Heath and safety

1.1 – Health & Safety in relation to the use of ICT systems
This section is separate from the other sections in this unit and covers all aspects of health and safety. As you areworking on computers for a great deal of this unit you need to familiarise yourself with the dos and don’ts of using computer equipment. It looks at the need for and application of current health and safety legislation that relates to the use of ICT systems as well as health and safety guidelines which cover the design and introduction
of new software.
Health & Safety and the Law
Employers responsibility
• Employers have the responsibility to make sure the equipment is used correctly and safely. Employees should
not be allowed to plug and unplug electrical equipment unless supervised.
• Employers should ensure that the equipment is positioned where it can be easily accessed by employees without stretching, and without obstructing anyone
• Employers have to provide training to employees in the use of workstation components.
• Provide regular eye tests for workstation users and pay for glasses.
Remember you are not covered by the Act as it only refers to employees, i.e. people who are paid.
Other responsibilities
Ensure that:
• Electrical: safety testing is carried out regularly, each wall socket has only one cable plugged into it, all trailing leads are covered or tied up, there are no hanging mouse and keyboard cables, relevant fire extinguishers are used and serviceable.
• Lighting: lighting should be from above so shadows are reduced, work surfaces should be non-reflective, computer screens should be 90 degrees to the windows to prevent glare, blinds and curtains should be used to prevent glare.

• Heat: the temperature of the room should provide a pleasant working atmosphere.
• Noise: ICT equipment is noisy therefore noise pollution should be reduced.
• Space: access to workstation – aisles, positioning away from cramped or busy areas – corners and doorways, space between workstations for use of the mouse and for reading documents.
• Comfort: desk at right height – ergonomic seats that are adjustable, with tilting backrest, swiveling on a five-point base. There should be space under the desks for knees and legs, keyboards that can tilt, screens that can have the position adjusted and swivel, and the brightness and contrast adjustable. Screens should also be flicker-free, with the keyboard separately attached.

• Regular breaks: ensure that regular breaks are taken from looking at the monitor, to prevent eye-strain.
• Software:
▫ Should be easy to use and adaptable to user’s experience. Bad software can be extremely stressful to use.
▫ Bad software slows you down due to:
▪ Inefficient design or bugs.
▪ Incomprehensible error messages.
▪ Use of non-standard keys.
▪ Badly structured menus.
▪ Poorly laid-out input screens.
▪ Flashing effects and inappropriate colour usage can all lead to frustration on the part of the user.
Employee’s Responsibilities
Use workstations and equipment correctly, in accordance with training provided by employers.
Bring problems to the attention of their employer immediately and co-operate in the correction of these problems.

Manufacturers of IT equipments are required to:
• Ensure that their products comply with the Directive. E.g. Screens must tilt and swivel.
• Keyboards must be separate and movable.
• Promoting the use of Laptops NOT for the entering of large amounts of data.
90° arm angle and
hands angled down.
90°-100° chair angle
and fully adjustable.
Look slightly down
on the screen.
At right angles to window.

Problems caused by using ICT equipment
Here are a few examples of the problems that can be caused by using ICT equipment:
Stress
This is a major factor in work-related illness. Symptoms can include headaches, stomach ulcers, sleeplessness and loss of appetite.
ICT systems put additional pressure on employees:
• They may be used to monitor performance.
• They induce fear and panic particularly in older people.
• Constantly bring about the need to perform new tasks that you may not be able to cope with.
• It can be impossible to escape them.
• Information overload.
• New software can be difficult to use
RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury)
Caused by excess use of a keyboard, mouse and even mobile phones (used for texting) and can usually affect the
hands, wrists, elbows, arms, shoulders and / or neck. It can be very painful and debilitating. Once it develops, it
tends to recur. This is caused by repeated similar movements and incorrect use of the keyboard, i.e. resting the
wrists on the desk whilst typing. Many laptops have a built in wrist rest due to the positioning of the keyboard
and are therefore better to use. Ways of reducing RSI is to have a wrist rest, take frequent breaks and have the
keyboard at the right height.
Eyestrain
Brought on by long hours spent in front of a screen. Although there is no evidence that computers cause
permanent damage, they do accelerate current problems.
Factors that could contribute to eyestrain are:
• Glare from lighting affecting the screen.
• Lighting that shines directly on the screen or causes shadows.
• Constantly refocusing – i.e. looking down at a paper and back to the screen.
• Sitting too close to the screen – should be about 2 – 3 feet away.
Eyestrain can be prevented or reduced by taking regular breaks from working at the computer, every 10 minutes
or so looking into the distance and therefore relaxing the muscles of the eye, use blinds to reduce the glare on the
screen and sit at least 3 feet from the screen.
ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) Radiation
Exposure to ELF is an everyday occurrence as it occurs naturally – sun, fire and magnetic effects.
Backache / Neck problems
This is often caused by improper seating posture of human beings and position of the keyboard / screen especially
over long periods. This can be prevented by taking regular breaks and sitting properly in the chair.
Deep Vein Thrombosis
This is caused by sitting still for very long periods of time and not moving the legs; this develops blood clots
which then track back to the heart. As with many of the problems associated with computer usage the prevention
is to take breaks and move around.
AQA AS ICT INFO1 Revision Guide Page 6 of 25 © ZigZag Education, 2008
Health and Safety Legislation
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 & Health and Safety (Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992
These Acts of Parliament are the employer’s responsibilities and cover employees working on computer systems.
An employee is someone who is paid therefore a student is not an employee and therefore not covered.
It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure:
• That all employees have regular eye examinations and where necessary pay for the glasses needed.
• That all electrical equipment and workstations are checked regularly and are safe and also provide
workstations with adequate space for comfortable working.
• That they provide ergonomic chairs that have a lumbar support and height adjustment.
• That they ensure working conditions have sufficient lighting to be able to work and move around, reduced
glare, good ventilation and a comfortable temperature.
• That they plan work so that regular breaks can be taken or changes in activity.
• That they provide health and safety training and fire and emergency training for employees.
• That they ensure the working environment is safe from fire hazards and obstructions.
• That they provide trained first aid personnel.
• That they allow pregnant women to work away from VDU equipment due to radiation levels.
Most of the health and safety problems relate directly to hardware although software can also cause problems.
• Poor software design can breach the health and safety guidelines drawn up for developers.
• When most software companies upgrade their software they tend to make the new software look and feel like
the one it is replacing. This ensures that the user does not get stressed by trying to learn the software. Stress
leads to health problems and fatigue.
• If the user interface is too complex then this itself can cause stress; therefore it must be easy to use. If the user
interface is too simple then it will help the inexperienced user but the experienced user will become frustrated,
which causes stress as the user interface cannot allow the user to do what they want to do. A reduction in the
stress levels can be achieved by the use of shortcuts.
• Training for software must be available for all, and comprehensive enough to allow users to use the software
easily.
• The new system is an improvement on the old system and therefore must appear to work in the same way. If
it does not then this itself can lead to problems. Many companies allow backward compatibility so that data
stored on a previous version can be used on newer versions; this means that the user does not have the
problem of re-producing all the data.
• Computers cause health problems, the main two being eyestrain and RSI. Newer versions of software must be
able to reduce these health problems by reducing the amount of keyboard and mouse work that is needed to
use it. Also eyestrain can be reduced by making sure the colours used for the text and backgrounds are easy
on the eye; contrasting colours help as do larger, clearer fonts.
Activity
Study health and safety guidelines for an organisation and then draw up guidelines for your own use of IT
equipment and software.
Research regulations on software and look at some examples of software to see how well it fits guidelines and
then discuss the implications for design of solutions.

Sample Questions
A bursar in a college office works at a computer workstation all day.
To ensure the health of the member of staff, state with reasons:
(a) Two features that the workstation used by the member of staff should have. (4 marks)
(b) Two features that the software used by the member of staff should have. (4 marks)
(c) Two work practice procedures that the college could introduce. (4 marks)

http://www4.rgu.ac.uk/hr/healthsafety/page.cfm?pge=1218