Ergonomics Associated with DSE
Introduction
Display Screen Equipment (DSE) are important components of most businesses and organizations today. DSE constitutes any electronic equipment, which has a keyboard, a display screen, and a third component, especially a storage component. Based on this definition, there are much equipment, which qualify to be categorized as DSE; however, DSE conventionally refers to computer equipment. DSEs have users and operators. The user is the person who is in contact with the equipment for most of the time. Despite their usefulness and utter necessity, if poorly regulated, DSEs pose serious health threats to the user. As such, many countries including the UK have come up with legislations, which are meant to protect the user of DSE from the health hazards that the equipment pose. In order to prevent these negative health effects caused by DSE use, assessment for risks is key. This report presents an assessment of Eagle Investment’s DSE and occupational hazards associated with them.
About the Firm
Eagle Investments majorly deals in small electronic gadgets like cellphones, radios, DVD players, and decoders. The company also specialize in selling all types of watches and their accessories. Accessories to the other electronic gadgets are also sold. The firm is situated on a busy street in Merseyside and has many customers. The volume of business at the firm is, therefore, significantly high. After interviewing the proprietor, I concluded that on average, the firm made a net profit of £20,000 in a month.
The firm has a total of twenty-one staff in five departments. The first of these is the managerial department. This department is run by the firm’s proprietor. The department also doubles as the ICT department in the firm as the proprietor is the chief ICT expert in the firm. The second department is the human resource department. The department is mainly concerned with hiring, monitoring, and firing workers whenever there is a need to. The department has two members – both who use the computer for most of their work. The third is the finance department. The department consists of two cashiers. For these, they do all their work on computers. Fourth, is the sales department; this department has the highest number of employees. The employees in this department are responsible for ensuring neatness and order of commodities on display and on shelves. They also talk to customers at a personal level and help customers in choosing the commodities which suit them best before referring the customer to the cashier where payment is made. Not all members of this department use computers, though. Only three of them are responsible for keying the agreed deal into the system for the cashiers to see. Lastly is the reception department. The department has two receptionists who work in shifts. Their work mainly is welcoming customers and ushering them to the place where they can get whatever they are looking for. The receptionists work also involves the use of computers.
The Assessment Form
I assessed five members of staff at my current firm, Eagle Investments; a retail shop for various electronics. Each of the five members of staff assessed was from a different department. Apart from the proprietor who was assessed in the managerial/ICT department, the employees chosen for assessment in the other departments were the latest to be employed. Among all the workers in the firm, I am the only trained ergonomic assessor. However, I have not been at the firm for a long time, hence the timing of the assessment. The assessment was done was a standard ergonomic assessment which was meant to identify any DSE-associated risks for the workers and how these can be solved. The assessment was done in line with statutory regulations of the UK including the 1992 amendment and the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) for DSE users. The assessment form used in this report examined various aspects of the working environment as is provided in the laws of the UK and the ACoP for DSE use. The assessment form further examined the probable health effects that DSE use could have had on the users.
Visual Challenges
The first section of the assessment form was dedicated to finding the visual challenges that the five respondents could be facing. The questions in the form checked if the DSE user was comfortable with the brightness and contrast of their screens and the nature of characters that appeared on the screen. The section also inquired about the comfort of using the screen; precisely, the ability of the screen to be tilted and the adjustability of the brightness and contrast of the screen. The visual demands of DSE use can cause problems with vision. The visual defects that can be attributed to DSEs have been called Computer Vision Syndrome before. The visual issues usually start as episodes of visual fatigue, which present with reduced visual performance, redness or soreness of eyes, headaches, and adoption of awkward postures. Moreover, it is important for the character on a DSE screen to be stable and not flicker. Flickering images are associated with worse negative visual health outcomes of DSE use including photosensitive epilepsy. According to the ACoP, the employer should oversee the provision of eye tests for their workers (HSE, 2013 p.5). Eye test should be given to all workers at the time of employment at the firm. In addition, the employer should organize specialized eye tests for any workers who complain of visual issues that they attribute to their job description.
Comfort in the Work Station
The second section of the assessment form assessed the comfort of the workstation to the DSE user. The section queried the respondent about the position of the screen and its adjustability; the comfort and ease of using the keyboards; the adjustability of the position of the keyboards; the sufficiency of their working space; the appropriateness of the position of the working space; the adequacy of the space below their working table; the comfort of the working chair; the lighting and humidity of the workstation and the user’s ability to control the lighting and humidity around them.
According to the ACoP for DSE use, it is the duty of the employer to ensure that the employees are made comfortable at their workstations. The minimal requirements for a standard DSE workstation are summarized in the 1992 Act of parliament in the UK. Several regulations in the act were meant to ensure this. These include: use of armchairs that ensure that the top of the screen is in the same horizontal plane as the eyes of the user; adequate space and a proper document store; properly set screen to avoid glare and bright reflections; adequate but not excess lighting; properly adjusted screen brightness and contrast for the amount of lighting in the room; properly cleaned screen surface; space for leg movement below the desk; footrests for smaller users to reduce pressure on legs and knees (HSE, 2013).
Work Culture and Working Hours
The third section of the questionnaire focused on the culture of their place of work and the realities of their job description. The questionnaires asked the workers to rate the weight of their workload and state the numbers of working hours. The section also inquired about the number of breaks afforded to the workers and the effectiveness of this breaks. Breaks are very in long-term DSE use. The employer should provide for regular changes of activity or regular breaks to prevent long periods of immobility, fatigue, eye strain, and boredom (HSE, 2013 p.3). Short and frequent breaks are more effective than few long breaks. Moreover, the timing of the breaks should be such that they are provided before tiredness sets in rather than having breaks for recovery.
DSE and Health of Employees
The last section of the questionnaire looked to establish whether DSE use in the respondents’ line of duty at Eagle Investments had interfered with their health in any way. The ACoP requires that the employer should have structures in place that allow them to continually check on the progress of their workers. This can help in early diagnosis of any health issues that may arise and prevention of lethal complications of the same.
Summary of Assessment Results
In the first section of the form, all staff assessed agreed that the characters on the screens of the DSE they were using were well defined. In the second section, all workers had adjustable tables provided for their screen. All workers had their keyboards on matt surfaces and with all characters properly legible. The workers also agreed that the keyboards were in good conditions and one did not need to use much strength when keying. All keyboards were separate from the screens and could be tilted. All workers had space in front of their keyboards and their workstations were spacious enough to allow for placement of elbows. All the respondents reported that they were able to control the lighting conditions in their workstations but were unable to control the levels of humidity and temperature in their workstations. In the last section, none of the workers assessed reported new neck, lower back, arm, forearm, elbow, wrist or finger pain since they started working with DSE at the firm
Subtle differences were seen in the responses of the respondents in other sections of the form. The respondent from the managerial/ICT department reported having noticed problems with vision since they started working at the firm. They explained that their eyes usually turned sore and red after long hours of computer use and that they had started to strain whenever they were looking at bright light. The same respondent had, however, reported being comfortable with the brightness and contrast levels of their screen and that these attributes of their screen were adjustable. This respondent also reported working at all times the firm was open and did not have real breaks in their working day.
The respondent from the finance department, the cashier, reported that they experienced mental and physical fatigue after work. The fatigue was not associated with any other symptoms like headache. This respondent also reported that the workers in their department worked in intricate eight-hour shifts with just one thirty-minute break in the eight hours. According to this respondent, the time afforded for breaks was not sufficient considering how busy they were especially during the day.
The respondent from the human resource department, who was apparently shorter than the conventionally normal adult height, was not satisfied with their workstation. Due to their height, the document holder at their workstation was too far to be comfortable for them. The footrest at their chair, which is not adjustable, also proved to be too far for their short lower limbs. Though they worked for ten hours a day, with two thirty minute breaks in a working day, they did not have concerns about the sufficiency of the breaks. This is probably due to the low workload in the department.
The receptionist, was not satisfied with the screen at their workstation. The screen’s position was not adjustable as it couldn’t be tilted. The brightness and contrast of the screen could not be adjustable. The receptionists worked in ten hour shifts with one thirty minute break within a working day. This respondent was not happy with the break time that was afforded but did not have complaints about the workload.
The receptionist from the sales department was least troubled of all. Apart from the lack of an adjustable table for their screen and their inability to control the humidity and temperature situations at their workstations, they had no other complaints. They were happy to work in eight-hour shifts with two thirty minute breaks there-in.
Recommendations
Based on these findings, Eagle Investments should take some measures to make their firm a safer and healthier workplace. I recommend short term strategies that can be done to solve the problems that were identified by the assessment and a long-term strategy that is meant to ensure safer and more comfortable workplace in future. The long-term recommendation is ergonomic training of workers and specifically training more ergonomic assessors. The workstations far more comfortable for the users by customizing each workstation to a user. Reviewing workstations of all the respondents who reported complaints will also be in order. In the review, it is necessary to change the screen to one whose position, contrast and brightness can be adjusted. The other worker who mentioned an increase in mental and physical fatigue happened to be the one who complained of the footrest and document holder at their workstation being too far for a person of their short height. For this case, customization of the workstation to the demands of the worker can provide an ultimate solution.
The comfort of the DSE user at their workstation strongly influences their health outcomes. In addition, the comfort and the spaciousness of the workstation is a key determinant of the posture that a worker a DSE user chooses to assume. This posture and the frequency of its change also have a strong bearing on the future health outcomes of a DSE user. Repetitive Strain Injuries (RSI) which are also referred to as Work Related Upper Limb Disorders (WRULDs) are a good example of negative health outcomes that result from the poor setup of the workstation. They are the most frequently reported health concerns among DSE users, which can be directly attributed to continuous DSE use (Lacerda et al., 2005, p.107). Workers whose work is in high demand and highly stressful or those who have little control over their work are more likely to suffer this kind of injuries. In the long-term such injuries and the effect of maintaining a similar posture for long hours can be a contributing factor to the decreasing age of onset of osteoarthritis being seen. Further, attributes of the workstation such as inadequate ventilation, excess static electricity, temperature and humidity could have a hand in the occurrence of skin problems among people who use DSE for long hours. Hormonal imbalance secondary to psychological stress could also have a role to play here.
Further, there is a need to review the work schedules. The schedules should give the workers more time in breaks. Spreading this time over several short breaks would be best. It is unhealthy for one to work for eight hours or more with only one recognizable break that lasts thirty minutes or less. Long hours of work coupled with the immobility that is associated with constant DSE use especially in a busy firm like Eagle Investments can cause numerous negative health outcomes. Psychological stress is certainly the first and most important of these. Psychological stress also impacts on the bodies physicality thus worsening fatigue hence a vicious cycle is created. Such a cycle can lead to a crisis if not identified and dealt with early enough. Apart from the physical fatigue, psychological stress has also been attributed to among frequent users of DSEs to: little control over work, working conditions, and working methods; performance of many tasks requiring high concentration and attention; inability to fully use one’s skills; high expectations from the organization and monotony; insufficient breaks; limited opportunities for social interaction due to long working hours; insufficient rewards for the work being performed – limited resources, inadequate pay, and low self-esteem.
Moreover, long hours of sitting or other forms of immobility while using DSEs have been associated increased thromboembolic events in DSEs users (Healy et al., 2010 p.448). Additionally, prolonged DSE use and the associated long hours of sitting have been associated with reproductive health problems in both males and females. Sheynkin et al. (2005 p.454) also associate positioning of laptops on the lap for long periods with the same male reproductive problems. Past research has also noted menstrual issues like oligomenorrhea, menorrhagia, and dysmenorrhea in women who are exposed to DSEs for most of the time. Psychological stress seems to play an important role in the occurrence of these menstrual problems since it can lead to hormonal balance.
Indeed, the workers, including the manager, who reported health effects that they attributed to work at the firm should request for an advanced ergonomic assessment. This advanced assessment is meant to characterize their problems to know how best to solve them. The firm proprietor should organize for this assessment as soon as possible. The recommended immediate solutions to the problems identified will definitely make the affected workers happier and, therefore, more productive. Secondly, since the affected employees were at a risk of negative health outcomes of prolonged DSE use, solving the problems will prevent these health outcomes. For the firm, by having the affected workers assessed by a specialist and solving any issues that will be identified now will save them from spending more to solve the same problems at advanced stages.
Ergonomic Training of DSE workstation assessors as a control strategy
Ergonomic training of more members of staff is a control strategy that can benefit the firm in the long-term. Employee training is an important way of preventing musculoskeletal morbidities due to their occupation. Considering the number of employees at Eagle investments, training two employees would be adequate as the ratio of ergonomic trained employees to those who are not trained would be 1:9. Moreover, the employer is required to provide ergonomic training to workers as part of their legal duty towards the ACoP. The two who shall be trained shall be DSE assessor for the firm. This will aid the firm in managing all health and safety issues at the workplace without having to involve outside consultants. Apart from training DSE assessors, training workers to increase their awareness on health and safety at the workplace can benefit them massively.
The training has benefits to the trainee and the firm in general. In fact, the best thing for a firm is having many employees who are competent DSE ergonomic assessors. The trainee will be able to identify ergonomic problems at their workplace, provide input in planning for changes in design at the workplace, understand the causes and prevention strategies for musculoskeletal and eye disorders at the workplace, improve the productivity of the firm, improve the wellbeing of the other workers in the organization, and make informed decisions regarding the design of the workplace.
The training institution provides delegates who look to utilize the ergonomic assessment tools already present at the firm in horning the assessment skills of the trainees. Usually, the trainee is a chartered ergonomist. In the process of training, the ergonomist will help the trainee in identifying a few ergonomic issues that exist at the workplace hence free service. One of the skills that the trainee will be impacted with is how to use an ACoP workstation checklist to quickly assess a workstation. The trainees are also impacted with knowledge that can help them identify when complications arise during the assessment process and how to deal with them. Finally, after the assessments, a trained assessor should be able to tell if and when specialist advice is required.
Training ergonomics assessors will, therefore, benefit Eagle Investments massively. The workplace will feel a lot safer and the workers will be happier having the knowledge that they are safe and whatever they are exposed to at the workplace does not alter their health statuses negatively. Second, the firm will use lesser funds to carter for employees’ negative health outcomes as the ACoP and the constitution of the UK demand hence a reduced cost of running the firm. Moreover, the productivity of each employee who is physically and mentally healthy is likely to improve.
Cost
The good thing is that all these interventions will not cost Eagle Investments too much. The price of an adjustable and standard workstation computer monitor does not exceed £100. Secondly, the cost of training two employees in ergonomics is not much. A training institution called RSA, which is based in the UK, puts the cost DSE assessor training at £775. The goodness of this is that the training, which takes one day, can be attended by up to fifteen workers. Five workers, each from each department at Eagle Investments, can attend the training. Firms should involve ergonomists or hire trained ergonomists of their own as it will not cost the firm but rather reduce their expenditure. However, because of the work demands and the number of workers at Eagle Investments, two workers would be appropriate. Review of workstations can be done during the training process hence no extra costs for it. The table below summarizes the costs of my proposals.
Table 1: Costs
| PROPOSAL | COST IN £ |
| New standard workstation computer monitor | 100 |
| Review of workstations and customization where necessary | 0 |
| Review of working schedule and break-times | 0 |
| Ergonomic training of up to 15 members of staff | 775 |
| TOTAL | 875 |
Conclusion
Ergonomics assessment is important for any business firm whose employees are involved with DSE frequently. This is because prolonged use of DSE can pose serious health threats to the user. Ergonomic assessments are meant to identify the health risks at the workplace and determine the best interventions for solving these. In this assessment report, various risk factors for poor DSE-associated health outcomes were identified and some of those poor health outcomes reported. The various interventions that can solve the identified risks are also included in the report. The most important intervention identified, however, is employee training. Trained DSE ergonomic assessors are an asset to a firm and it is well worth for Eagle Investments to invest in the same. Having a trained ergonomist in a firm effectively reduced the cost of running the firm and maximized the profit margin. Furthermore, as seen in the report, the cost of training five workers is very little for a firm the size of Eagle Investments; it is definitely worth the try.
Bibliography
Health and Safety Executive (HSE)., 2012. Health and Safety in the Work Place. Available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg36.pdf (Accessed 2 Feb 2017)
Healy, B., Levin, E., Perrin, K., Weatherall, M. and Beasley, R., 2010. Prolonged work-and computer-related seated immobility and risk of venous thromboembolism. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 103(11), pp.447-454.
Lacerda, E.M., Nácul, L.C., da S Augusto, L.G., Olinto, M.T.A., Rocha, D.C. and Wanderley, D.C., 2005. Prevalence and associations of symptoms of upper extremities, repetitive strain injuries (RSI) and’RSI-like condition’. A cross sectional study of bank workers in Northeast Brazil. BMC Public Health, 5(1), p.107.
Sheynkin, Y., Jung, M., Yoo, P., Schulsinger, D. and Komaroff, E., 2005. Increase in scrotal temperature in laptop computer users. Human Reproduction, 20(2), pp.452-455.
