange a demonstration.

DSE TOP TIPS