Please help.

Is there a requirement for Laptop users to carry out DSE assessments. I'm asking this on behalf of mortgage advisors who carry out 2-3 mortgage appointments per day lasting no more than 2 hours with the majority of the time talking to the clients. Each advisor covers 2-3 offices. If so, they would need to carry out 1 assessment for each office.

Each office will have a DSE compliant desk, chair, lighting etc, but our standard DSE self assessments does not cover laptops.

If you guys think they should, does anyone have a laptop assessment form or know where I can download one I could use as a template.

Thanks for any thoughts you might have

Appendix 3 to the Display Screen Regs covers this and states that the Regulations apply if portable display screen equipment is in 'prolonged use'. I guess it is a matter for you whether this applies to your people. Additional things to consider are the smaller keyboard and font and also the manual handling issues associated with portable DSE. When I did assessments for this in the past where staff were visiting clients in their homes in inner city areas I also included potential safety and securiity issues such as mugging.

You can download the Regs from the HSE Website.

Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 as amended by the Health and Safety (Miscellaneous Amendments) regulations 2002.

Thanks for the advice.

Yes I agree that they need to carry out the assessments and other advisors with desktops do. I will have another look through the regs and see what we need to do.

It would be a simple solution to place a docking station in each branch, but I think I suffer from the same as most of you whereas the company will not thank me for advising purchase and install a lot of docking stations.

Curious point Ian only asking them to assess the 1 station and apply the knowledge to the other 2. Would this be enough to satisfy the requirements?

Decimomal, I'm curious as to how you carry out DSE assessments in clients homes or do you just give them the training?

Ivor - we were told by our National H & S Officer (a former HSE inspector, although that doesn't necessarily make him right!) that as the assessor is assessing the workstation (and providing training at the same time), then if a person 'hot-desks', you could assess the person at the main workstation and they can then apply that knowledge elsewhere (e.g. height of chair, distance from screen, etc). This assumes that the workstations are very similar, as they are in our organisation.

Having looked at the Regs again, page 11 ('Homeworkers and teleworkers' - I know you have neither, but it states that the person may be employed to work at other locations away from their main base) states that 'such workers (e.g. working for very short periods in hotel rooms/similar) should be trained to mentally run through key points from the checklist, and take appropriate steps to ensure they are comfortable and can minimise the risks wherever and whenever they carry out DSE work'.