As an employer, your health and safety obligations are covered under the Safety, Health, and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007. With office staff, or staff who use display screens as a significant part of their normal working day, your obligations are laid out in Chapter 5 of part 2: Display Screen Equipment.
https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2007/si/299/made/en/print#part2-chap5
This outlines everything from:
- The interpretation of “Display Screen Equipment”
- Who the regulations apply to and what roles the regulations do not
- Minimum requirements for
- Display Screens
- Keyboard
- Work desk / surface
- Work chair
- Work environment – Space lighting, reflection, noise
- Computer interface (software) and systems being user friendly
What do I need to do to comply with the 2007 Regulations on Display Screen Equipment?
As an employer there are several duties set out in this regulation, the key requirements are to:
- Carry out an “analysis” or risk assessment of the individual’s workstation.
- Assessments to be completed by a trained, skilled, and competent person.
- Provide information to employees about implemented measures.
- Provide training to employees in the use of workstations before commencing work with display screen equipment and whenever the organisation of the workstation is modified.
- Perform a further analysis or risk assessment where an employee transfers to a new workstation or significant new work equipment, change of equipment or new technology is introduced to an individual’s workstation.
- Ensure that the appropriate eye and eyesight test is available to every employee.
- A workstation analysis must account for the minimum requirements in Schedule 4 to the General Applications Regulations.
Who does Display Screen Equipment regulations apply to?
These regulations will apply to the following:
- Employees who have no choice but to use a VDU / DSE to carry out their work tasks
- Employee who uses screens continuously for periods of an hour or more
- Where a VDU is generally used daily.
Can employees self-assess their own workstation?
No, self-assessments from employees or using software packages to perform assessments is not sufficient, it is the employers’ duty to carry out an analysis of an employee’s workstation.
It is not sufficient to allow employees to use a software package or other means to assess their own workstations, it is a duty of the employer to carry out an analysis or risk assessment of an employee’s workstation.
Regulatory Equipment
Office chair
Must provide the following adjustments at a minimum
- 5 castor wheels to suit the flooring being worked on
- Height adjustable seat
- Back rest should be adjustable height wise to adjust lumbar support, and back rest tilt angle to lock at varying degrees to offer support
Office desk
Must meet the following guidelines
- The desk surface is sufficiently large allowing a flexible arrangement of the screen, keyboard, and work-related equipment.
- Low reflective surface
- General advice is a desk 120cm W x 80cm D and between 65cm – 75cm H, but this is not set in the regulations.
Keyboard
- Matt surface to avoid reflective glare
- Keys arrangement should be set to facilitate the use of the keyboard
- Keys should have concave tops to follow contours of the fingers
- Keyboard should have adjustable angle
- Sufficient cable length to allow flexibility of positioning – not connected to a screen
Display Screen
- Height adjustable – via stand, adjustable arm / stand or building blocks (monitor riser)
- Screen should have the ability to be tilted and swivelled, so not locked in position permanently
- Ability to adjust brightness and contrast
- Characters should be clearly formed and well defined – min 3.1mm – 4.2mm height
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