PUBLISHED :
RT [State
Gazette] I 2000, 86, 556
Occupational health and safety requirements for work with display screen
equipment 1
Regulation
No. 362 of the Government of the Republic of
The
regulation is established on the basis of subsection 4 of § 5 of the
Occupational Health and Safety Act (RT I 1999, 60, 616; 2000,
55, 362).
§ 1.
Scope of application
(1) The
current requirements apply to workplaces of all fields which involve working
with the display screen within the worker’s duties.
(2) The
requirements do not apply to:
1) driver’s cabs or control cabs for vehicles or machinery;
2) computer systems on board of means of transport;
3) working short-term with laptop computer;
4) working with typewriters with data or view screen, calculators, cash
registers and other related equipment.
§ 2.
Display screen and workplace
(1) The
display screen equipment is an alphanumeric or graphic display screen,
regardless of the display process employed.
(2) The
workplace within the meaning of the current regulation includes the display
screen and the related hard and software, document holder, work chair and desk,
other support devices and the immediate work environment.
§ 3.
Employer’s obligations
(1) The
employer is obliged to evaluate the workplace of the worker during the risk
analysis of work environment, considering:
1) the factors endangering the worker’s eyesight;
2) potential physical or mental overload at work;
3) risk factors of work environment, including lighting, noise, electromagnetic
radiation and internal atmosphere of work room;
4) ergonomics and suitability of design of workplace for the
worker.
(2) In
accordance with the results of risk analysis the employer has to apply
measures, if needed, to improve the working conditions of the worker based on
the requirements set in § 4 and 5.
(3) Each
worker should receive necessary instructions and training before starting to
work with display screen and whenever the organization of the workplace is
substantially modified.
(4) The employer
should organise the work so that the worker could
vary working with display screen with the performance of tasks of other kind in
order to prevent the troubles arising from the overstrain
of eyes and working in the forced position. If the latter is impossible, the
worker is entitled to have periodical breaks. The length of breaks should make
at least 10% of the time of working with display screen.
(5) The
employer should organise health surveillance for the
worker working at least half of his working time with display screen,
involving:
1) eye and
eyesight test, considering the date set by the occupational health doctor or
oculist for the specific worker, but not less than once during three years, or
on demand of the worker in case of visual disorders due to working with display
screen.
2) test of status of bones and musculature, mainly for
discovering the disorders related to staying in the forced position with the
frequency not less than once during three years, or on demand of the worker in
case of disorders due to working with the display screen.
(6) In case
the results of the test referred to in clause 1 of subsection 5 indicate that
the worker’s visual acuity has decreased, the employer should obtain special
spectacles for working with display screen or other appliances correcting the
visual acuity based on the doctor’s certificate for fulfilling the subsection 2
of § 3 or cover their cost agreed with the worker.
(7) In case
the results of the test referred to in clause 2 of section 5 indicate that the
worker’s health has deteriorated due to non-ergonomic working conditions, the
employer should immediately take the measures for improving the ergonomic
design of workplace.
(8) The
health surveillance mentioned in subsection 5 is carried out and the devices
mentioned in subsections 6 and 7 are applied at the expense of the employer.
§ 4.
Requirements for the work environment
(1) Noise
and background noise emitted by equipment should be taken to such a low level which will neither disturb focusing nor speech.
(2)
Radiation, excluding the visible part of electromagnetic radiation, should be
reduced to the level guaranteeing the worker’s safety.
(3)
Workplaces should be designed so that the sources of light, such as windows and
skylights, transparent or translucid walls, brightly coloured
equipment and walls cause no direct glare nor worsen the quality of the screen.
The windows should have the light-regulating cover.
(4) Room
and spot lighting should ensure satisfactory lighting conditions and an appropriate
contrast between the screen and the background environment, taking into account
the type of work and the operator’s vision requirements. Possible reflections
of light on the screen should be prevented.
(5)
Internal atmosphere of workroom and the content of hazardous substances in the
air should be in compliance with the set standards.
§ 5. Requirements for the workplace
(1) The
workplace should be planned and designed ergonomically. The worker is entitled
to have the suitable and comfortable working position.
(2) In
working with the display screen:
1) the work desk and surface should be sufficiently large to
allow a flexible arrangement of the display screen, keyboard and pointing
devices (mouse), document holder and peripheral equipment in connection with
the display screen.
2) the work chair should be stable, the height of the seat and
the position of the backrest should be inclining, if needed, the footrest
should be made available to the worker;
3) the document holder should be stable and adjustable to avoid
uncomfortable head and eye movements.
(3) The
characters on the display screen should be clearly formed both between the
characters and lines. To guarantee the legibility:
1) the spacing between the characters and lines should be large
enough;
2) the brightness and contrast of characters between the characters and the
background should be adjustable;
3) the screen should be fixed and free from vibrations;
4) the height and angle of inclination of the screen should be adjustable.
(4) The keyboard
should be separate from the screen with the inclination and matt surface and
placed in the work desk in the position avoiding fatigue in the arms or hands.
For that purpose the space in front of and besides the keyboard should be
sufficient to provide support for the hands and arms and use the pointing
devices. The keyboard and pointing devices should be located, if possible, in
the same level.
(5) The
symbols on the keys should be adequately contrasted and clearly legible.
(6) The
working out and selection of software by the employer should be based on the
following principles:
1) software must be suitable for the task;
2) software should be easy to use and, where appropriate, be
adaptable to the operator’s level of knowledge and experience;
3) computer system should provide feedback on the performance
to the operator;
4) software should have a good ergonomic design, especially
when used for text or data processing.
(7) The
planning and design of the workplace with the display screen should be based on
the European standard EN 29241 as recommended.
§ 6.
Validity of legal acts
In case of
enactment of the current regulation the Regulation No. 5 “General Occupational
Health and Safety Requirements for Work with Display Screen Equipment” of the
Minister of Social Affairs of
§ 7.
Enactment of regulation
The
regulation will be entered into force on
1 The Directive of the Council of the European
Communities 90/270/EEC
(OJ L 156, 21/06/1990, pgs. 14-18)
Prime Minister Mart LAAR
Minister of
Social Affairs Eiki NESTOR
State Secretary Aino LEPIK
von WIRÉN