Health and Safety

What can I do to help myself?

When conducting your studies from home, you should adjust your computer equipment to suit your work environment in order to get the best from them and avoid potential health problems.

Please observe the following guidelines:

Adjust your chair and VDU to find the most comfortable position for your
work. As a broad guide, your arms should be approximately horizontal and
your eyes at the same height as the top of the VDU casing;
Make sure there is enough space underneath your desk to move your legs
freely. Move any obstacles such as boxes or equipment;
If you are a regular user of a PC then you should take an eye test at
least every two years;
Don't sit in the same position for long periods. Make sure you change your
posture as often as possible. Some movement is desirable, but avoid
repeated stretching movements;
Arrange your desk and screen so that bright lights are not reflected in the
screen. You shouldn't be directly facing windows or bright lights. Adjust
curtains or blinds to prevent unwanted light;
Make sure you have enough work space to take whatever documents you
need. A document holder may help you to avoid awkward neck
movements;
Look after your equipment - keep all of your equipment free of dust and
use a surge protection plug for your computer.

For more details, you can download the Health and Safety Executive's Working with VDUs (113kb, Adobe Reader required)