Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming MArch 2016 38 Casinos are increasingly aware of the benefits ergonomics bring to their facilities, and manufacturers are responding with product that improves comfort for both visitors and employees. By Joan Mantini F ew would deny that customer comfort is of paramount importance to the modern, land-based casino enterprise experience and in response gaming operators and suppliers are more eager than ever before to integrate ergonomic principles into seating and other high-use items. But this use of ergonomics within casinos is not confined solely to patron- facing products; it now extends to hardware used throughout the property, with the goal of providing increased comfort and injury prevention to facility employees as well as visitors. Simply put, ergonomics focuses on the prevention of discomfort as much as providing comfort. Integrating ergonomic design into various casino products can be a challenge however since people tend to come in many shapes and sizes. As a result, a design that may be comfortable for one person can be unpleasant for the next. Clothes and shoes come in different sizes to accommodate these differences, but chairs and hardware have quite the complex task when it comes to gaming properties because they will have more than one user in their lifetimes. In addition, ergonomic products must be designed with facility differentiation in mind and feature the flexibility and technology needed to integrate with the latest gaming advances to ensure customer comfort and foster increased play. “Often casino architects and designers emphasize that products look good when they should focus on customer satisfaction in the broadest sense of the term,” says Lucien van Linden, CEO of Gaming Support, a Netherlands-based supplier of services and products for land-based casinos. “[A gaming customer] should feel good, sit well and play easy in a clean casino environment.” Gaming Support ergonomically-designed and engineered table games have been installed in the gaming halls of Holland Casino. Features