Ergonomic Workstation Assessments
Ergonomic Workstation Assessments
Sitting in front of a computer terminal can lead to all sorts of discomfort and pain in the back or neck especially if you are there for long periods of time.
It is a legal requirement that employees are provided with a safe workplace.
The Display Screen Equipment (D.S.E.) Regulations (1992), state that every employer should perform a suitable and efficient analysis of workstations to assess risks to which those persons using them are exposed, whilst the old DDA and new Equality Act also state that you should be making reasonable adjustments for your employees to enable them to carry out their jobs safely and easily.
What is an Ergonomic Workstation Assessment?
An ergonomic workstation assessment is an assessment of the area that you or your employee works in and the tasks that they carry out, relative to their personal abilities.
It’s aim is to identify and analyse the risk factors that may be causing current or future health problems, or may be reducing work performance.
Risk factors may be related to:
Posture
Design of the work area
Design of equipment
Design of the job and the way in which it is carried out.
Key benefits of an Ergonomic Work Station Assessment
There are a number of reasons why an ergonomic workstation assessment can have significant benefits for businesses:
Risks identified should hopefully be easily reduced, thereby protecting your staff (your most valuable assets)
Remedial actions can improve comfort and therefore potentially improve productivity
Opportunity to influence behaviours and promote safe working practices, improving occupational health figures
Educating helps empower individuals to take ownership of their own workplace hazards
Early identification of symptoms may help reduce long term cumulative damage, potentially reducing lost-time
A record of actions will provide an audit trail and assist you if involved with legal action or compensation claims at a later date
What does an assessment involve?
An ergonomic consultant will normally spend approximately 30-60 minutes with the worker and a report will be produced after the assessment. The report will list any problems which were identified by the assessor. It will also provide suggestions for changes related to work equipment (e.g. suitable chair, keyboard etc.), workstation layout, training or task design. Any suggested equipment will be listed along with a list of known suppliers and cost estimates.
Please contact us for further information and to see how Inclusion can help your company or workplace. Tel: 01892 704065 or email: info@inclusion.me.uk alternatively click here for more details.