Posted By Shane Durkan I wonder if anybody could help. I need to assess/audit an office workstation( chair desk,dse/ vdu... etc) as an employee is complaining of a sore back and is requesting a new chair, are there any standard questionnaires and if so where could I find them? Any help would be appreciated.

Posted By Bill Waddy Hi Shane Check out http://www.healthandsafetytips.co.uk/Downloads.htm this will help you get started. Cheers Bill

Posted By Jos Kieran, are you honestly saying that every time an employee complains of a sore back you need to bring in a person with CMIOSH with an M Sc in Ergonomics to sort it out ?

Posted By Kieran J Duignan In relation to Jos' question, there is an additional observation I should make - after hearing a lawyer's comments on settlement negotiations, on the lunchtime news. Unless Shane is thoroughly familiar with the Disability Discrimination Act, as well as prevention of musculo-skeletal injuries, he is at risk of failing to assess the situation he refers to adequately. As the employee has informed the employer of back pain, if the condition were to become a lot worse over time, the outcome could mean a claim under the disability discrimination legislation. Claims under this heading have, in principle, no upper limit and there is relatively little case law in the UK for guidance. If asked to assess the employee's need for appropriate work design and furniture, a CMIOSH with a M Sc in Ergonomics could be reasonably instructed to apply the DDA as well as health/safety legislation, or decline the assignment, in accordance with normal professional standards; a safety ergonomist who undertakes such an assignment is not in a position to set a quite arbitrary boundary and fail to give due attention to the implications of the DDA.

Posted By Alison Melrose OK, as an Ergonomist (who just happens to have MIOSH and is working towards Chartership) the main issue here is the person should be competent to perform the assessment. Whether they have CMIOSH or not is irrelevant..they should however have an understanding of posture and how to lay out a workstation properly. I give advice and recommendations - I NEVER force anyone to do anything they don't want to... However, I DO tell them why I believe they should alter their position / layout. If they fail to make the adjustments then I would write on their assessment form to indicate that they have been given suitable advice but had failed to comply, if their back pain were then to get any worse, the company should be safe as they had done as "far as reasonably practicable" to rectify the situation. Just because the person asks for a new chair, doesn't mean they NEED one! The chair could be adequate but the lumbar support is in the wrong position / they are sitting too low / the armrests are interfering with the desk etc...a qualified individual (e.g. ergonomist) would look at the posture and determine what the problem was (also by talking to the person to gain insight into when and where the discomfort is being experienced - it might turn out to have little to do with the workstation and could be their car / bed / number of pillows etc!). The DSE regulations are a good starting point so an employer understands the legal implications (all computer "users" should have an assessment performed - not just those that complain of discomfort). The Ergonomic Society can provide a list of qualified ergonomists that can help if the employer wants training or needs help. The main issue is that whoever does the assessment needs to have an understanding of the issues and how they can be rectified.

Posted By Alison Melrose Someone who is "competent". That can be an ergonomist, physiotherapist, GP etc - as long as they have an understanding of the issues [anatomy, physiology, biomechanics, psychology etc and have been trained to undertake display screen assessments].

Posted By Alison Melrose Ron, The DSE regulations call for the assessment to be performed by a competent person..it could be yer granny so long as she is competent! ;)

Posted By Frank Hallett Dear All There have been many observations on this [and other] threads referring to "sitting properly" and a great many apparently sensible, but inherently facile, comments made about it. Please remember that the commonly promoted model of the "begging dog" position is exactly that - a model. It has to be adjusted and modified to suit each particular user; and some users will simply not be capable of being comfortable in a chair that suits everyone else. For instance, an individual with lower lumbar degeneration will sit very differently to another. This is actually no different to the blind insistance on people "lifting properly" or the "those boots fit me so there's no reason that they shouldn't fit you" approach. All are fatally flawed as they fail to do what MHSW Reg 4 - Scedule 1 require - adapt the work to the individual. I could go on [and on, and on] but I'll let someone else have a go now. Frank Hallett