From The Ergoweb® Learning Center

Ergonomics Delivers a More Comfortable Throne

Looking for a comfortable seat? Bathroom fixture manufacturer Kohler is hoping that you’ll look no further than your bathroom.

Introducing their new “Comfort Height” toilet last month, Kohler’s latest foray into the ergonomics of hygiene includes features to make even the most ardent bathroom reader more cozy, and a few features that will improve the task of installing or fixing the toilet, too.

Starting with a 17-inch high seat (the standard for toilets is 14-inches although some designs sit even lower to the ground), designed to be the same height as chairs and to conform with height requirements found in the Americans with Disabilities Act, Kohler promises that its Comfort Height model will make “sitting down and standing up easier” for the user.

And flushing power modeled after class-five rapids aside, the Comfort Height toilet also was designed as an easier install for the plumber or the home do-it-yourselfer. A new installation system requires just the turn of a single socket wrench to tighten two bolts rather than the traditional tightening of multiple bolts using both a wrench and a screwdriver simultaneously while lining up a heavy tank.

The results mean less time spent lining up a heavy porcelain bowl and crawling around on hands and knees for the plumber, plus an overall more accurate installation. That’s good news for people in the plumbing profession whose jobs regularly expose them to risk factors including prolonged, awkward postures and repetitive motions, and who, as an industry, reported an average of 10 days missed from work for each musculoskeletal injury. And short of adjustability or a reclining back