March 24, 2003—The UK government published new guidelines to help reduce workplace musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), such as backaches or repetitive strain injury (RSI), coinciding with International RSI Awareness day, the last day in February.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) released two new publications revising their guidelines on display screen equipment (DSE): “The law on VDUs: an easy guide,” and “Work with Display Screen Equipment.” The guidelines were revised to take into account recent minor changes to the DSE regulations, but the documents also include information on the latest equipment and ways of working, such as using lap-tops; using a mouse, trackball, or other pointing device; homeworking and teleworking; and choosing appropriate software, such as programs that monitor rest pauses.
HSE also published a leaflet called “Aching arms (or RSI in small businesses),” designed to help employers and managers in small businesses to understand and tackle RSI.
Results from a recent survey in Great Britain indicate that each year an estimated 400,000 people suffer from RSI (upper limb or neck disorder) caused or made worse by work, and that this results in around 4 million working days lost a year.
