This page lists various aspects of DSE working practices and working environment, with suggestions on how to optimise your workstation setup. It is a modified version of the online assessment at Keytools Ergonomics. When you click on the radio buttons, the answers and suggestions will be highlighted in the right hand column. Red highlight means you are running some risk; green means that this particular aspect of your work is probably safe.
| Chair | Keyboard & Mouse | Monitor | Working Area | Working Practice | RSI Symptoms |
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1. Are your feet placed flat and firm on the floor? Yes No |
Your feet should be supported - if they are not at all, or if just your toes reach the floor, it will affect your whole posture adversely. If necessary, you should be able to lower your chair, or lean the seat of the chair forwards slightly. |
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2. If your feet do not rest firmly on the floor, do you have a footrest instead? Yes No |
If you are using a particularly high chair, a footrest enabling your feet to rest firmly will help keep your posture correct. |
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3. Are your thighs (upper legs) supported by your chair? Yes No |
This will help keep your posture correct. Your thighs should be horizontal or sloping downwards slightly. |
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4. Is your lower back supported by your chair? Yes No |
The backrest of your chair should support your lower back while at your desk. This allows you to relax while maintaining the correct posture. The backrest of your chair should not give and lean back separately from the seat of the chair - if you do wish to lean back and relax, the seat and backrest should lean back together from a joint beneath your seat. |
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5. Do your arms hang loosely from your shoulders while working? Yes No |
Hunching up your shoulders will increase the risk of neck and upper arm strain. You should be able to relax your shoulders while working and let your arms hang loosely. If you can't, this may be due to your desk being too high, or your armrests too high; make sure you can adjust the height of your armrests. |
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6. Are your forearms horizontal while working? Yes No |
If not, your desk or chair may be at innappropriate heights. If your posture is correct as determined by the above questions, but you are reaching up or down to the desk, then consider using a desk of the correct height (some desks are adjustable). |
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7. Are your elbows at your sides and at right angles? Yes No |
If your elbows are in front of you, then your keyboard is too far away. Try moving the keyboard towards you, or move your chair further under the desk. If your chair does not roll under the desk due to armrests, consider removing them; you should not rest your elbows on the armrests while working anyway. They are of some benefit for resting, but you should not rely on them to support your arms. |
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8. Is your chair adjustable for height? Yes No |
If you are working at a desk, you must have an adjustable chair; height adjustment is the most basic and critical of adjustments. Everybody is of a different height and shape and so workstation adjustment is very important. |
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9. If your chair has armrests, are they adjustable for height? Yes No |
Make sure your armrests are not too high; you should be able to relax your shoulders and let your arms hang loosely down while working. |
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10. Are your armrests padded, not hard? Yes No |
Hard armrests can place too much pressure on your elbows and arms, constricting blood flow. |
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11. Is the front edge of your chair rounded and/or soft? Yes No |
There should not be undue pressure on your thighs. |
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12. Does your chair have castors (wheels)? Yes No |
You should be able to roll your chair easily to adjust its position as you work. |
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13. Does your chair rotate? Yes No |
You should be able to rotate your chair as you sit in it as you work, rather than constantly rotating your body. |
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14. Is your mouse near to your keyboard and at the same height? Yes No |
You should not have to reach out to the mouse any further than to the keyboard - if you do, you will change your whole posture every time you switch between them. |
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15. Are your wrists in neutral positions while typing and using the mouse? (not twisted, bent up or down, or bent left or right) Yes No |
Neutral wrist positions are very important in reducing the risk of repetitive strain injuries, particularly carpal tunnel syndrome and other wrist injuries. If your wrists are resting on the table or a wrist rest while typing, try lifting them up slightly; this will give neutral vertical positions, which may feel odd for a while, but will help enormously in reducing strain. If your wrists are bent outwards horizontally, consider obtaining a split ergonomic keyboard, which will allow neutral wrist positions horizontally. The same neutral wrist principles apply while using the mouse. |
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16. Do your wrists lean on anything (including wrist rests) while typing or using the mouse? (not while resting) Yes No |
Wrist rests may be leant on while not typing but will not benefit you while you are actually using the keyboard. |
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17. Is your keyboard resting on a surface the same height as your elbows? Yes No |
If the surface is higher or lower, your forearms will be at an angle; this will mean your wrists may be bent and not in a neutral position. |
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18. Are the springs in the keys stiff enough to resist being pressed when you are just resting your fingers on the keyboard? Yes No |
You should be able to rest your fingers by leaving them on the keyboard while not actually typing. |
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19. Are the springs in the keys soft enough to allow pressing without having to push down more than a token amount? Yes No |
You should not have to push hard while typing - this will wear out your finger muscles very quickly indeed. |
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20. Does your keyboard give you tactile feedback (you can feel the key go down when you press it) and/or audible feedback (you can hear a click when you press a key)? Yes No |
If you don't know if you have pushed a key or not, you are more likely to push harder. |
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21. Can you reach all keys on the keyboard easily and regularly without straining? Yes No |
If you strain your fingers while reaching keys - for example, pressing shift and a number at the same time - then you may want to consider a smaller, more compact keyboard, like the Mini Keyboard. |
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22. Is your monitor directly in front of you? Yes No |
You should not have to twist your body or neck to view the monitor - this will put undue strain on one side of your body. |
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23. Is your monitor at right angles to any close windows? Yes No |
Having a window behind your monitor may cause you to strain your eyes; having a window behind you may cause a glare on the monitor. |
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24. Are your eyes at a comfortable distance from the monitor? This is usually 1.5 to 2 feet (ca. 45 - 60 centimetres). Yes No |
Too close or too far and you will strain your eyes. If you have a particularly large monitor, you may wish to move it further away - but make sure that you compensate by making the text on screen larger. |
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25. Are your eyes level with the top of the monitor? Yes No |
You should be looking slightly down on the centre of the monitor - usually at an angle of 15 to 20 degrees. If you have a particularly large monitor this may mean that the top is higher than your eyes; in this case you may wish to move the monitor further away than normal. You should not have to lean your head back to view the top of the monitor. You should not be looking down too much either; if your monitor is too low, raise it up. |
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26. Can you adjust the height of your monitor should you need to? Yes No |
This may just be placing some solid object beneath it, but is very important if it is at the wrong level. |
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27. Do you find yourself leaning towards your monitor when working? Yes No |
If so, it may be too far away; or, more likely, your sitting position is incorrect. One common problem is not being able to push the front of your chair under your desk. If you can't, then you may be leaning forward to compensate. |
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28. If you need to type from a paper document, do you have a document holder (copy stand) at the same height as your monitor? Yes No |
The document should be next to the monitor and at the same vertical angle. This means you do not have to twist your neck or lean forward to read the document, and you can retain the same posture all the time. |
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29. Do you have to bend your neck to switch between the document holder and the monitor? Yes No |
If so, consider moving the document holder nearer to the monitor. |
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30. Do you get any glare reflected in your monitor at any time of the day, from windows, lights, or the sun? Yes No |
Find out where the glare is coming from; if you are unsure, place a mirror in front of the monitor at the same angle. If there is a glare coming from a window, it should have blinds or curtains that you can close at the critical time of day. If it is coming from a light, see if it can be turned off (without reducing the light level in your office too much) or moved; if this is not possible, consider moving your desk. Do not turn or move your monitor without moving your desk; this will mean you will be viewing the monitor at an angle, putting strain on your back or neck. |
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31. Do you have plenty of room to stretch out your legs under your desk? Yes No |
If you have to bunch up your legs, it will affect your whole posture adversely. You should have room to stretch and fidget with your legs. |
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32. Do you have enough room on your desk to lay out your computer equipment and other objects without crowding? Yes No |
If you have to reach awkwardly, maybe over other objects, to use your computer equipment, you run the risk of repetitive strain in your arms. |
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33. If you type while using the phone, do you use a hands-free headset? Yes No |
Do not tuck a phone handset under your chin, and do not regularly try to type with one hand. If you do need to talk and type at the same time, obtain a hands-free headset. This is very important if a large part of your job involves talking on the phone. |
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34. Do the tasks involved in your job cause you to take frequent short breaks from your computer? Yes No |
You should have frequent opportunities to do tasks other than those that require use of your computer. If you do not, take frequent short breaks. At a very minimum, five minutes of rest away from your computer and desk every forty minutes can make a world of difference. |
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35. If you do get muscle fatigue or pain anywhere in your upper body while working, do you take a break? Yes No |
You must not continue working if you get pains like this - you will only make the problem worse, maybe permanently. |
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36. Do you schedule your breaks so that you take them before muscle fatigue or pain starts? Yes No |
If you make sure you never get to the stage of pain and fatigue, you are far more likely to reduce the risk of permanent damage. |
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37. If you do start to get muscle fatigue or pain, do you get up and move around? Yes No |
Exercising your muscles in non-repetitive ways away from your computer, even if it means just walking to the coffee machine and back, is a good way of reducing the risk. |
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38. Do you use the same computer workstation all day? (as opposed to several) Yes No |
If you use more than one workstation, make sure you can easily adjust them all to accommodate your specific requirements. |
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39. Do you have advisory input when new equipment (especially desks and chairs) is purchased by your company or department? Yes No |
If you feel that the standard equipment does not suit you, ask for something different. Not everybody is the same - and so not everybody should use the same equipment. |
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40. After long periods of work at your computer, do you feel any of the following: Pain, tingling (pins and needles), coldness, numbness, stiffness or burning in your fingers, hands, wrists, or arms? Yes No |
These are all symptoms of RSI. If you start to feel any of these, make sure you take action as described here, and consult your doctor promptly. |
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41. Do you ever suffer clumsiness or loss of strength and coordination in your hands? Yes No |
If you do, you may be damaging the muscles in your hands and arms, even if you don't notice any pain. Make sure you take action. Your doctor should be able to advise you whether this is caused by your work. |
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42. Do you get sudden onsets of pain in your hands or arms, even at night? Yes No |
This pain may seem unrelated but if you do get any, address the issues of RSI. |
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43. Do you get urges to massage your hands? Yes No |
If so, you may well be feeling the onset of RSI. Stop working and take action. |
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44. Do you get pain in your upper back, shoulders or neck after using your computer for a while? Yes No |
RSI doesn't just affect your hands - it can be equally painful and crippling all through your upper body. Address the issues in the same way. |
If you have completed this questionnaire and many of the answers in the right hand column are highlighted in red, you are running the risk of RSI. You are advised to make adjustments as suggested. Contact the Departmental Safety Officer if you need further information about DSE assessments.