5. Pipetting and ergonomics

The pipette is a fundamental tool used in many disciplines, and laboratory staff spend an enormous amount of time pipetting. NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in the USA) reports an average of almost 500 h/year (approx. 2 h/d) of pipetting activity.

Unfortunately, pipetting activities have been identified as a cause of occupational hand, arm and shoulder pain. In fact, it has been concluded that laboratory staff pipetting for more than 300 h/year (approx. 1.3 h/d) are at high risk of injury.

Why is a pipette dangerous? What kind of injury can pipetting cause? How can the risk of injury be reduced? This section aims to answer these questions.

Understanding ergonomics – science that explores human limitations and applies this knowledge to the design of user-friendly tools, environments and...