ERGONOMICS

VDU

EUROPE
With the revolution in office computing have come complaints of eyestrain and repetitive strain injury. Dr Ian Randle, Ergonomics Consultant with Electowatt Consulting Engineers and Scientists, unravels a European Directive on VDU design and use.

ew European law on work with video display units is going to mean changes are nigh in the way workstations are designed and used. A European Council Directive was published in May last year on the minimum safety and health requirements for work with display screen equipment. This covers display screens installed in any fixed workstation, such as in control rooms or on production lines, not just wordprocessors or CAD workstations. Process, Production and Design Engineers will therefore need to take account of the new regulations when installing or updating plant and machinery.

Employers' Obligations and Miscella- ployer to take a pre-emptive approach neous Provisions. There is also an and to predict problems rather than Annex specifying minimum require- just to respond to them when they ments for the design and operation of arise. VDU workstations. The legislation The obligation will have considerwill come into force at the end of 1992, able resource implications for organiafter which time all new workstations sations which make extensive use of must meet the minimum require- VDUs, requiring each workstation to ments. Workstations already in ser- be assessed and improved if it does not vice must be adapted to comply by meet the minimum requirements. 1995. The most notable items de- Some guidance on how to perform this scribed under Employers' Obligations analysis of workstations should be inare outlined below: cluded in an HSE consultative document to be published later this year, Analysis of Workstations: although it is not anticipated that solEmployers will be obliged to per- utions or means of resolving the probform an analysis of all VDU worksta- lems and risks will be specified. tions in order to evaluate safety and health risks to their workers. Appro- Protection of workers' eyes and What's in the directive? priate steps must then be taken to eyesight Workers will be entitled to an eye The directive is in three sections, remedy any risks identified in this anaencompassing General Provisions, lysis. Thus, the onus is on the em- test before commencing work with
Computerised Manufacturing February 1991

ERGONOMICS
ERGONOMIC GUIDELINES ON HOW TO MEET THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED IN THE ANNEX OF THE EC DIRECTIVE 1. EQUIPMENT 1.1 Display Screen The characters on the screen shall be well defined and clearly formed, ... of adequate size and with adequate spacing between the characters and lines.

A dot matrix of at least 7 x 9 , giving dear distinction between similar characters eg X and K or S and 5. At a viewing distance of 50-70 cm, a character height of 3-4.3 mm is adequate. Width should be 75% of height, distance between characters 25% of height, and space between lines 100-150% of height.

The image on the screen should be stable, with no flicker- Refresh rates of 80-100Hz with a phosphor decay time of approximately 10 ms to 10% luminance give no percepting or other forms of instability. able flicker. Trie brightness and/or contrast between the characters The luminance contrast between the screen and the source and the background shall be easily adjustable by the oper- documant should not exceed 1:10. This can be achieved using adjustable room lighting and adjustable screen ator to ambient conditions. brightness. Dark characters on & bright screen mimmise problems of excessive contrast. The screen must swivel and tilt easily and freely to suit the Tilt angles from 75-100 cover most users' needs. needs of the operator. It shall be possible to use a separate base for the screen or Must be easily and freely adjustable to be of any use. an adjustable table. 1.2 Keyboard The keyboard shall be tiltable and separate from the screen A thin, light keyboard is recommended which allows the so as to allow the worker to find a comfortable working operator to move it around the desk or sit back in the chair position avoiding fatigue in the arms or hands. with the keyboard on their lap if desired. The space in front of the keyboard shall be sufficient to An adjustable hand/wrist rest should be made for operprovide support for the hands and arms of the operator. ators to use if desired. The arrangement of the keyboard and the characteristics Distance between key tops 17-19 mm; resistance of keys of the keys shall be such as to facilitate the use of the 400-800 mN; displacement 3-5 mm. A separate numeric keyboard. key pad should be provided for data entry tasks. 1.3 Work desk or work surface The work desk shall have a sufficiently large, low reflect- Depth of desk should allow a screen viewing distance of ance surface to allow a flexible arrangement of the screen, 50-75 cm. Width of desks should be sufficient to allow documents and related equipment. screen to be placed on either side of the keyboard. The document holder shall be stable and adjustable and For WP and data entry the document holder should be shall be positioned so as to minimise the need for uncom- directly in front of the operator, with the screen slightly to fortable head and eye movements. one side. However the equipment should be easily movable to allow for personal preferences. 1.4 Work chair The work chair shall be stable and allow the operator easy Must have a five point base, be fitted with casters or freedom of movement. runners and swivel. The seat shall be adjustable in height. Minimum range should be 38-54 cm above floor level. Must be adjustable from the seated position. The seat back should be adjustable in both height and tilt. The backrest should be at least 50 cm long above the seat surface, with a lumbar support 10-20 cm above the seat and an adjustable tilt from 104-120 from the horizontal. A footrest shall >e made available for anyone who wishes Absolutely essential unless an adjustable height table is for one. supplied.
Computerised Manufacturing February 1991

ERGONOMICS
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED IN THE ERGONOMIC GUIDELINES ON HOW TO MEET THE MINIMUM REQIREMENT ANNEX OF THE EC DIRECTIVE

s) shall General ate screen No light sources should VIM bp&fatox

should give a with a luminous flux ac^lfc o$4lf

is not possible, screen, ox bfeftk

mutch jpjre^earable t$o u seriotts drawbacks such as or becoming, easily soiled. high opacity and low tefteotshcs.

display screens, at regular intervals thereafter, and at any time if they experience visual difficulties while using display screens. If the results of the test show that it is necessary, workers must be provided with special corrective appliances appropriate for the work concerned. These measures must under no circumstances involve workers in additional financial costs. Minimum requirements The minimum requirements specified in the Annex of the directive are comprehensive in their scope, but rather non-specific in their contents. No parameters, limits or guidance figures are given to offer help in the design of a new system, or an assessment of an existing one. Listed in the left hand column of the table are a selection of the principle requirements as described in the Annex of the Direc-

tive. In the right hand column are some ergonomic guidelines on how the specified minimum guidelines might be achieved. The sources of the figures listed are given in the bibliography. The final paragraph of the minimum requirements is entitled "the operator/computer interface". This refers mainly to the design of the software and includes broad and non-specific statements such as "software must be suitable for the tasks", and "the principles of software ergonomics must be applied". The latter statement encompasses an entire field of study, guidelines on how to comply with this minimum requirement are therefore beyond the scope of this article. Conclusions The main purpose of the new legislation is to minimise the safety and
Computerised Manufacturing February 1991

health risks of working with VDUs. However the use of sound ergonomic guidelines in the design of VDU based workstations will have the effect of enhancing efficiency and productivity, and reducing human error, as well as making the workplace safer and more

comfortable.

HEI

Bibliography (1) Council Directive of 29th May 1990 on the minimum requirements for work with display screen equipment (fifth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC). (2) Grandjean, E. (1987), Ergonomics in Computerised Offices Taylor & Francis: London. (3) Pheasant, S.T. (1986), Bodyspace Taylor & Francis: London. For more information circle ME154