What is a VDU assessment?

[P.Turnbuckle]

Dear All,

I hope you are well this crisp and clear December day!

I just wondered if anyone could explain, at length, what as VDU assessment is!

What goes into the process, has anyone had one "done to them" (is that the right way to talk about it) before? Equally, if you have performed a VDU assessment, what happens and goes into it?

Any help appreciated!

All the best,

PT

[carrot99]

As an office worker I've done them and had them done for me in the past. Basically they are carried out to ensure the employee is sitting comfortably at their screen in a suitable environment. The assessment checks things like

distance from the monitor - too near/close, is it too high etc;
is there glare?;
is the room too hot/cold/noisy?;
is the lighting appropriate/;
does the employee need a wrist-rest/foot rest?
are breaks from the screen allowed (I think it used to be c.5mins per hr as a recommendation);
can work be varied so that there can be `screen time' and `desk time'?

There is a handy leaflet from the Health and Safety Exec. to be downloaded here:

http://www.hse.gov.uk/msd/dse/guidance.htm