White Paper: Pipetting Ergonomics

The ergonomics of manual pipetting has been studied for over two decades. The first findings about the connection between pipetting and repetitive strain disorders were published by Björksten et al. in 1994. Since then, the influence of various factors, such as pipetting hours, worker gender and age, working posture, and working surface height to pipetting ergonomics has been reported. Improvements suggested include further development of pipettes, the use of arm supports, and the optimization of workbench levels.

Good pipetting ergonomics requires proper tool selection and optimized working environment. In addition, the role of personal responsibility and awareness of proper working postures and good working habits is extremely significant.