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Ergonomics expert Pam Grills,
ErgoPrime Inc., was a key player
in restoring our Supreme Court
Justices to a position of
comfortable authority.
The Supreme Court of Canada is Now Ergonomically Correct
Thanks to the expertise of ErgoPrime
ErgoPrime has been a key contributor in
making Canada’s Supreme Court Justices
comfortable and more productive.
The Ottawa Citizen (January 25th, 2003)
reported, “Canada’s high seat of justice is now
ergonomically correct”. Previously, their high-
backed red leather courtroom chairs, which
project the justices’ power and authority, used to
punish them with back discomfort.
"You have to give them great credit that no
one ever had to get wheeled away in a stretcher
from falling out of one of these chairs in great
pain,"
says
Jim Hay, of
the Canadian
Conservation Institute. The chairs were too deep,
too wide, and unstable to properly support the
justices in the courtroom. Eventually Canada’s
top judges leaned on an ObusForme back insert
for support, but this did not resolve the injustice
the judges were suffering.
At team of experts was brought in: an
ergonomics expert from ErgoPrime Inc., heritage
conservation specialists from Public Works and
Government
Services;
and
an
industrial
designers. The team’s challenge was to fix the
chair’s
ergonomic
deficiencies
without
compromising the design integrity of some of
Canada’s finest heritage furniture.
The seat pans were far too deep, 22 inches, for
the justices to receive any support for their backs.
Their back muscles were under strain for hours
while the court was in session. Eight of nine
justices suffered back pain.
The armrests caused postural indignities. The
armrests were too low forcing the justices to
slump over to one side for support.