Looking to ensure that your employees within your workplace or organization use display screen equipment (DSE) correctly? This piece of content will be a thorough guide on working safely with DSE, the regulations that revolve around display screen work, and how the health and safety of staff can be protected. 

Laptops, tablets, or other display screen equipment are a necessity in almost every workplace these days. But their continuous or inappropriate use may pose several health and safety risks to the DSE users. 

Often musculoskeletal injuries are assumed to result due to manual work. However, 36% of such conditions occur due to inappropriate postures or poor working conditions and workstations while working on display screens.

What is Display Screen Equipment (DSE)?

A display screen equipment or DSE is any equipment that has an alphanumerical and graphical displays and consists of display screens, laptops, touch screens, or other similar devices, according to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

However, DSE involves both conventional and emerging devices like tablets, smartphones, touchscreens, or personal computers.

As an employer, you must protect your workers from any health risk associated with display screen work. 

Why is DSE Important?

Looking after the health and safety of the staff is the foremost and the legal duty of the employers. It also brings other benefits to the businesses as well, by complying with the law helps employers implement good DSE safety practices within their work environment and helps their staff to stay motivated. 

It also helps minimize the sickness absences that could occur due to several health risks associated with display screen work.

Employees who feel safe and cared for are more likely to feel productive at work while staying for longer within the organization. Alongside this, if their health and safety are neglected there are chances of increased staff turnover and lower employees’ self-esteem which can lead to legal, moral, and financial claims against businesses.

Health Risks Related to Display Screen Equipment or DSE Work

There are numerous health and safety risks related to display screen work if employees are using badly designed workstations, inappropriate working postures, and lack of training and guidance.

It can lead to severe health conditions if not taken into consideration on time.

Some of the health risks include:

  • Back pains & strains
  • Stress
  • Fatigue
  • Eye pain
  • Repetitive strain injuries
  • Limbs disorders

These issues could happen due to the following reasons:

  • Uncomfortable chair
  • The computer mouse is positioned far away 
  • The laptop screen is not set to the appropriate height
  • Inappropriate lighting or other room temperature 

Display Screen Equipment Regulations

Being an employer, it is your legal duty and responsibility to protect your staff members from any health risks related to display screen work. The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (amended 2002) apply to workers who use display screen equipment as part of their work daily for more than two hours or more.

The DSE regulations apply to all the display screen equipment users and the main provisions are as follows:

  • Employers must conduct a risk assessment of the workstations used by their employees to minimize any identifiable risks and hazards
  • Employees must make sure that their staff members take adequate breaks with regular intervals of time from their display screens
  • Employees are also allowed to ask for regular eye tests annually to ensure their eyes are protected from any strain or stress
  • Employers are also required to provide their workforce with adequate information, training, and guidance regarding the safe use of display screen equipment to ensure they are familiar with the safe working practices to protect their wellbeing

Along with this, some of the major reasons that improper workstations can pose to their users are:

  • Fatigue due to poorly designed & adjusted workspace
  • Repetitive strain injuries
  • Eye strain leading to headaches or other injuries 

Health & Safety Training for Staff

When talking about staff training, employers must provide adequate DSE training to their employees. This will ensure that they are familiar with the safety practices to work safely with display screens as well as adhere to the DSE regulations to ensure a safe and secure workplace for all.

Proper staff training also ensure that employers are complying with the safety legislation and so are safe from legal, moral, and financial claims that can ruin their business badly within their sector.

Summary 

This post is a thorough explanation of what it takes to work safely with display screen equipment. Almost every workplace or organization today has some sort of work that is related to the use of computers. 

Therefore, employers, managers, and those responsible for protecting the health and safety of their staff must ensure that they have the right education and training to do the work safely and adhere to the law to meet health and safety at work regulations.

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