What is Display Screen Equipment (DSE)?
DSE stands for Display Screen Equipment, this includes various electrical items that an employee may use such as laptops, personal computers (PCs), tablets, and smartphones.
From this, the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 apply to those who use DSE daily, for one hour or more in each instance of their use. To the HSE, these are known as DSE users. Also, note that these regulations are not applicable to those who only use DSE infrequently or for short periods of time.

Who should have DSE Training?
As stated previously, those who are DSE users should require DSE training. This means that they are aware of the issues from improper use of DSE: eye strain, fatigue, upper limb problems, and backache. These issues can be as a by-product of extended use of DSE or from a poorly designed workstation where an employee carries out their work. A DSE workstation assessment is designed to ensure that the workstation, surrounding area, and employee are in the appropriate, ergonomic positions which ensure that extended use of the DSE will not cause ill health, they must also be carried out if a DSE user complains about pain or discomfort.
What if you don’t follow the DSE guidelines?
Being compliant to the DSE Regulations is mandatory, therefore, if your organisation is not, an enforcement policy can be put into place. This means that the issues regarding DSE must be remediated in order to be compliant: workstation design may need to be altered, DSE training provided, frequent breaks away from a screen, change of activity and eye tests are given to DSE users upon request.
What does the free DSE tool include?
The CRAMS DSE tool streamlines the process of completing a HSE DSE workstation assessment checklist, providing relevant guidance and information where necessary. This should provide adequate compliance to the regulations but is not a complete substitute for the appropriate action being carried out.

Our DSE tool allows you to complete a DSE assessment online without the need for an excessive amount of paper and research to fill in the blanks; CRAMS provides direct citation from the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 to avoid any misinterpretation, issues to consider with each question prompt, and helpful images that aid in the understanding and means of compliance to the assessment question. A print off of each DSE assessment document that you complete is available for each staff member that is required.
What extra benefit do CRAMS users get?
As a subscription CRAMS user, you will also gain to our eLearning course for Display Screen Equipment training which is certified by CPD and RoSPA. Alongside this, once fully incorporated and developed into CRAMS, you will be able to link the DSE assessment to an existing risk assessment that your organisation has created. Additionally, CRAMS also manages the review periods for the DSE assessment to be completed again, whilst also notifying the relevant people of any outstanding action that is required as a result of the DSE assessments completion.
All of the aforementioned benefits come with a CRAMS license and DSE assessment tool alone, without even considering the full benefits that CRAMS provides as a whole; as a paying CRAMS user, you will gain access to our full, immersive digital eLearning library that ranges from courses on fire safety to equality and diversity, not only that but you will also be able to create risk assessments that are relevant to your organisation and combine them accordingly with the method statements of your choice. If you would like to read more about the extensive range of features and benefits that CRAMS could provide to your organisation, you can do so here.
Leave a Comment