Proposal for an Alternative Ergonomic Chairs at Carpenter Hall

Date:                August 25, 2016

To:                 Erla Heyns

                Director, Cornell Engineering Library

From:                 Narit Tangsirivanich

                M.Eng’16

Subject:        Proposal for an alternative ergonomic chairs at Carpenter Hall

I am writing to propose that the workstation ergonomic chairs, such as Herman Miller’s Mirra and Steelcase’ Leap, should be available at Carpenter Hall to prevent and alleviate students’ chronic back pain problems. Thi

Students are spending long hours in Carpenter Hall and getting injured from the current chair. Several library users including myself have never had back, neck, and shoulder problems prior to coming to Cornell. In the past year, I often spent more than 6 hours working on my laptop in Carpenter Hall. For the first time in my life, I developed a back pain and started taking pain killers. I never thought that the chair was a problem until I tried an ergonomic Herman Miller’s chair in one of the engineering labs. Working on a same task I did at Carpenter Hall, I could work at much longer hours without any feeling of strained lower back.

New chairs will assist students to create greater works. Sitting in a current chair for a few hours, students’ sitting posture will unknowingly become incorrect, creating a back pain. This intermittent pain interrupts students’ idea flow contributing to the work and research of Cornell University. Those who work in Carpenter for a year or more will create a long-term chronic back pain, surely affecting their lives after graduation and their ability to continue creating great works. Unlike current traditional chairs, ergonomic chairs with features such as backrest, armrest, and height adjustment, can support students in Carpenter Hall to work better by correcting their sitting posture reducing the risk of such back pain. Your course of action will be appreciated by Cornell community as a part of their success.