Display Screen Equipment: Revised HSE Guidance

On 28 February 2003, the HSE launched its revised guidance on display screen equipment (DSE). The revision was prompted by amendments to the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, but the HSE has exploited this opportunity to take into account changes in DSE technology and working practices.

Both the guidance on the Regulations (L26) and the easy guide (HSG90) have therefore been fully revised.

The amendments to the Regulations were brought in by regulations 1 and 3 of the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (SI 2002/2174), which came into force on 17 September 2002. Minor amendments have been made to Regulations 3, 5 and 6, concerning requirements for workstations, eye examinations and health and safety training respectively.

However, the biggest changes have been made to the guidance itself. L26 follows the same format as its predecessor, providing an in-depth analysis of each of the Regulations, but a number of substantive changes have been made, including:

- new appendices: 'Work with a Mouse, Trackball or other Pointing Device' and 'Work with Portable DSE' (for example, laptops), based on the results of research carried out for the HSE;
- the inclusion of a VDU workstation checklist;
- a new section on the health effects of DSE work and principles of successful prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of illnesses;
- guidance as to the amendments to the Regulations; and
- guidance to account for a recent European Court of Justice decision, the effect of which is that screens used for work purposes to show television and film pictures now fall within the Regulations (for example, work in control rooms where CCTV pictures are viewed and manipulated).

HSG90 has been renamed 'The Law on VDUs: An Easy Guide”, and has been split into 7 sections, offering useful practical advice to employers on how to comply, without going through the Regulations in detail. The checklist has also been modified.

The revised guidance will clearly impact on the majority of employers. However, the above synopsis only provides a cursory look at the new guidance. A full and in-depth assessment of the guidance will be necessary to ascertain whether compliance has been achieved in a particular case.
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