Display Screen Equipment Checklist
Display Screen Equipment (DSE) includes computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, mouse, and keyboards. Using DSE is common in many jobs and workplaces, especially within offices. However, regular and prolonged use presents various health risks that can cause injury and illness.
Businesses must comply with the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992. This includes setting up well-designed workstations and working environments, carrying out a DSE workstation assessment, providing training and testing, and reducing risks. We’ve created a checklist to help you run a display screen equipment assessment.
Answer all the questions and tick off everything from our DSE assessment checklist below to ensure your office or business operates safely. You can also try a free 15-day trial of our health and safety software where you can create unlimited risk assessments – including DSE assessment forms.
DSE checklist
You can use the following DSE checklist to help with any risk assessments and compliance with the regulations. We’ve grouped together key considerations into three main categories related to using display screen equipment – employee eyesight, posture, and training. This should make running a display screen equipment assessment simple.
The DSE assessment checklist is not exhaustive, and you should still complete a risk assessment for your office or workplace as well. However, it should aid your efforts to create a safe office environment. Answer the following questions and tick off each one from our DSE workstation assessment checklist below to protect employee health and safety.
Eyesight hazards
Are there factors that can cause eye strain, fatigue, or headaches:
- Are any display screens flickering?
- Do any display screens require adjusting to improve brightness or contrast?
- Do any display screens need repositioning away from windows or bright lights to avoid reflected glare?
- Do any display screens require cleaning to improve viewing images?
- Do any small screens need replacing with larger screens to improve viewed image?
- Do any display screen users complain of recurring headaches?
- Are any users overdue an eye test?
- Do users need to take more short breaks to relieve eye strain?
Posture hazards
Are working positions set correctly to avoid neck or back pain:
- Do any chairs at workstations require replacing by chairs with greater posture adjustment?
- Do footrests need to be supplied to improve posture?
- Do any working positions require improving?
- Do any laptop users who regularly work on them for more than two hours a day require a full-size keyboard and mouse to improve working posture?
- Do wrist support pads for mouse or keyboard need to be supplied?
Staff training needs
- Do staff need training in how to set up or adjust their workstation?
Online DSE assessment guidance notes
The DSE assessment checklist has been supplied to allow the user to tailor the form to suit their specific needs. This list is intended as the first stage of a risk assessment to identify any significant hazards in the workplace related to display screen equipment to prompt further action or evaluation.
The DSE hazards have been listed as generic groups for ease of identification. ‘No’ indicates that a hazard is not present and no further action is required. ‘Yes’ identifies a hazard that should be either:
- Removed or controlled by some action
- Further evaluated by performing a risk assessment
Control measures for removing or reducing DSE hazards
To remove or reduce workplace hazards around DSE use you can take the following steps:
- Elimination by removing the hazard completely
- Substitution with a less hazardous substance, process, or method of work
- Modification of the work process
- Providing formal written procedures in the form of a safe system of work or a method statement
- Supplying adequate training and information to all those exposed to the hazard
- General tidiness and good housekeeping
- Supplying protective equipment or clothing
Further evaluation
Any identified hazard should be evaluated using a risk assessment.
To create a safe workplace you can also use our office risk assessment checklist.