Working Safely at your Computer
Here you will find lots of good-practice advice for working at the PC in your office, your home set-up and your laptop - wherever you use it.
For a good start - work though Birkbeck's interactive safety training package at:
http://www.learninglink.ac.uk/keepfit/index.htm (takes only 20 mins.)
This site is also very good with regard to adopting best posture when sitting. http://www.posturite.co.uk/art-of-sitting
You should also try out the stretching exercises at the following link: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/so/guidance/stretch2
General guidance for home or office
1...Adjust the backrest of your chair to support your lower back, and sit well back in the chair.
2...Adjust the seat height until your forearms are horizontal and wrists straight while using the keyboard. Bring the keyboard close to the edge of the desk just leaving enough room for a gel filled wrist rest if you want one or to rest the heel of of your hands. Do not rest your wrists on the edge of the desk or bend your hands up at the wrist. Keep a soft touch on the keys and do not overstretch your fingers. Place the mouse right beside the keyboard so that you do not have to stretch - use a mouse may with a gel filled wrist rest if you wish.
3...When you have the seat height right, if your feet do not rest comfortably on the floor use a footrest.
4...The screen should be approximately at arm's length. Adjust the height so that your the top of the screen is at eye level when sitting upright and looking straight ahead. If you need to look at the keyboard to type the screen can be lowered to avoid repeated neck movement. Adjust the angle of the screen to suit your sitting height.
5...Do not lean over to read documents. Use a document holder, and place it beside the screen at the same distance, height and angle at the screen.
6...Position the workstation so that you are not looking at windows or lights. Avoid reflections from windows or lights on the screen. Sit sideways to windows, and use a blind to cut out unwanted light.
7...Adjust the brightness of the monitor screen to suit the lighting conditions in the room. Note that for persons with light sensitivity who require low screen lighting - this can be difficult to achieve on some flat screen models - consult your DSE assessor if this is the case.
8...If there is a flicker or any other deterioration of the image on the screen, make adjustments or report the matter for repair.
9...Keep the screen clean
10..Sitting in the same position for long periods is undesirable, so break the work up with other activities which do not involve similar movements of the arms and wrists, and which preferably involve some walking about. Plan to spend five minutes out of every hour doing this if your computer work is not naturally interrupted by answering the phone, consulting colleagues or other duties that do not involve computer use. It all adds up to give your eyes, muscles and joints the needed break from sitting, staring and keyboarding.
11..If your eyesight is good or is satisfactorily corrected by spectacles or contact lenses, you should have no difficulty using a display screen. If you wear bifocals or varifocals you may find that you need a separate pair of spectacles to work at the display screen comfortably. (Most wearers of reading glasses find that their reading prescription is suitable for display screen work). If you are quite sure that your work station is satisfactory and yet you get headaches or "eyestrain", or if you cannot achieve a layout that is comfortable, you should consider visual problems. It would then be appropriate for you to have your eyesight tested.
If you are an employee of Birkbeck and using a display screen forms a substantial part of your work, you will be entitled to an eye test paid for by Birkbeck. The College has an arrangement with a local optician for this purpose. See: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/so/guidance/eyetests
12.. Modern printers are relatively silent but any older noisy printers should be fitted with a hood or put in an unoccupied room.http://www.bbk.ac.uk/so/guidance/eyetest
13..If you wish your workstation to be assessed for safety, first complete the self-assessment form at: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/so/forms/dseassess and pass this to your school/department DSE workstation assessor or safety coordinator. See here for contact list: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/so/contact/co-ords . If you experience symptoms of discomfort in your limbs or back which you think are related to working with your computer you should report this to your school/department DSE workstation assessor or safety coordinator or the Health and Safety Officer.
Working when pregnant. The Health and Safety Executive advise that computer screens do not constitute any risk to users who are pregnant or to their unborn child. Nevertheless, staff who may still have concerns about this area should contact the Health and Safety Officer or HR department. In exceptional circumstances, and where practicable, the member of staff will be given alternative duties or alternative methods of work.
Laptops/notebooks.
Increasingly, staff are choosing to use a laptop/notebook in their Birkbeck offices instead of non-portable screens and base units. Where this is the case, a docking station should be used to provide best ergonomic benefit. A docking station consists of an external keyboard, an external mouse and a platform to raise the screen to a suitable height. Adjustable plastic platforms can be purchased from office suppliers fairly cheaply. Alternatively, packets of A4 or telephone directories can be used to provide suitable and stable platforms.
In depth good guidance on laptop use here from UCL: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/uclic/research/projects/laptops
Homeworking.
Essentially, make sure your home set-up is as good as that in your office. Duplicate all the conditions you have at work - good chair, desk, screen height etc.
Birkbeck has a homeworking policy at: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/so/policies/home
Where Birkbeck requires a member of staff to work at home, as opposed to staff who have an office at Birkbeck but who choose to work at home occasionally, it is the responsibility of Birkbeck as an employer to carry out appropriate risk assessments of the work activities and ensure that there is a suitable, safe place for the member of staff to work and that any equipment e.g. computing equipment and furniture, provided by Birkbeck is maintained in a safe condition. This may require checks to be carried out, under direction, by the employee and a report submitted to the employer.