Tony Dervan of Essentialskillz argues that screen-based training and assessments can take the effort out of DSE compliance.
 

As a recent article in HSW suggested, musculoskeletal disorders in offices have cost implications that can make them far more of a liability than simple construction site accidents (The High Risk office, HSW June 2006, page 6). So neglecting to risk assess regular computer users and their work settings might be an expensive option even if it wasn’t an obligation under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992.

But if you have a large number of computer users and the meagre cohort of health and safety staff common to office environments, display screen equipment (DSE) assessments can be like painting the Forth Bridge: by the time you finish the job, it’s time to start again. Going round with a clipboard and pen, allowing about half an hour for each assessment, without drawing breath you might finish 14 in a day. In a large office or call centre that adds up to a lot of days of increasingly joyless work, and that’s not allowing for time spent on training.

The DSE Regulations say you must provide users with adequate information and training on the safe use of their workstations. Putting employees through traditional face-to-face group sessions will give you a record that employees have been trained just in case you ever need to prove you discharged your duty in this area. But there will be no proof that the trainees actually absorbed the information. And if you are aiming to prevent employees developing MSDs (rather than just going through the motions of complying with the Regulations) how much they absorb is important.

On screen
For this reason, and the time it can save on endless assessments, e-learning, though it is not the training cure-all it was once claimed to be, lends itself particularly well to DSE training and assessment.  

One of the key factors affecting how much training “sticks” with the trainee is its day-to-day relevance. Delivering a course about workstation ergonomics at the individual’s workstation makes any learning more immediately applicable than classroom tuition and makes it possible for them to correct any bad habits immediately.

An online training and assessment package makes it easy to get to home-based staff and teleworkers as well as the office-bound DSE users. Unlike classroom sessions it also means new starters can go through the process as soon as they arrive rather than waiting for the next group course.

Good DSE courses will allow the individual sitting at their workstation to dictate the pace of the DSE training, repeating sections or moving on when they feel comfortable.
Flexibility over timing brings the downside that, left to their own devices, users could put off the process indefinitely, whereas in a classroom they have to turn up at a set time. To avoid procrastination setting in with e-learning it is a good idea to set aside a completion time in working hours for each team of employees. Where this isn’t possible (say for remote workers) you should set a time limit of perhaps three weeks, with email reminders to chase up the laggards. It is worth making sure the training is not over-long, say half an hour at most, so employees will not see it as too much effort to complete.
The whole package must be easily navigable and simple to use (avoid anything with too many bells and whistles), so word spreads among users that it is not a chore.

At the end of the training session, many e-learning packages put trainees through a test to prove they have understood what they have learnt. The test itself helps reinforce the training.

Immediately after the training and test most packages allow the user to go  straight into the on-screen DSE assessment, which should involve around 40 questions with “yes” or “no” answers, covering all the common areas such as workstation set up, laptop use and health issues and takes about four minutes to complete. Getting people to carry out their own assessments saves time for health and safety managers and takes advantage of the fact they probably know their work setting better than anyone else.
Check that any system allows you to modify the risk assessment questions in case circumstances change.

Employees should be reminded to repeat the assessment annually or whenever their workstation set-up changes. You can brief facilities managers to tip you off whenever anyone moves desks so they can be chased for an updated assessment. The training probably needs refreshing about every three or four years.
The completed assessment data should feed into a database that becomes part of your compliance record while also flagging up users’ needs for any adjustments or equipment and helping reveal any potential MSD hot spots.

Sadly, no software package will help you hang blinds, procure document holders and re-route trailing leads, but at least it will free up time to get on with these tasks.