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Article: VDU safety
This month, PHSC Environmental reports on the health and safety of people who frequently use VDU equipment. This is often a hidden risk within a motor vehicle workshop, and one which could be most costly! The main concern to workshop managers should be regarding their civil liability, ie whether workers are likely to make compensation claims for injuries associated with VDUs. Some successful claims have resulted in payouts exceeding £100,000.
For more information: Questions and answers
What are the risks of using a VDU?
RSI - Repetitive strain injury
There has been much debate over recent years regarding health risks associated with VDUs. The most widely reported risk is RSI type injuries from over-use of the keyboard and mouse. Vehicle repairers may be familiar with these health symptoms in other parts of the workplace, but not with office workers who have always been considered to be working in a relatively safe environment.
Musculo-skeletal disorders are commonly reported by VDU users. These include backache, stiff neck and shoulders and cramps in the fingers and hands. Other symptoms of RSI-type conditions include tingling sensations, sharp pains in the arms and hands and loss of power or grip. These conditions appear slowly over a period of time, rather than occur overnight. The problem here is that people don't notice that their discomfort is slowly increasing until it becomes really problematic.
The main cause of these conditions is undertaking repetitive tasks for prolonged periods without taking any breaks or changes in activity. The muscles and tendons become overloaded, and over a period of time they will be damaged. Poor posture whilst working is another significant cause.
Eye problems
People who use VDUs regularly often complain of tired eyes, including deterioration in focus, dryness in the eyes and general eye discomfort. Other symptoms include headaches and loss of concentration. This is caused by people staring at a fixed distance for prolonged periods. Their eye muscles become stiff and tired. Research has proven that people also forget to blink as frequently when they concentrate !
Radiation
Although this has become less of a concern over recent years some workers are still concerned that radiation is emitted from VDU screens. People who are most likely to be concerned are women who are pregnant or seeking to become pregnant (ie that the radiation is damaging their baby, or even their fertility). Research has shown that this concern is unfounded and that the stress of being exposed to a perceived risk is more of a health concern than any radiation.
The four main causes of these conditons and how to reduce the risks
- These conditions are predominantly caused by four main factors.
- Bad posture (people sitting too low with their elbows below desk height, slouching etc)
- Poor workstation layout ( where people are cramped, the desk is too small to house the equipment or people have to twist to reach the keyboard)
- Poor job design (where people work for too long at one task without taking a break or doing something else)
- Stress (this is a contributory factor because muscles and tendons become tense when a person is stressed.
What should be done to reduce risk?
1. Risk assessment
These should be undertaken on a one to one basis, and should take into account what the person uses the VDU for, how often, for how long etc. They should be recorded and kept updated. The assessment should identify whether the user is comfortable and able to work without risk to their health.
2. Eye tests
Employees who use VDUs frequently should be offered an eye test at the company's expense, including the basic cost of glasses where necessary.
3. Rest breaks
European and UK regulations require that changes in activity or other forms of rest break are given to VDU users. Staff who stop using the VDU to complete another task such as answering the telephone are deemed to have taken a 'break' from the VDU.
4. Information
Anyone who uses a VDU should be given information about the hazards and risks, the company's procedures for reporting problems etc.
5. Training
Anyone who is a VDU user should receive basic training in how to sit properly, ensure a suitable workstation layout, incorporate breaks into the work schedule, report problems etc.
6. Furniture
Provide suitable furniture that is big enough to accommodate the VDU equipment and enable the worker to undertake their paper-work tasks. The chair is extremely important, and should be adjustable enough to enable sufficient comfort and lumbar support. A chair should have a five leg base and ideally be on casters (unless the worksurface makes this unsafe).
VDU risk questions and answers:
| Question |
Recently one of our office staff said that she thought she was entitled to an eyesight test at our expense. Is this true? |
| Answer |
Yes - if they are an employee (as opposed to a temporary or contract worker) and if a significant part of their work involves use of a VDU. Both criteria must be met for a worker to be entitled. A 'Significant' use has been given a number of definitions, the mostly commonly used ones are whether they have continuous use of a VDU for periods exceeding one hour, or if their work is reliant upon use of a VDU. |
| Question |
What do we have to pay for regarding eye tests and glasses? |
| Answer |
If an employee has been defined as a 'user' (see question above) then you have to pay for a full eye test, and retest when required. This is generally accepted by opticians as being every two years, although you may need to review this if someone is reporting problems to you and requests a retest before the two yearly interval.
With regard to glasses, you have to pay for the price of a basic frame and lense (approximately ,40-,50) but only if they are specifically for VDU use. People who wear glasses as part of every day use, or for reading, are not entitled to this. You may require the optician to formally confirm that the prescription is VDU specific, before allocating the allowance to the employee. |
| Question |
What is a VDU risk assessment, and when should this be undertaken? |
| Answer |
A VDU risk assessment should be undertaken of each individual user at their own workstation. The assessment should be recorded and monitored. Because these are one-to-one assessments they are quite time consuming, but necessary in order to reduce the risk of compensation claims. Each assessment can take between 15-45 minutes. The assessment should consider factors such as how people sit, whether there is enough space, whether the distance between the user and the screen is adequate and for how long the user spends at any one time using the keyboard or mouse. Assessments need to be reviewed when:
- there is a change in the user
- problems are reported by the user
- there has been a significant change in the equipment, furniture or environment
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If you would like to find out more about how PHSC can help, contact us now on 01622 717700!
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