Office Hazards: Computers and VDU's - what are they?

Hope you are having a great start to the year!We are into the New Year after two weeks.In light of everyone being back at work, I decided to write a post about proper computer usage in the workplace.

There are many health risks associated with computer use in the office.The Australian Council of Trade Unions has a number of guidelines for screen based work.For convenience, I have compiled a list of the guidelines main points below, but you can check out the original document here.

In summary, screen-based equipment includes computers and computer work.Computer work is associated with many health risks.

The health and safety of a person is at risk when computer tasks reach more than two hours per day.Eyestrain, burning, sore and irritated eyes, blurred vision, changes in perception of colours, tiredness, headaches, and nausea are some of the visual health problems.These symptoms are related to the computer work and will not cause long term negative effects.

The muscles are kept in one position for too long.An example of this would be a person sitting in one position for a long period of time at the computer, which can lead to an abnormal muscle use and cause a lot of pain and injury.Occupational Overuse Syndrome occurs in the back, neck and head area.

While computer related environments generally have low chemical exposure rates, there is cause for concern around laser printers which have been found to not include ozone gas.Ozone can cause irritation to the eyes, nose and throat.There is a compound that can become airborne when it is replaced.Material Safety Data Sheets should be accessible to all employees.

Hearing damage can be caused by long term exposure to loud sounds.Australian law requires employees to have a noise free workplace.If your workplace is becoming a source of stress due to excessive noise, talk to your safety representative.

Control methods can reduce the risk of workplace injury and disease.They have a hierarchy of controls.

The elimination of the hazard is the first option for controlling health and safety.In screen based work, it is possible to eliminate hazardous processes by using non computer based methods.

substitution with a safer alternative is the next option if complete elimination is not possible.For screen based work, an example of substitution would be to upgrade software packages to more user friendly systems, giving easier and better control over the work with larger text and images.

Following the best efforts at elimination and substitution, the next option is isolation.The placement of noise, chemical or other dangers at a distance from people performing screen based work or in a separate room entirely is an example of isolation.

Engineering controls give a further level of control where a combination of elimination, substitution and isolation controls still don't give enough control.In relation to the screen based work environment, engineering controls might be applied to limit the level of 50 hertz electromagnetic fields in the working environment by re-phasing high-voltage transmission lines, or shielding some mains power cabling and electrical switch rooms.

Administrative practices that require people to work in safer ways are called safe work practices.It could be considered to be a safe work practice to limit the amount of time spent on screen based work.

Guidance on safe work practices that need to be implemented in the physical and organizational environment for screen-based work can be found in these sections of ACTU Guidelines for Screen Based Work.

I hope the article outlines important precautions for doing computer-based work.You can subscribe to my RSS feed to keep up to date with the latest training information.I will be posting a post on appropriate workplace environments for screen and computer based work next week.This will include information on adequate training, workload, lighting and air quality, as well as the all important workplace workstation specifications regarding desk, chair, footrest, screen raiser and input device regulations.

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