Handling area

Handling areas on a work bench

Movement ranges at a work bench

The handling area is the space on a Work bench where a worker can reach every point vertically or horinzontally with both hands and without having to leave his or her seat or standing position. All working materials, tools and parts should be close to hand in this area. The handling area is a key concept for ergonomic workplace Design.

A distinction is made between:

• The outer handling area, which can be reached with an outstretched arm. This is where items that are not used on a frequent basis are located.
• The inner handling area, which can be reached with the arms bent. This is where items that are used on a frequent basis are located.

or

• The working centre (zone 1), where both hands are in the employee's direct Field of vision
• The extended working centre (zone 3), where both hands can reach all working materials and have optimum freedom of movement
• The one-handed zone (zone 2), where the employee can reach tools and materials with one hand
• The extended one-handed zone (zone 4) is the outermost range of the handling area