All areas of the working environment seem to be governed by some sort of health and safety regulations, health and safety guidelines are there to protect us the user from harmful situations, substances, equipment within the work place.
Health and safety display screen equipment (DSE) regulations 1992, section 2 covers the use of display screen equipment or (VDUs) visual display units. It is legislative requirement for all employers to perform a suitable and sufficient analysis of workstations, which is described as DSE Risk Assessment.
DSE Risk Assessment focuses on ten main key points which enable the user (employee) to which safely, effectively and efficiently from their workstation. The 10 key points are, Display screen equipment, keyboard, mouse, work desk or surface, work chair, environment, software, operator, Laptop users and finally homework.
Within each section of there are a number of questions which have to answered in order to assess the overall functionality of the workstation, DSE training should be taken prior to analysis. The DSE risk assessment provides a quick electronic analysis of concerns and problems which occur and provides the opportunity to effectively resolve any associated issues of the employee workstation.
It is recognised that shoulder, back, neck and arm pain as well as eyestrain and signs of fatigue can be associated with extensive use of computer screens and computer equipment, these conditions also known as (ULDs) Upper Limb Disorders or (RSIs) repetitive strain injuries could essentially be avoided by correct usage of equipment.
computer equipment within the workplace has become the most common type of equipment used, not merely limited to offices, visual display units are now used in supermarkets, dentists, doctors, offices all areas of business spanning all industry sectors and therefore having these regulations and procedures introduced, ensures the safe use and comfort of larger numbers of employees using this equipment.
Questions asked in the Display screen part of the DSE risk assessment include assessing the size of the characters used and whether there is flicker from the screen, whether there are controls available to change the brightness and contrast of the screen, can the screen be tilted or swivelled to achieve comfortable usage, is there glare and reflection which effects your use and finally are there cleaning materials available to clean your screen.
The areas covering work desk, work chair and environment are mainly concerned with the ergonomics of your work area such as the ease of movement when sat at your desk. These issues are heavily associated with the conditions which are mentioned previously, your work chair must be stable and allow for easy movement. It must be adjustable in order to support your back and arms, the underneath of your desk should be free from obstacles and cables which would hinder your comfort and your feet should be able to be placed flat on the floor.
Parts of the DSE risk assessment also cover training, whether training has been provided for software which is used, whether the operator (employee) has been trained in the correct layout of the workstation in order to achieve correct usage.
Having fully completed all sections of the DSE risk assessment, employers can then address issues which flag up concern for individuals and rectify problems accordingly to avoid potential problems. The old saying covers this perfectly 'Prevention is better than cure'.
Author Resource:-
Anna Stenning is researching the requirement for DSE risk assessment within the workplace, and the effects working with Display Screen Equipment can have on your health.
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