DSE Assessments – Frequently Asked Questions
Have you ever wondered what a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) workstation assessment is? Or maybe you’ve never actually heard of one before. DSE workstation assessments are extremely important for the workplace, and they have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of employees.
This post will outline some frequently asked questions so that you understand the basics and benefits of DSE workstation assessments.
What is a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessment?
DSE workstation assessments are for employees that work with PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphones on a daily basis. Prolonged use of computer workstations and display screen equipment can lead to neck, shoulder, back or arm pain along with stress fatigue and temporary eyestrain.
A DSE workstation assessment will identify any problems or pains that employees have due to their workstation setup, and furthermore guide the employer to solutions that will meet DSE regulations and enable employees to maintain a comfortable working posture.
Who needs a DSE workstation assessment and what are the Legal Implications?
The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 apply to workers who use DSE on a daily basis, for an hour or more at a time. The Health and Safety Executive refers to these workers as ‘DSE users’.
Legally, DSE users in companies of five or more employers must, by law, have a written DSE assessment on file. There is no saying how many DSE assessments employees should receive throughout their time working with a company, however, it is necessary that new employees should receive a full assessment. As well as this, if there is a change of office location, or an employee has moved workstations, then it is recommended a further assessment is carried out.
A poor workstation setup can lead to employees contracting workstation related issues such as carpal tunnel, Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) and repetitive eye strain. If these issues develop into chronic problems during their time working for your company, and there is no sign of a DSE assessment on file, they could potentially have grounds to sue you.
Who can deliver a DSE workstation assessment?
Our friendly ergonomic experts at VergoUK can come to your place of work to assess your employees’ workstations. We have highly experienced DSE assessors throughout the UK that are available to carry out DSE workstation assessments.
What happens during a DSE workstation assessment?
Following a referral by a Health and Safety or Occupational Health department to respond to a staff member’s issue, one of our highly experienced DSE Assessors will visit the user at their place of work and run through the assessment which explores medical history, working patterns and workspace solutions. This typically takes 30-45 minutes.
This is followed up with a written report providing a detailed overview of the working conditions and challenges faced by the user, together with any necessary recommendations to help alleviate the issues.
Self-Assessment
If you are a small business, getting your employees to carry out a self-assessment would be a good way to start the process. This self-assessment has to be completed by the employee themselves, and then checked by the person at your place of work who is responsible for monitoring the DSE assessment (ideally DSE qualified).
If you do have DSE trained member of staff, and a DSE issue has arisen, you would then be responsible to make any workplace adjustments. However, if you do not have a trained DSE staff member, then our trained DSE assessors at VergoUK will resolve any issues.
What happens after the DSE workstation assessment?
Once the DSE workstation assessment has taken place, our team at VergoUK will make any needs-based product recommendations based on what our assessors have identified. We can then help you select the right products that fit your needs.
Once you have ordered the ergonomic equipment required, our experts can visit your organisation’s premises to ensure it is set up correctly. We maintain that incorrectly set up equipment will not give the user the full health benefit. But that’s not a problem when your organisation chooses VergoUK.
Key points to remember about the Display Screen Equipment Legislation
- The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 apply to workers who use DSE daily, for an hour or more at a time.
- Employees must be provided with a suitable chair with a 5-star base.
- DSE users in companies of five or more employers must, by law, have a written DSE assessment on file.
- DSE assessments need to be reviewed when employees are changing workstations or the nature of previous adjustments is causing more issues.
- Assessors completing the DSE assessment must be suitably trained.
- If one of your employees has a chronic issue due to their workstation set up that they obtained whilst working for you, and there is no sign of a DSE assessment on file, they could potentially have grounds to sue you.
At VergoUK DSE workstation assessments can usually be arranged throughout the UK within 5 working days. If you want any further information on DSE workstation assessments then contact us here or alternatively you can buy DSE Assessments online here