Solving workplace problems associated with VDTs

The introduction of VDTs into the vast majority of modern working environments represents a substantial change in the disciplines of work for many people. This paper describes how the health and safety issues associated with this change were managed in one organisation by the acquisition of ergonomics skills and their combination with occupational health surveillance techniques. The results show that ergonomics problems far outweighed symptomatic complaints, but symptomatic complaints were strongly associated with high VDT occupancy. The processes used resulted in high response rates from VDT users and an excellent 'clear-up' rate of problems. The solution of these problems was quantified in terms of difficulty and cost.