The law on VDUs: An easy guide

Transcription

1 The law o VDUs: A easy guide Makig sure your office complies with the Health ad Safety (Display Scree Equipmet) Regulatios 1992 (as ameded i 2002) This is a free-to-dowload, web-friedly versio of HSG 90 (Secod editio, published 2003). This versio has bee adapted for olie use from HSE s curret prited versio. You ca buy the book at ad most good bookshops. ISBN Price 8.50 This practical guide offers advice to employers o how to comply with the Health ad Safety (Display Scree Equipmet) Regulatios It gives easy to follow advice o how to prevet ill health risks caused by work with VDUs, icludig upper limb disorders or RSI, backache, fatigue, stress ad eye strai. This book is a must for all employers who have VDUs i their workplace. HSE Books Page 1 of 21

2 Crow copyright 2003 First published 1994 Secod editio 2003 Reprited 2003, 2006, 2009 ISBN All rights reserved. No part of this publicatio may be reproduced, stored i a retrieval system, or trasmitted i ay form or by ay meas (electroic, mechaical, photocopyig, recordig or otherwise) without the prior writte permissio of the copyright ower. Applicatios for reproductio should be made i writig to: The Office of Public Sector Iformatio, Iformatio Policy Team, Kew, Richmod, Surrey TW9 4DU or licesig@opsi.gov.uk Page 2 of 21

3 Cotets Notes o the secod editio 4 Itroductio 5 Step 1: Decide who is covered by the Regulatios 6 Step 2: Trai users ad assessors 7 Step 3: Assess workstatios ad reduce the risks 8 Step 4: Make sure workstatios ad equipmet comply with miimum requiremets 10 Step 5: Pla chages of activity or breaks for users 11 Step 6: Provide eye tests ad ay ecessary spectacles for VDU work 12 Step 7: Tell users what you have doe 12 VDU workstatio checklist 14 Further publicatios ad sources of advice 20 Further Iformatio 21 The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 3 of 21

4 Notes o the secod editio This booklet has bee revised to brig it up to date, ad we have made some chages i its structure, but the advice it cotais is fudametally the same as that i the first editio. This guidace is issued by the Health ad Safety. Followig the guidace is ot compulsory ad you are free to take other actio. But if you do follow the guidace you will ormally be doig eough to comply with the law. Health ad safety ispectors seek to secure compliace with the law ad may refer to this guidace as illustratig good practice. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 4 of 21

5 Itroductio This booklet is for employers who eed to comply with the Health ad Safety (Display Scree Equipmet) Regulatios You may kow them as the VDU Regulatios or Display Scree Regulatios. It is a practical guide, with easy to follow steps, o what to do if you have ordiary office VDUs (visual display uits, such as computer screes). If you have equipmet other tha office type VDUs which you thik may be covered, or if you wat more iformatio, you should refer to HSE s detailed guidace booklet L26 which cotais the full Regulatios (see Further publicatios ad sources of advice ). The health problems associated with VDU work are: upper limb disorders (icludig pais i the eck, arms, elbows, wrists, hads, figers). Ofte kow as repetitive strai ijury or RSI ; back ache; fatigue ad stress; temporary eye strai (but ot eye damage) ad headaches. The causes may ot always be obvious ad ca be due to a combiatio of factors. But eough is kow about the importace of some measures - for example, the eed to sit properly ad take breaks - to allow the risks to be tackled effectively. The Regulatios came ito force o 1 Jauary 1993 (some mior chages were made i 2002). They put ito UK law a Europea Commuity Directive which seeks to protect the health of your workers by reducig risks from VDU work. Briefly, the Regulatios require employers to: aalyse workstatios to assess ad reduce risks; esure that workstatios meet specified miimum requiremets; pla work activities so that they iclude breaks or chages of activity; provide eye ad eyesight tests o request, ad special spectacles if eeded; provide iformatio ad traiig. If your workplace does t already comply, you should take actio. Followig the advice, i the seve steps i this booklet, will help you comply. Each step tells you what you have to do ad offers advice about the easiest ways to do it. The checklist o page 13 ca be used to assess workstatios (with their equipmet, furiture ad surroudigs). It gives solutios to some commo problems. Some of the advice i this guide takes the form of suggestios o how to comply. Where these are steps ot actually required by law, this is made clear, eg: you may wat to set a timetable ; cosider usig videos ; these guidelies may be helpful ; the followig poits may help ; checklists are oe way to do assessmets. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 5 of 21

6 Decide who is to be resposible for the followig steps. Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Step 5: Step 6: Step 7: Decide who is covered by the Regulatios Trai users ad assessors Assess workstatios ad reduce the risks Make sure workstatios ad equipmet comply with miimum requiremets Pla chages of activity or breaks for users Provide eye tests ad ay ecessary spectacles for VDU work Tell users what you have doe You may wat to set a timetable for actio. Employees ad their safety represetatives should be fully ivolved i implemetig the Regulatios. They ca be particularly useful i providig early warig of health problems, ad helpig to assess risks, as they have detailed kowledge of day-today coditios. Do t assume you must use cosultats to help you comply. You will probably eed outside help for eye testig ad ay ivestigatios of serious aches ad pais. But simple problems do t require specialist expertise. Use the i-house kowledge that already exists. Make sure whoever you choose (it may be more tha oe perso) agrees their resposibilities ad kows what is expected of them. Get them to read this booklet. Check later that actio has bee take. Step 1 DECIDE WHO IS COVERED BY THE REGULATIONS The Regulatios apply where there are people who habitually use display scree equipmet as a sigificat part of their ormal work. So, ot everyoe who uses a VDU is covered by the Regulatios - oly those most likely to be at risk. You eed to decide who these people are. Remember to iclude homeworkers ad agecy temps, if you have ay (there is more advice o these special groups i our other guidace booklet L26). People usig a VDU more or less cotiuously o most days will be covered by the Regulatios. So, usually, are others who: ormally use a VDU for cotiuous or ear-cotiuous spells of a hour or more at a time; ad use it i this way more or less daily; ad have to trasfer iformatio quickly to or from the display scree equipmet; ad also eed to apply high levels of attetio ad cocetratio; or are highly depedet o VDUs to do the job or have little choice about usig them; or eed special traiig or skills to use the equipmet. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 6 of 21

7 Such people are called users i this guidace. Users may iclude, for example, people who do word processig or data iput, secretaries, telesales persoel, jouralists, librarias, graphic desigers, ad may others. The Regulatios distiguish betwee employees (users) ad self-employed workers (operators). This distictio is ot used here - where certai obligatios do ot apply to the self-employed, this is made clear i the text. Who are your VDU users? Have you idetified them all? Step 2 TRAIN USERS AND ASSESSORS Arrage traiig for: users o the risks, ad safe behaviour ad practices. For example, adjustable chairs oly reduce risk if users kow how to adjust them ad sit properly. If big chages are made to workstatios, users may eed retraiig; workstatio assessors. Step 3 requires you to assess workstatios. Assessors will eed to recogise risky workstatio layouts, eviromets ad practices. You ca trai your ow staff to do this job. Good user traiig should ormally cover: the risks from DSE work (see Itroductio); the importace of good posture ad chagig positio; how to adjust furiture to help avoid risks; orgaisig the workplace to avoid awkward or frequetly repeated stretchig movemets; avoidig reflectios ad glare o or aroud the scree; adjustig ad cleaig the scree ad mouse; orgaisig work for activity chages or breaks if ecessary; who to cotact for help ad to report problems or symptoms; cotributig to the risk assessmet, eg completig checklists. Cosider usig: videos; computer-based traiig; the HSE leaflet Workig with VDUs (see Further publicatios ad sources of advice ); wall charts; semiars. Make sure users ca ask about poits that are t clear. For example, if you show a video, allow time for questios at the ed ad have someoe preset who will kow the aswers. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 7 of 21

8 Good traiig for workstatio assessors will cover the poits above, plus: how to review checklists; how to idetify obvious ad less obvious hazards; decidig whe additioal iformatio ad help is eeded, ad where to go for it; how to draw coclusios from assessmets ad idetify steps to reduce risks; recordig problems; how to tell those who eed to take actio o fidigs, ad give feedback to users. Methods of traiig assessors iclude: professioally arraged semiars; gettig familiar with HSE guidace Display scree equipmet work: Guidace o Regulatios (see Further publicatios ad sources of advice ); computer-based traiig. Whatever traiig methods you use, you should check afterwards that assessors have uderstood the iformatio ad have reached a adequate level of competece. You do ot have to give health ad safety traiig to self-employed people usig your workstatios. That is their resposibility. Step 3 ASSESS WORKSTATIONS AND REDUCE THE RISKS Checklists (like the oe o page 13) are oe easy way to do workstatio assessmets, ad eable users to take a active part. After traiig, users ca fill i the checklist themselves. They kow what the problems are, ad whether or ot they are comfortable. For example, a workstatio assessor could assess a workstatio i the morig ad fid o glare o the scree; oly the user would kow that glare is bad i the afteroo. Remember, the user fillig i the checklist is oly the first stage, ot the whole assessmet. A properly traied assessor should go over the completed checklists, clarify ay doubtful poits, ad tackle problems that the user ca t solve. Make arragemets to review assessmets whe there is a sigificat chage to the workstatio, for example whe it is relocated or a differet scree is istalled. Users ca aswer the questios i the first colum of the checklist, makig adjustmets as they go, to reduce ay problems they fid. Where they aswer Yes, o further actio is ecessary. Stadard workstatio items (for example display screes, keyboards, chairs) do ot eed idividually assessig but users will eed to check that their items fuctio properly. For example, if all chairs are the same make ad model you will kow whether they have a adjustmet mechaism, but users will eed to check that their ow chair mechaism works. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 8 of 21

9 Assessors may fid the followig guidelies helpful: deal with the biggest problems first; take seriously ad ivestigate reports of aches ad pais from users; look for the less obvious causes of risk. For example, poor (ie risky) posture may be due to bad seatig, or sittig awkwardly to avoid glare o the scree, or leaig forward to key because arm rests prevet the chair beig close to the workstatio, or a poorly positioed mouse; remember to assess all the risks - look at thigs like task demads ad rest breaks, as well as the physical aspects of the workstatio; take accout of ay special eeds of idividuals, such as users with a disability; cosider differet ways of tacklig risks, eg if keyboard ad scree are fixed (as they are with may portables), risks could be reduced by icreasig job variety, for example, by icludig more time workig away from the computer; check later to see that actio idetified by the assessmet has i fact bee take, ad that it is ot causig other problems (see below); sig-off the checklist o its first page to show that everythig has bee doe. You do ot have to use checklists to do assessmets, but may people fid them useful. Beware of misiformatio ad exaggerated claims from suppliers of products that are supposed to reduce risks. They may oversimplify issues or talk up health risks to persuade people to buy accessories. Not everythig advertised as ergoomic has bee properly tested ad foud to be helpful. Beware i particular the followig, which are uecessary: tited VDU spectacles; over-elaborate adjustable tables; radiatio-reducig devices (filters, lead apros). Havig take actio to reduce the risks, check with the user that o ew problems have arise, for example: to have forearms i the correct keyig positio, a short user raises the chair height, but feet ca t ow be placed flat o the floor. A footrest is eeded; workstatio layout is reorgaised to give more space but oe user is ow sittig ext to a source of oise or glare. Completed assessmets will eed to be reviewed whe: major chages are made to the equipmet, furiture, work eviromet or software; ew users start work, or chage workstatios; workstatios are relocated; the ature of work tasks chages cosiderably. Focus o the aspects that have chaged. For example: the evirometal factors are importat if the workstatio locatio chages; differet users have differet eeds - replacig a tall perso with a short oe may mea a footrest is required; users workig from a umber of source documets eed more desk space tha users who just use the computer ad telephoe. Use your assessmet to decide what eeds to be doe. Check that actio has reduced the risk The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 9 of 21

10 Step 4 MAKE SURE WORKSTATIONS AND EQUIPMENT COMPLY WITH MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS The Schedule to the Regulatios sets out some miimum requiremets for ergoomic features that workstatios should have (whether or ot they are used by a user). You ca use the checklist o page 13 to help you comply. Maufacturers ad suppliers ca assist, but remember that you as the employer have the duty to esure items comply. The Schedule covers broad desig factors for furiture; the VDU hardware, software ad accessories; ad the workstatio eviromet. It applies to equipmet bought secod-had ad ew. It does ot iclude detailed measuremets ad specificatios. There is o requiremet for equipmet to comply with British or iteratioal stadards. (However, choosig thigs that do comply with relevat stadards - such as BS EN ISO ca help make sure they will satisfy or go beyod the requiremets i the Schedule.) You do t eed to take measuremets of furiture, temperature, oise levels, radiatio, etc to comply with the schedule. Adjustable tables are ot a legal requiremet. The questios ad Thigs to cosider i the checklist cover the requiremets of the Schedule. If you ca aswer Yes i the secod colum agaist all the questios, havig take accout of the Thigs to cosider, you are complyig. You will ot be able to address some of the questios ad Thigs to cosider, eg o reflectios o the scree, or the user s comfort, util the workstatio has bee istalled. These will be covered i the risk assessmet that you have to do oce the workstatio is istalled. Follow Step 3 to complete the assessmet ad reduce ay risks you fid. Note that because of the way the Schedule is worded, you do t have to comply with all the detailed requiremets i the checklist if: the workstatio does t have a particular item. For example, some kids of display scree work do ot eed a documet holder. Complyig with the Schedule does t mea you always have to provide a documet holder; it would ot be helpful to comply with oe (or more) of the requiremets as this would ot improve health ad safety i a particular case. For example, some users may have certai back complaits that beefit from havig a chair without a backrest. I this case providig a chair with a backrest could do more harm tha good; the ature of the task makes it iappropriate. For example to preview page layout o scree, it may ot be ecessary for characters to be well defied because readig the words is ot the priority. May workstatios have a mouse, trackball or other poitig device. Advice o thigs to look for to esure users health is icluded i the checklist. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 10 of 21

11 Portable computers are subject to the Regulatios if they are i prologed use. You should give their users adequate traiig. Uless you have made other arragemets, this should iclude traiig them to make a risk assessmet whe settig up a portable away from the office. Risk assessmets should cosider potetial risks from maual hadlig, if portable computer users have to carry heavy equipmet ad papers. You should also cosider possible risks from violet theft, as well as the ormal risks of all display scree work described i Step 3. Desig features of portables ca lead to postural ad other problems. To avoid these, tell users to take more frequet breaks, ad avoid usig the portable i locatios such as a car, which are ot ideal. Wheever possible, users should be ecouraged to use their portable at a dockig statio. Or, they ca use the portable with a plug-i full-sized keyboard ad mouse, eablig the height ad positio of the portable s scree to be adjusted by placig it o raiser blocks. Whe selectig a portable, look for low weight (icludig ay accessories) ad a large clear scree which ca be used comfortably for the tasks to be doe. Other ergoomic features may be required for the tasks to be doe (for example, equipmet for use outdoors eeds to be waterproof, with a scree that ca be read i bright su). Step 5 PLAN CHANGES OF ACTIVITY OR BREAKS FOR USERS Breakig up log spells of VDU work helps prevet fatigue, eye strai, upper limb problems ad backache. Where possible, iclude spells of other work, eg telephoe calls, filig, photocopyig etc. If such chages of activity are ot possible the law requires you to pla for users to take rest breaks. Whe orgaisig users work the followig poits may help: vary the tasks, eg ecourage users to walk across to a colleague to get iformatio, rather tha ig or usig the phoe; remid users to stretch ad chage positio; ecourage users to look ito the distace from time to time, ad to blik ofte; breaks should be take before users get tired, rather tha to recover; short frequet breaks are better tha loger, ifrequet oes; idividual cotrol over work patters is the ideal - but make sure users do t: get carried away ad work itesely for too log; save breaks to take a few loger oes or go home early; or use breaks for other computer activities, like surfig the Iteret. imposed rest breaks may sometimes be the oly solutio, eg i some data preparatio or call cetre work; breaks should be take away from the scree if possible. Timig ad legth of breaks is ot set dow i the law. Needs vary depedig o the work doe. You are ot resposible for providig breaks for the self-employed. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 11 of 21

12 Step 6 PROVIDE EYE TESTS AND ANY NECESSARY SPECTACLES FOR VDU WORK If you employ users, or those about to become users, they ca request a eye ad eyesight test that you have to pay for. If the test shows they eed glasses specifically for their VDU work, you have to pay for a basic pair of frames ad leses. Users are etitled to further tests at regular itervals after the first test, ad i betwee if they are havig visual difficulties which may reasoably be cosidered to be caused by their VDU work. VDU work does ot cause permaet damage to eyes or eyesight. Eye tests are provided to esure that users ca comfortably see the scree, to work effectively without visual fatigue. You ca decide what arragemets to make to provide eye ad eyesight tests. For example, some employers let users arrage tests for themselves (ad had the employer the bill); others prefer to sed all their staff to be tested by oe opticia. Whe settig up a system for providig users with eye ad eyesight tests, these poits might help: cotact a umber of opticias ad ask what they charge for tests ad basic glasses; ask if they will come to the firm to test users; ask for stadard iformatio about each user they test (ie if they eed glasses for VDU work, ad whe they should be re-tested); tell users what arragemets you have made; make sure users uderstad what you will ad wo t pay for (eg tited leses, or glasses ot required for the VDU work are ot your resposibility). If users ormal glasses for other work are suitable for VDU work you do t eed to pay for them. You do t have to pay for facy frames or leses. Eye tests are ot a etitlemet for the selfemployed. Step 7 TELL USERS WHAT YOU HAVE DONE Give users iformatio o: health ad safety relatig to their workstatios; risk assessmet ad steps take to reduce risks; breaks ad chages of activity; eye ad eyesight tests. For self-employed workers you do ot eed to cover the last two poits The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 12 of 21

13 You ca pass o the required iformatio by: tellig staff; puttig iformatio i staff istructios o health ad safety; circulars; wall charts; computer-based iformatio systems (if staff are traied ad ca use them). Make sure you have told your VDU users about the issues relevat to their health ad safety The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 13 of 21

14 VDU workstatio checklist Workstatio locatio ad umber (if applicable):... User:... Checklist completed by:... Assessmet checked by:... Date of assessmet:... Ay further actio eeded:? YES/NO Follow up actio completed o:... This checklist ca be used as a aid to risk assessmet ad to help comply with the Schedule to the Health ad Safety (Display Scree Equipmet) Regulatios. Work through the checklist, tickig either the yes or o colum agaist each risk factor: Yes aswers require o further actio. No aswers will require ivestigatio ad/or remedial actio by the workstatio assessor. They should record their decisios i the Actio to take colum. Assessors should check later that actios have bee take ad have resolved the problem. Remember the checklist oly covers the workstatio ad work eviromet. You also eed to make sure that risks from other aspects of the work are avoided, for example by givig users health ad safety traiig, ad providig for breaks or chages of activity. Advice o these is give i the mai text of the guidace. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 14 of 21

15 RISK FACTORS Tick aswer THINGS TO CONSIDER ACTION TO TAKE YES NO 1 Display screes Are the characters clear ad readable? Health ad safety 4 Make sure the scree is clea ad cleaig materials are made available. Check that text ad backgroud colours work well together. Health ad safety 8 Is the text size comfortable to read? Is the image stable, ie free of flicker ad jitter? Is the scree s specificatio suitable for its iteded use? Are the brightess ad/or cotrast adjustable? Does the scree swivel ad tilt? Software settigs may eed adjustig to chage text size. Try usig differet scree colours to reduce flicker, eg darker backgroud ad lighter text. If problems still exist, get the set-up checked, eg by the equipmet supplier. For example, itesive graphic work or work requirig fie attetio to small details may require large display screes. Separate adjustmet cotrols are ot essetial, provided the user ca read the scree easily at all times. Swivel ad tilt eed ot be built i; you ca add a swivel ad tilt mechaism. However, you may eed to replace the scree if: swivel/tilt is abset or usatisfactory; work is itesive; ad/or the user has problems gettig the scree to a comfortable positio. Is the scree free from glare ad reflectios? Use a mirror placed i frot of the scree to check where reflectios are comig from. You might eed to move the scree or eve the desk ad/or shield the scree from the source of reflectios. Screes that use dark characters o a light backgroud are less proe to glare ad reflectios. Are adjustable widow coverigs provided ad i adequate coditio? Check that blids work. Blids with vertical slatsca be more suitable tha horizotal oes. If these measures do ot work, cosider ati-glare scree filters as a last resort ad seek specialist help. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 15 of 21

16 RISK FACTORS Tick aswer THINGS TO CONSIDER ACTION TO TAKE YES NO 2 Keyboards Is the keyboard separate from the scree? Does the keyboard tilt? Is it possible to fid a comfortable keyig positio? 4 This is a requiremet, uless the task makes it impracticable (eg where there is a eed to use a portable). Tilt eed ot be built i. Try pushig the display scree further back to create more room for the keyboard, hads ad wrists. Users of thick, raised keyboards may eed a wrist rest Does the user have good keyboard techique? Are the characters o the keys easily readable? Traiig ca be used to prevet: hads bet up at wrist; hittig the keys too hard; overstretchig the figers. Keyboards should be kept clea. If characters still ca t be read, the keyboard may eed modifyig or replacig. Use a keyboard with a matt fiish to reduce glare ad/or reflectio. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 16 of 21

17 RISK FACTORS Tick aswer THINGS TO CONSIDER ACTION TO TAKE YES NO 3 Mouse, trackball etc Is the device suitable for the tasks it is used for? Is the device positioed close to the user? 4 If the user is havig problems, try a differet device. The mouse ad trackball are geeralpurpose devices suitable for may tasks, ad available i a variety of shapes ad sizes. Alterative devices such as touchscrees may be better for some tasks (but ca be worse for others). Most devices are best placed as close as possible, eg right beside the keyboard. Traiig may be eeded to: prevet arm overreachig; tell users ot to leave their had o the device whe it is ot beig used; ecourage a relaxed arm ad straight wrist. 8 Is there support for the device user s wrist ad forearm? Does the device work smoothly at a speed that suits the user? Ca the user easily adjust software settigs for speed ad accuracy of poiter? Support ca be gaied from, for example, the desk surface or arm of a chair. If ot, a separate supportig device may help. The user should be able to fid a comfortable workig positio with the device. See if cleaig is required (eg of mouse ball ad rollers). Check the work surface is suitable. A mouse mat may be eeded. Users may eed traiig i how to adjust device settigs. 4 Software Is the software suitable for the task? Software should help the user carry out the task, miimise stress ad be user-friedly. Check users have had appropriate traiig i usig the software. Software should respod quickly ad clearly to user iput, with adequate feedback, such as clear help messages. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 17 of 21

18 RISK FACTORS Tick aswer THINGS TO CONSIDER ACTION TO TAKE YES NO 5 Furiture Is the work surface large eough for all the ecessary equipmet, papers etc? 4 Create more room by movig priters, referece materials etc elsewhere. If ecessary, cosider providig ew power ad telecoms sockets, so equipmet ca be moved. There should be some scope for flexible rearragemet. 8 Ca the user comfortably reach all the equipmet ad papers they eed to use? Rearrage equipmet, papers etc to brig frequetly used thigs withi easy reach. A documet holder may be eeded, positioed to miimise ucomfortable head ad eye movemets. Are surfaces free from glare ad reflectio? Is the chair suitable? Is the chair stable? Does the chair have a workig: seat back height ad tilt adjustmet? seat height adjustmet? swivel mechaism? castors or glides? Is the chair adjusted correctly? 4 8 Cosider mats or blotters to reduce reflectios ad glare. The chair may eed repairig or replacig if the user is ucomfortable, or caot use the adjustmet mechaisms. The user should be able to carry out their work sittig comfortably. Cosider traiig the user i how to adopt suitable postures while workig. The arms of chairs ca stop the user gettig close eough to use the equipmet comfortably. Move ay obstructios from uder the desk. 8 Is the small of the back supported by the chair s backrest? Are forearms horizotal ad eyes at roughly the same height as the top of the VDU? Are feet flat o the floor, without too much pressure from the seat o the backs of the legs? The user should have a straight back, supported by the chair, with relaxed shoulders. Adjust the chair height to get the user s arms i the right positio, the adjust the VDU height, if ecessary. If ot, a foot rest may be eeded. The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 18 of 21

19 RISK FACTORS Tick aswer THINGS TO CONSIDER ACTION TO TAKE YES NO 6 Eviromet Is there eough room to chage positio ad vary movemet? Is the lightig suitable, eg ot too bright or too dim to work comfortably? Space is eeded to move, stretch ad fidget. Cosider reorgaisig the office layout ad check for obstructios. Cables should be tidy ad ot a trip or sag hazard. Users should be able to cotrol light levels, eg by adjustig widow blids or light switches. Cosider shadig or repositioig light sources or providig local lightig, eg desk lamps (but make sure lights do t cause glare by reflectig off walls or other surfaces). Does the air feel comfortable? VDUs ad other equipmet may dry the air. Circulate fresh air if possible. Plats may help. Are levels of heat comfortable? Are levels of oise comfortable? Cosider a humidifier if discomfort is severe. Ca heatig be better cotrolled? More vetilatio or air-coditioig may be required if there is a lot of electroic equipmet i the room. Or, ca users be moved away from the heat source? Cosider movig sources of oise, eg priters, away from the user. If ot, cosider soudproofig. 7 Fial questios to users... Ask if the checklist has covered all the problems they may have workig with their VDU. Ask if they have experieced ay discomfort or other symptoms which they attribute to workig with their VDU. Ask if the user has bee advised of their etitlemet to eye ad eyesight testig. Ask if the user takes regular breaks workig away from VDUs. Write the details of ay problems here: The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 19 of 21

20 Further publicatios ad sources of advice Publicatios Achig arms (or RSI) i small busiesses: Is ill health due to upper limb disorders a problem i your workplace? Leaflet INDG171(rev1) HSE Books 2003 (sigle copy free or priced packs of 15 ISBN ) Uderstadig ergoomics at work: Reduce accidets ad ill health ad icrease productivity by fittig the task to the worker Leaflet INDG90(rev2) HSE Books 2003 (sigle copy free or priced packs of 15 ISBN ) Work with display scree equipmet. Health ad Safety (Display Scree Equipmet) Regulatios 1992.Guidace o Regulatios L26 (Secod editio) HSE Books 2003 ISBN Workig with VDUs Leaflet INDG36(rev3) HSE Books 2005 (sigle copy free or priced packs of 10 ISBN ) Tacklig stress: The Maagemet Stadards approach Leaflet INDG406 HSE Books 2005 (sigle copy free or priced packs of 10 ISBN ) Further copies of the checklist i this guide are available: VDU workstatio checklist Leaflet HSE Books (priced packs of 5 ISBN ) Advice from Health ad Safety Authorities: For busiesses i office or retail premises, cotact the Evirometal Health Departmet at the local Coucil. For other premises, cotact HSE s Ifolie o The law o VDUs: A easy guide Page 20 of 21

21 Further iformatio HSE priced ad free publicatios ca be viewed olie or ordered from or cotact HSE Books, PO Box 1999, Sudbury, Suffolk CO10 2WA Tel: Fax: HSE priced publicatios are also available from bookshops. For iformatio about health ad safety rig HSE s Ifolie Tel: Fax: Textphoe: hse.ifolie@atbrit.com or write to HSE Iformatio Services, Caerphilly Busiess Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GG. Published by HSE 09/09 Page 21 of 21