Display Screen Equipment

 

Although the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 has been around for a long time, many employers are still unsure about what it means to them and what their duties are.

 

Below are some of the FAQ concerning employers about their duties and responsibilities with respect to the use of Display Screen Equipment (DSE) or Video Display Units (VDU). This includes:

• the need for risk assessment
• consideration to the design and layout of the workstation
• the provision of ancillary equipment and breaks in activity
• eye and eyesight testing and the provision of glasses, etc.

Consideration is given to the differences between “Users” and “Operators”.

 

Do I have to do a risk assessment of all DSE/VDU work stations?

 

In line with virtually all aspects of modern health and safety management, a risk assessment is required (under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, as amended).

 

This should involve:

• analysing all workstations
• assessing the risks to workers and
• reducing these risks down to as low a level as is reasonably practicable.

The assessment should include all equipment and furniture, as well as the work environment (such as lighting). Consideration needs to be given to the actual job being carried out and to the special needs of individual workers (such as with respect to height).

 

A range of questionnaires and Proforma risk assessments are available, including one provided by the HSE in the Approved Code of Practise (ACoP) to the DSE Regulations. Where an individual workstation is used by more than one worker, whether simultaneously or in shifts, it should be analysed and assessed in relation to all “Users” and “Operators” (see later) covered by the DSE Regulations.

 

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Can the use of DSE or VDU lead to Repetitive strain injury?

 

The principal health risks associated with the use of DSE or VDU are:

1. physical (or musculoskeletal) problems
2. visual fatigue and mental stress.

 

Typically, these often reflect bodily fatigue. It is well established that some users of Display Screen Equipment (DSE) or Video Display Units (VDU) may get aches and pains in their:

• hands
• wrists
• arms
• neck,
• shoulders or
• back

especially after long periods of uninterrupted VDU work.

 

Such aches and pains are, increasingly, being referred to as Repetitive Strain Injuries or RSI. Such conditions are musculoskeletal disorders and are more accurately referred to as Upper Limb Disorders (ULD). In most instances, these disorders do not last. In a few cases they may become persistent or even disabling.

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What can be done to help to prevent these upper limb disorders?

 

Avoiding upper limb disorders, and aches and pains generally, can be achieved (in most cases) by setting the work station up properly, with good equipment, suitable lighting and regular breaks, or changes, in activity.

 

Please refer to comments in the following questions.

 

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How should the workstation be set up?

 

1. Ensure that there is enough room available to work comfortably and to site necessary documents, etc. at the work station.
2. Ensure that the workstation is not cramped by, for example, the storage of boxes (such as stationery) under the desk, etc.
3. Get the people working in the area to adjust their chair and monitor (VDU) to find the most comfortable position for their work. In most cases, this can be achieved by arranging for the forearms to be approximately horizontal when working and for their eyes to be at the same height as the top of the monitor.
4. Experiment with different arrangements and positions of the keyboard, screen, mouse and documents to find the most appropriate working arrangement for each worker. A space in front of the keyboard may be useful for resting the hands and wrists when not typing.
5. The workstation should be designed so that workers can keep their wrists straight when typing.
6. Workers should be encouraged to keep a soft touch on the keys and not to overstretch your fingers.
7. Similarly, position the mouse within easy reach, so it can be used with the wrist straight.
8. Ensure that users can sit upright, close to the desk so that they don’t have to work with their mouse arm outstretched.

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What can be done to reduce glare onto the monitor screen?

 

Ensure that desks and monitors are arranged to avoid glare, and bright reflections on the screen. One of the easiest ways to do this is to ensure that neither the monitor nor the worker is facing windows or bright lights. In certain cases, it may be necessary to provide suitable curtains or blinds on the windows. It is possible to provide anti-glare filters for the monitor screen, but these should not be necessary if the equipment is set up correctly. The brightness and contrast controls on the screen should be adjusted to suit the lighting conditions in the work area.

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Do I have to provide special chairs for VDU/DSE users?

 

The exact requirements for chairs (and other aspects of the workstation) are set out in the Schedule to the Regulations (Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, as amended), which give the minimum requirements for workstations. To comply with these minimum standards:

1. The work chair shall be stable and allow the operator or user easy freedom of movement and a comfortable position.
2. The seat shall be adjustable in height.
3. The seat back shall be adjustable in both height and tilt.
4. A footrest shall be made available to any operator or user who wishes one.

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Should I provide document holders and/or footrests?

 

This depends on the findings of the risk assessment and will vary from person to person, depending on their job activities and on their build.

 

Document holders can help to avoid awkward neck and eye movements, especially when carrying out “copy typing” activities. When seated, excess pressure from the edge of the seat on to the backs of the legs and knees should be avoided. This may dictate the type of seat that is required, but in many instances, a footrest may be helpful, particularly for smaller users.

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Do I have to let VDU/DSE users have more breaks than other office staff?

 

No, VDU/DSE users do not need to have more breaks than other office staff.

 

What is important, however, is that they don’t sit in the same position for prolonged periods. They should be encouraged to change their posture regularly.

 

Most office jobs provide opportunities to take a break from the direct VDU/DSE work in order to carry out other office tasks, such as photocopying, filing, paper shredding, etc. Those staff involved in significant use of VDU/DSE should be encouraged to make the most of these opportunities. However, if the job does not offer such opportunities for natural breaks in activity, then it is the responsibility of the employer to plan the work so that appropriate rest breaks are provided. It should be considered that frequent short breaks are more effective than fewer long ones.

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What is a “User”, under the DSE Regulations and why is it important?

 

The DSE Regulations define a “User” as an employee who habitually uses DSE/VDU as a significant part of their normal work. This means that consideration needs to be given to the job that employees do in order to determine if they are classified as “Users” or not.

 

It is recommended that that employers make a list of all potential DSE “Users” and then consider each post or each person in turn and evaluate their job and their activities to see if they should be classified as a “User”.

 

Typical jobs that are generally classified as DSE “Users” include:

• typists
• work processors
• data input clerks
• secretaries
• personal assistants
• telesales operators (and similar job types)
• air traffic controllers
• librarians, etc.

 

There are certain job types that would be unlikely to be classified as DSE “Users”, such as:

• most senior managers
• receptionists and similar posts that involve occasional, frenetic DSE usage, but not long term DSE usage.

Many other posts will have to be determined on their individual merits.

 

The classification of employees as “Users” is important as it affects their right to eye and eyesight testing and the provision of corrective spectacles at the employer’s expense. “Users are entitled to eye and eye sight tests (upon request) at their employer’s expense, whereas employees who are not “Users” have no such entitlement.

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How do DSE “Users” and DSE “Operators” differ?

 

Part of the difference lies in employment status. An operator is similar to a user, except instead of being an employee who habitually uses display screen equipment, they are a self employed person who habitually uses display screen equipment. “Operators” do not have exactly the same rights as “Users”. The client employer must still assess and reduce risks, ensure the workstation complies with the minimum requirements and provide information, as if the “Operator” were an employee. There is, however, no requirement for the client employer to plan work breaks, or provide eye and eyesight tests or training for the self-employed.

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Do the same rules and regulations apply to employees who work from home using DSE/VDU?

 

Yes, the Regulations apply in the case of employees who work from home, and habitually use DSE as a significant part of their normal work. If an employee is classified as a DSE “User” and is employed to work at home (or other locations away from the office), the DSE Regulations apply irrespective of whether or not the workstation is provided in whole or in part by the employer.

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What sorts of problems exist from using laptop equipment and what arrangements need to be made for workers using laptop computers and similar devices?

 

As laptops and other similar portable computing equipment have been designed to be compact and easy to carry, the user interface (keyboard) has been compromised. The keyboard and the keys are smaller than normal keyboards. Further to this, they are not (generally) adjustable relative to the screen and the desk surface. Prolonged use of this type of equipment is generally more uncomfortable than using a normal computer.

 

As the use of laptop equipment is increasing, so is the availability of desktop solutions for them. Increasingly, docking stations are available to allow the laptop to be used in the workplace instead of a normal computer. The docking station allows a normal keyboard, monitor and mouse to be used. Further to this, there is now a wide range of keyboard and mouse equipment that is portable and can be taken to different locations and connected to the laptop (such as via the USB connections).

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Must I provide eye and eye sight tests for “Users” and must I provide spectacles if special ones are needed?

 

Those employees who have been categorised as “Users” may request the employer to provide and pay for an eye and eyesight test. This is a test that is carried out by an optometrist or by a doctor.

 

The purpose of providing eye tests for DSE users is to enhance comfort and efficiency by identifying and correcting vision defects, thus helping to prevent temporary eyestrain and fatigue.

 

There is no reliable evidence that work with DSE/VDU causes any permanent damage to eyes or to the eyesight. The use of such equipment may, however, make those “Users” with pre-existing vision defects more aware of them. Uncorrected vision defects can make work at display screens more tiring or stressful than it should be, and correcting defects can improve comfort, job satisfaction and performance.

 

Further eye and eyesight tests should be carried out at regular intervals, with the optometrist recommending a suitable frequency of retesting.

 

With respect to corrective spectacles, the employers only have to pay for spectacles if special ones (for example, prescribed for the distance at which the screen is viewed) are needed and normal ones cannot be used. ‘Normal’ corrective appliances are at the employees own expense, but “Users” needing ‘special’ corrective appliances will be prescribed a special pair of spectacles for display screen work.

 

The employers’ liability for the cost of these is restricted to payment of the cost of a basic appliance: that is corrective spectacles of a type and quality adequate for the “User’s” work. Where bifocal or varifocal spectacles are prescribed as special corrective appliances, then the employer is required to meet the costs associated with providing a basic frame and the prescribed lenses. The provision of eye and eyesight tests and of special corrective appliances (spectacles) under the provisions of the DSE Regulations is at the expense of the “User’s” employ

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