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REGULATION OF THE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL POLICY
of 1 December 1998
on health and safety at work in positions equipped with screen monitors
On the basis of art. 237 15 § 1 of the Labour Code shall be managed as follows:
§ 1. The Regulation shall specify:
1) occupational safety and health requirements and ergonomics for work stations equipped with screen monitors,
2) the requirements for the organization of work in positions equipped with screen monitors.
§ 2. Whenever there is a regulation in the regulation:
1) display monitor-this shall be understood by means of the device for displaying information in alphanumeric or graphical mode, regardless of the method of obtaining the image,
(2) the workplace, which must be understood by the working space, including equipment and work items, including:
(a) basic equipment, including a display monitor, keyboard or other input device, central unit or diskette unit,
(b) additional equipment, including printer, scanner, mouse, trackball,
(c) auxiliary equipment, including a table, a chair, a document holder, a footstow,
3) computer system-it is necessary to understand the equipment of the basic equipment and the additional work station together with the software,
4) employee-this must be understood by any person employed by the employer, including the apprentice and trainee, the use of the screen monitor at least half of the daily working time period during the work.
§ 3. The provisions of the Regulation shall not apply to:
1) drivers cabins and control cabins of machinery and vehicles,
2) computer systems on board means of transport,
3) computer systems intended primarily for public use,
4) portable systems not intended for use on a given job,
5) calculators, cash registers and other devices with small screens for presentation of data or measurement results,
6) Typewriter with a screen display.
§ 4. The employer shall organise the work stations with screen monitors in such a way as to meet the minimum requirements for occupational safety and health and ergonomics as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
§ 5. 1. The employer is obliged to carry out at work positions, equipped with screen monitors, assessment of working conditions in the aspect:
1) the organization of job positions, including the placement of equipment elements, in such a way as to ensure compliance with safety and health requirements of the work,
2) state of the elements of the equipment of work stations, ensuring the safety of the work, including protection against electrical shock,
3) the burden of the visual organ and the musculoskeletal system of the workers,
4) the workload of employees with physical factors, including especially the wrong lighting,
5) the psychological burden of workers, resulting from the way in which the work is organised.
2. The assessment referred to in paragraph 2. 1, should be carried out in particular for newly created posts and after each change of organisation and equipment of work stations. On the basis of an assessment, the employer is obliged to take measures to remove the identified risks and nuisance.
§ 6. The employer is obliged to:
1. inform employees of all aspects of health and safety at work, including the results of the assessment referred to in § 5, and of any safety and health protection measures,
2) to train workers in occupational health and safety in accordance with the procedure laid down in separate regulations.
§ 7. The employer is obliged to provide employees:
1) combining change of work associated with the operation of a screen monitor with other types of non-visual and non-visual work performed in other positions of the body-when not exceeding an hour of continuous operation in the operation of a display monitor, or
2) at least a 5-minute break, included in the working time, after each hour of operation in the operation of the display monitor.
§ 8. 1. The employer shall be obliged to provide employees with the employees with screen monitors of preventive health care, to the extent and on the principles laid down in separate regulations.
2. The employer shall be obliged to provide staff with corrective eyesight, complying with the doctor's recommendation, if the results of the ophthalmological examinations carried out within the framework of the preventive health care referred to in the mouth. 1, demonstrate the need to apply them when working on the display of the display monitor.
§ 9. [ 1] 1. The Regulation shall enter into force after 3 months from the day of the announcement, subject to the paragraph. 2.
(2) Existing on the date of entry into force of the Regulation, working positions equipped with screen monitors shall be adapted to the requirements set out in the Regulation no later than 2 years from the date of its entry into force, with the exception of point 5.1 (a) of the Regulation. (f) and (g) of the Annex to the Regulation which relate to newly created jobs.
Minister of Labour and Social Policy: L. Komołowski
Annex 1. [ MINIMUM SAFETY AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK AND ERGONOMICS TO BE MET BY WORK STATIONS EQUIPPED WITH SCREEN MONITORS]
Annex to the Regulation of the Minister of Labour and Social Policy
of 1 December 1998 (pos. 973)
MINIMUM HEALTH AND SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR WORK AND ERGONOMICS TO BE MET BY WORK STATIONS EQUIPPED WITH SCREEN MONITORS
1. The equipment of the workplace and the arrangement of the components of this equipment shall not cause excessive burdens on the musculoskeletal system and/or sight and shall be the source of danger to the worker.
2. The screen monitor shall meet the following requirements:
(a) the signs on the screen should be clear and legible,
(b) the image on the screen should be stable, without arteries or other forms of instability,
c) The brightness and contrast of the mark on the screen should be easy to regulate depending on the lighting conditions of the work station,
(d) the adjustment of the monitor shall allow the screen to be inclination of at least 20 ° to the rear and 5 ° to the front and rotate around its axis at least 120 °-at 60 ° in both directions,
(e) the display screen shall be covered with an anti-reflective layer or equipped with a suitable filter.
2. If necessary according to the individual characteristics of the anthropometric worker, a separate base of the monitor or the adjustable table should be used.
2. 3. Setting the monitor screen to light sources should limit the light and reflections.
3.1. The keyboard should be a separate piece of equipment for the basic job title.
3. 2. The design of the keyboard should allow the user to accept an entry that would not cause fatigue of the muscles of the upper limbs while working. The keyboard shall have in particular:
a) the possibility of adjusting the inclination angle in the range of 0 ÷15 °,
(b) the appropriate height, when the condition is met, that the height of the central order of alphanumeric keys with the letters A, S. .., counting from the plane of the table, does not exceed 30 mm for at least one inclination position of the keyboard.
3. The surface of the keyboard should be matte, and the characters on the keyboard should be contrasted and legible.
4.1. The design of the table should be such as to allow the position of the workplace equipment to be conveniently set, including the variable height of the display setting and the keyboard.
4. 2. The width and depth of the table shall be such as to ensure
(a) sufficient space for easy handling of the equipment elements of the position and the carrying out of activities relating to the type of work,
(b) the setting of the keyboard with a distance of not less than 100 mm between the keyboard and the front edge of the table,
c) setting the items of equipment at the appropriate distance from the employee, that is within the scope of its upper limbs, without the need to accept forced positions.
4.3. The height of the table and the seat of the chair shall be such as to ensure that:
(a) the natural position of the upper limbs with the operation of the keyboard, with at least the simple angle between the arm and the pre-arm,
b) the appropriate viewing angle of the monitor screen in the range of 20 ° to 50 ° downwards (counting from the horizontal line at the height of the employee's eyes to the line drawn from its eyes to the centre of the screen), with the top edge of the monitor screen should not be above Employee's eyes
(c) the appropriate space for placing the legs at the top of the table.
4. The surface of the table should be matt, preferably a bright colour.
5.1. The chair providing the position of the work station shall have:
(a) sufficient stability, by equipping it with at least five-foot-wheels, with wheels,
(b) the dimensions of the backrest and seat, ensuring the comfortable position of the body and the freedom of movement,
c) adjustable seat height in the range of 400 ÷500 mm, counting from the floor,
(d) the height adjustment and the adjustment of the backrest in the range of: 5 ° to the front and 30 ° to the rear,
(e) the profile of the seat plate and the seat-back suitable for the natural bending of the spine and the section of the lower leg of the lower limbs,
(f) the possibility of rotation around the vertical axis by 360 °,
(g) armrests.
5. 2. The control mechanisms of the seat height and inclination of the backrest shall be easily accessible and simple to use, and so positioned so that the adjustment can be exercised in a sitting position.
6. If there is a need to use documents, the job stand must be equipped with a document holder, adjustable in height, inclination, and distance from the employee.
6. 2. The document holder shall be in front of the employee-between the display screen and the keyboard-or in another position-in a position minimising the burdensome movement of the head and eyes.
7. At the employee's request, and when the height of the chair makes it impossible for the flat worker to set foot on the floor, the job stand should be equipped with a footstow.
7. 2. The footstook should have an angle of inclination in the range of 0 ° to 15 °, and its height should be adjusted to the needs resulting from the anthropometric characteristics of the employee.
7. The surface of the leg should not be slippery, and the footstool itself should not move on the floor when using the floor.
8. The work position shall be designed so that the worker has sufficient working space to permit all manual elements within the range of the upper limbs to be placed on the ground.
The position of work equipped with a screen monitor shall be so located in the room, in order to ensure that the worker has free access to the position. The distances between the adjacent monitors shall be at least 0,6 m, and between the worker and the rear of the neighbouring monitor, at least 0,8 m.
8. 3. The employee's eye distance from the monitor screen should be 400 ÷750 mm.
9. The illumination should ensure the comfort of visual work, especially:
a) the level of illumination should meet the requirements set out in the Polish Norms,
(b) limit the direct pressure from the luminaives, windows, transparent or translucent walls or clear room planes and reflections on the display screen, in particular by the use of suitable luminaifs lighting, installation of blinds or curtains in windows.
9. 2. The use of local lighting luminaifs shall be authorised provided that the luminaives do not cause any olmage.
10. When designing, selecting and modernising the software, and when planning the performance of tasks with the screen of the monitor, the employer shall take into account in particular the following requirements:
(a) the software should correspond to the task provided for,
b) the software should be easy to use and tailored to the level of knowledge and (or) employee experience,
(c) computer systems must provide feedback to the staff of the feedback on their operation,
(d) computer systems must ensure that the information is displayed in the form and rate appropriate to the employee,
(e) without the knowledge of the worker, the qualitative and quantitative control of his work cannot be carried out,
(f) ergonomics should be used for the development of software and data processing.
11. The relative air humidity in the rooms intended to work with screen monitors shall not be less than 40%.
11. 2. Requirements for maximum permissible concentrations and intensities of factors harmful to health in the workplace, including those concerning the level of noise and radiation, shall be determined by separate regulations and Polish Standards.
[ 1] This Regulation shall enter into force on 11 March 1999.
