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In this issue
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1. ErgoWize - next generation DSE training and risk assessment software
2. SHP Article - Which DSE system is right for my business?
3. Latest HSE Research - 75% of businesses conduct DSE risk assessments every 12 months
4. SHP IOSH Awards - Win a £200 ticket to the glitzy SHP award ceremony
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1. ErgoWize - next generation DSE training and risk assessment software
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EssentialSkillz is pleased to announce the release of ErgoWize, its next generation DSE software. Building upon the huge success of their previous DSE solution, Workstation Essentials, ErgoWize is both a global re-branding and a significant leap forward in terms of technical proficiency and end user cost savings.
“We poured 7 years experience in the DSE software market, and a significant amount of money, into the design and development of this new, market-leading, DSE software” stated Tony Dervan, Managing Director of EssentialSkillz and the Product Manager for the new ErgoWize DSE software.
“We could have kept adding bits to our old platform but this would have made the product less intuitive for our customers to use, more prone to technical failure and too many compromises would have had to have been made. Instead we decided, over two years ago, to invest in a whole new platform that would meet the future needs of our customers around the world. The challenge was to provide all these new cost saving features, and a few bells and whistles too, without compromising what EssentialSkillz software had become respected for – well designed products that provided users with the ultimate in ease of use and flexibility. We are confident that two years of painstaking design and development work has delivered a product that is now exceeding even our high standards. And early adopters like the National Grid, London Borough of Barnet, Nottingham City Homes and Devon & Cornwall Police are voting with their feet!”
The ErgoWize solution comprises:
- ErgoWize DSE Training - engaging and graphically rich online DSE course
- ErgoWize DSE Assessment – significantly reducing the cost of DSE compliance
- ErgoWize Tracking and Reporting Tool - powered by the brand new, purpose built, O-LAS v2 platform delivering the most advanced, future proofed and lowest cost of ownership DSE software in the market
To request a demonstration or free pilot of ErgoWize please call 08700 621162/+353 91 778822 or complete this form.
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ErgoWize has several unique benefits over other systems in the market. Three in particular are:
A. User Qualification of risk
B. Dynamic risk assessment software
C. Multi-tier Reporting
A. User Qualification of risk
Up to now all online DSE self risk assessments could be completed in a matter of seconds by simply clicking either a Yes or No to a set of 30 to 40 questions. In their eagerness to complete the process as quickly as possible up to 50% of concerns raised were later found to be invalid, or concerns that the user could easily have resolved there and then, or at least qualified to a greater degree. This would have reduced dramatically the amount of DSE Assessor time required to follow up after the self assessment has been completed.
One of the main benefits of a human conducting face-to-face assessments that was lost in the transition to online self assessment was the instant qualification of risk. ErgoWize software can be configured to bring some of this human logic back to the assessment process by asking the user to further qualify their response as soon as the concern is raised. For example:
“You have just requested a foot rest. Remember a foot rest used by someone who does not need one will actually cause more harm than good. Please check again to ensure that your feet are NOT flat on the floor after you have correctly adjusted your chair and IT equipment.
If you do require a foot rest, or are unsure as to whether you should use one, please select the Escalate button below and your Line Manager or DSE Assessor will action this request for you.”
(This is an example only. Every element of the risk assessment can be customised precisely to each customer's needs.)
EssentialSkillz anticipate that their new ErgoWize software, properly configured, can half the number of concerns DSE Assessors have to deal with. Not only will users be categorised into High, Medium and Low risk user groups but ErgoWize will also ensure that DSE Assessors only spend their time resolving valid, well qualified and fully understood user concerns.
B. Dynamic risk assessment software
ErgoWize risk assessment software has been designed and built to offer “dynamic” technical features to customers. Two of the major benefits of this dynamic risk assessment software are:
(i)The risk assessment can be changed at any time without requiring programming knowledge and without losing any of the historical due diligence data. A simple user interface allows customers to easily add, edit or delete questions from the risk assessment. In fact each and every element of the risk assessment can be amended at any time. This includes the questions, the possible answers, User Qualification, User Resolution, Risk Priorities, Risk Owner, recommended actions, etc. This unique, market-leading, functionality ensures that each customer's DSE Risk Assessment is future proofed and can be easily adapted to reflect changes to company policy, new equipment such as mobile devices and new working patterns such as homeworking. Indeed the software is so flexible it can be used to create risk assessments on any topic from Expectant Mothers to Foreign Travel and Homeworking.
(ii)The path a user takes through the risk assessment is also dynamic. Depending on how a user answers a particular question they can be asked to complete that section or taken to another, more relevant section. This is particularly useful for addressing issues such as laptop use and homeworking. Standard DSE users can skip irrelevant sections of the DSE assessment.
C. Multi-tier Reporting
The administration and management of DSE data has been overhauled to cater for the needs of larger multi-tier organisations. Users can be assigned and managed in such a way to accurately reflect how DSE Assessors actually operate, utilising any combination of the unlimited data fields available. ErgoWize operates far beyond the traditional location and department administration scenario that restricts the management of most systems on the market. With the adoption of Web 2.0 technology, system administrators can now sort and recall DSE related information quickly and easily without waiting for pages to reload.
To discuss any of this new functionality please call 08700 621162/+353 91 778822 or complete this form.
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ErgoWize v rival systems:
1. Customers can easily change training content and risk assessment questions
2. Instant User Qualification of risk. Encourage more responsibility and eliminate mistaken responses
3. Dynamic risk assessments - update at any time, skip irrelevant sections
4. Multi-tier Reporting – create an unlimited number of reporting tiers for your organisation and create as many additional user fields as you require
5. Custom User Groups – assign DSE Assessors to defined groups of users using a combination of data fields such as department, location, building, floor, workstation number, etc.
6. Assign Risk Owners for each concern, e.g. DSE Assessor, Facilities, IT, Occ Health, etc.
7. Free on-going customisation of course and risk assessment
8. Web 2.0 technology - sort and recall information quickly and easily without waiting for pages to reload
9. Market-leading integration option. ErgoWize offers the most technically advanced integration option in the market that allows customers to use their existing LMS to manage both the ErgoWize course and the risk assessment.
10. Absence Management software. Bundled with ErgoWize on the brand new O-LAS v2 platform is specialised Absence Management software to provide Occupational Health professionals with an all-in-one system.
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2. SHP Article - Which DSE system is right for my business?
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The recent anniversary edition of SHP Magazine published a guide to purchasing an online DSE system from an industry insider. The article, submitted by Richard Phelps of EssentialSkillz, covers all the factors that should be considered before making a purchase and points out the subtle differences between systems that could affect their suitability for different types and sizes of organisations.
You can read the entire article on either of these links:
http://www.essentialskillz.com/articles/which-online-dse-system-is-right-for-my-business-2.html
http://www.shponline.co.uk/article.asp?pagename=archive&article_id=7815
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3. Latest HSE research – 75% of businesses conduct DSE assessments every 12 months!
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The HSE (via H&S Labs in Buxton) has recently published the following DSE Research document:
RR628 - Evaluation of the success in Great Britain of the Directive on minimum safety and health requirements for work with display screen equipment.
The research was part of a wider study commissioned in various Member States to contribute to an EU working group studying the effectiveness and efficiency of existing EU health and safety legislation.
The British findings highlighted that the majority of businesses claimed to have a good deal of knowledge about the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992, which arose from the Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Directive (90/270/EEC).
Some of the key findings were as follows:
1. Over 60% found the regulations relevant or very relevant to their daily work, and 70% were confident they were doing all they needed to comply.
2. Most businesses said they provided health and safety information to their DSE users, but slightly fewer provided training.
3. Most respondents were aware of the main risks that are associated with display screen work (musculoskeletal disorders, temporary eye strain, tiredness and stress).
4. Three quarters of businesses reported providing eye tests for display screen users.
5. Around 75% conducted risk assessments every 12 months.
The entire 158-page report can be downloaded here: http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrhtm/rr628.htm
Or, if you prefer, EssentialSkillz have copied all the report's conclusions into a much smaller and easier to digest size here: http://www.essentialskillz.com/articles/rr628.html
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4. SHP IOSH Awards - Win a £200 ticket to the glitzy SHP award ceremony
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The 2008 SHP IOSH Awards ceremony takes place on Wednesday, 8 October, in the London Hilton on Park Lane. More details available here: http://www.shponline.co.uk/awards.asp
EssentialSkillz are offering their newsletter readers the opportunity to win one of three tickets, worth £200 each, to this prestigious and unashamedly glitzy award ceremony in the London Hilton. Simply send an email to
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
on or before the 2nd of October with 'SHP IOSH Awards' in the subject line and the correct answer to this question in the body of the email:
EssentialSkillz next generation DSE training and risk assessment software is called:
A. Workstation Essentials
B. DriveWize
C. ErgoWize
Competition now closed
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