Consultancy
Office Ergonomics

Human Applications in the Office Environment

At Human Applications, we understand the office environment. The successful application of practical ergonomics in office environments has been one of the primary areas of Human Applications' work. From experience with European-level IT programmes to extensive consultancy and training work, Human Applications has been at the forefront of applying good practice to real-world problems. As well as general office ergonomics, Human Applications also specialises in managing compliance with the Display Screen Equipment Regulations.

DSE compliance - managing the key risks
The Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Regulations require employers to take steps to manage the risks that IT users may face. The essential steps to compliance involve identifying, reducing and monitoring risks in the workplace so as to avoid all the problems that come with poor workstation provision, or from either over-use or misuse. Our experience is that compliance with the DSE Regulations needn't be a burden but the process does need to be managed, and this is certainly a subject where you have to be aware that 'a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing'! Competency is the key. We encourage the organisations we work with to make the most of the process they go through by looking not just for technical compliance but also for enhancements in staff effectiveness and efficiency. Improvements in the ergonomics of the workplace can be managed to deliver both compliance with the legislation and increased staff efficiency and comfort.

Our consultancy expertise in this area, together with our IOSH-certificated risk assessment training and specially developed support packages, address the major problems organisations face:

	putting in place the necessary central and local policy and management support requirements to encourage and promote ongoing compliance
	gaining the support of senior and middle management to get 'buy-in' and local ownership
	standardisation on sensible, usable forms and checklists to support assessment and risk management
	the implementation of proper audit trail procedures
	training risk assessors who understand when to act and, just as importantly, when to stop!
	ensuring successful ongoing compliance with a properly planned and scheduled risk monitoring programme

The packages we offer have evolved out of many successful consultancy and training projects with a wide variety of organisations who, probably like yourselves, have struggled to incorporate an effective DSE compliance plan within their normal business operations. We have the answers for any company concerned with implementing an efficient and cost-effective DSE risk management process.

The Tailored Package
We tailor our DSE work to the specific needs of the client organisation. The following elements are used to build an effective, tailored package:

	Initial Site Visits
	assessing the scale of the problem; defining strategy & policy requirements; training needs analysis; familiarisation briefings; generation of photographic case studies for training purposes.
	DSE Policy Production
	we can help produce DSE Health & Safety policies, from general to specific issues, such as eye-sight testing and home working.
	DSE Management Briefings
	briefing managers on principles, action requirements & responsibilities.
	DSE Risk Assessor Training
	two day intensive training course. The course element can also include a follow-up day to review and validate initial assessments and to resolve local policy or strategy problems.
	DSE User Training
	safe working for DSE users requires the provision of training in workstation set-up and usage. In most cases this is best be conducted by risk assessors but, where particularly sensitive or difficult circumstances exist, training by experts is cost-effective.
	DSE Risk Assessments
	we perform DSE risk assessments on workstations and users where local assessors are outside their competence, or simply in order to 'get the ball rolling'.
	Support Services
	we offer a host of support services including: - workstation design - particularly useful for complex environments such as control rooms, etc. - workstation specification - specifying workstation requirements based on the tasks of users and the equipment they use. - workstation layout design - we can provide office design services which consider the whole working environment. - furniture selection - using expert analysis and user trialing techniques. - software evaluation and design - to enable organisations to meet the minimum requirements relating to the human-computer interface.
	DSE Homeworkers
	as homeworking becomes more and more common, so the need for both employers and homeworkers themselves to manage the risks becomes ever more important. We have extensive experience in this field of work - from defining corporate strategies down to training groups of users in safe workstation provision, set-up and usage at home (together with how to deal with all the other risks that come from working at home!).

See also Human Applications' Consultancy Services for:

Business Risk Management

Industrial Ergonomics

Usable IT Systems

Health & Safety Risk Management

Workplace Personal Safety

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Human Applications Limited

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