Work Station Assessment

[Sez]

My new line manager has just come back from five days abroad with work and came over to catch up with me. I have technically worked under him for nearly two years now, but he only "officially" became my manager on January 1st and we have a really good working relationship. He immediately noticed that I was having difficulty typing and is going to arrange me a full work station assessment to see if there's anything to be done with my mouse, keyboard, etc to make it a bit easier for me.

On the one hand, Yay! I've been trying to get the nerve together to ask for one for a few months now, but wasn't sure how the request would be recieved but on the other hand, I'm a bit worried about the assessment itself. I had a WS assessment done a few years back, and as a result, I got my lovely chair. I also got a real earbashing from the woman who did the assessment about how I had my desk set up "all wrong", had an appalling typing posture, and shouldn't do this, that and the other. Any mention of "it's like that because it's comfortable" fell on deaf ears , and I am sure it was her intervention that resulted in me being sent off to see an Occupational Doctor accused of hypochondria and nearly lost me my job. So if it's with the same woman, I may have to take a very deep breath and bite my tongue until after the assessment.

It will be interesting to see what she says about the possibility of a new computer mouse. The shape of it is bothering my thumb, and I tend to use the roller a lot, which hurts my wrist. I've been thinking about changing my mouse at home since my thumb became a real problem back in October (September?), but haven't a clue what would be best.

[Rosie]

Hi Sez

I think now would be the ideal time to request Access to Work. The person at work who carries out your workstation assessment with you is unlikely to know about health conditions, let alone HMS. Neither are you expected to know what equipment may help you at your desk, you need an expert for that, and that is what Access to Work provides. They cannot refuse to involve AtW as you can contact them yourself, or your employer can contact them. Have a seac and you will find a couple of thread about Access to Work.



Rosie

[Blaadyblah]

I'm with Rosie - I was fortunate in that the guy who did my workspace assessments was brilliant and really did know his stuff, you'd be amazed at what is available. Aside from the obvious chair, footstool, writing slopes, ergo-pens, monitor height adjustments and so on, there are voice recognition software packages and at one point they ordered a cradle for my arm (to take the weight of my arm off my shoulder) which attached to the desk. While our in house guy was very, very experienced (it's an enormous employer I work for), the only way to be sure that you get that is to go through Access to Work, particularly if you work for a smaller organisation. I'm dealing with them myself at the moment as I'm trying to establish what support I need to get back to work.

[aninja]

I have a vertical mouse, which is shaped to support the wrist, it looks more like an iron than a mouse but is quite good because you use larger movements and has an infared sensor on the bottom of it so I can actually use it on my knee if I need to.

I also am in the same position where I need another workstation assessment, unfortunately i am not allowed to use access to work, as i work in administration for a government department and I am told that it could be seen as biased, to get help from within the department!!! What's that all about?

I am also worried about the in house assessment as I am waiting for hand splints and OT says that it is not guaranteed that I'll be able to type for long periods when using them. I work 6 hours a day an spend around 90% of my time on a keyboard . Also where I work all the jobs are working with the public either in person or on the phone and of course we have targets around how many calls we take. Not sure if voice recognition is suitable for this type of work as I would take twice as long. Has anyone had splints that they can use and type?

So I also think that ultimately I will end up going for an Occupational Health Assesment.

I am also with Rosie and Blaadyblah - Access to Work are really good - used them in my old job - they even brought several pieces of kit with them so I could try them to see which were most comfortable.

aninja
x

[orpchick]

Hi, had the access to work assessment and it has been invaluable to me, really got things changed at work regarding ways of working and giving me variation in my work pattern which gave me a chance to move away from my desk as much as possible, they are usually really good people that want to help so good luck wit it if you go that route and don't be made to feel that you are doing anything wrong!!!
Kind regards
orpchick

[Sez]

Well, in following work's procedure, I just had a lovely lady out from Health & Safety. We had a chat about the HEDS and she went through the general WSA. As a result, I am getting another new chair, as she doesn't feel that the one I was given three years ago is appropriate any longer, a headset for my phone, some pen and pencil grips, a keyboard wrist support and a monitor riser After a chat about Access to Work, roller-ball mice and other equipment, I am being referred to Occupational Health for a work assessment.
I have recently been asked to start doing minutes again, once a week for three Fridays out of four, which I hate but it is a part of my job. However, the meetings won't all be in this office, so I need to ask about some kind of back support that I can take with me to use on chairs in other offices (unless I find a way to take my chair with me!). I'm also going to mention the possibility of some kind of voice recognition software for the PC, so that on bad days and on the days that I am taking minutes on the morning, I am not then spending my entire afternoon typing - my line manager thinks that there should easily be room in our budget to get some if Occupational Health disagree.

So, all in all, a pretty useful meeting. Fingers crossed I get everything out of it that I have been promised!

[Englishgremlin1]

Great news - it all sounds very positive. Go with the software, i have found it very good.

[Retro]

Hi Sez,

Could you do the minutes straight onto a laptop? Then there would just be some minor editing afterwards?

Lindsey

[Sez]

Hi Sez,

Could you do the minutes straight onto a laptop? Then there would just be some minor editing afterwards?

Lindsey

I find hand writing preferable when it comes to minute-taking - for some reason I find it easier to make sense of notes in a handwritten form, rather than on the computer. For some reason the PC brings out the perfectionist in me, and I have to type "properly", although one part of the notes of my last meeting, in handwritten form read:

"Pri & Sec Sch Imp Ad after 1/2 - open to A&I"

The actual sentence that I got out of that was

"The Primary and Secondary School Improvement Adviser vacancies will be re-advertised after half term. These posts will be open to all members of the Achievement and Inclusion Team."

It's not physically easier, but I find it quicker and easier to interpret afterwards. It's so quick and I have to make notes on things that I don't always understand, so if I hit the wrong key I just don't have time to go back and change it, although it could mean that I completely misunderstand later on.

I detest doing minutes of meetings. Aside from being painful, I don't have any "support" for my work, since I am the support officer, so if I'm not in the office there is no one taking messages for me, or keeping on top of my "desk work", so essentially minute taking means I lose a full day (morning minuting and afternoon typing the final copy) and I have to cram everything else in to the remaining four days or stay late.

I wonder if I could convince them to let me use a dictaphone to record the meeting and then I could type straight onto my PC at my desk? Then I would be able to pause and rewind the recording as often as I needed to, to ensure that I was getting all the information.

[Retro]

That was going to be my other suggestion

Lindsey

[Blaadyblah]

Sez, that'd be your best move, I reckon.

[bendyone]

Hi Sez

You mention that minute taking is a key part of your job, but do you know that, as part of the OH referral, they will look at the duties you do and if any aggravate your disability then your employer has to make "Reasonable Adjustments" for you.
I think that, under the circumstances they may say that you should not be carrying out this activity or in the very least, a dictaphone should be provided as a "Reasonable Adjustment". Only problem is that everyone at the meetings would have to be informed that you were taping (Human Rights....) and your managers might expect verbatim reports!!

I am assuming from your previous posts that you are a public servant - do you belong to a Trade Union? If so, I would urge you to contact your union's local Safety Rep who will be a mine of information on the does and don'ts surrounding the Display Screen Equipment Regulations and the DDA. The Rep would support you and can attend your Occ Health consultation if want them to. You should find that your Union Safety Reps will better qualified than the Health & Safety personnel employed by your organisation. That is certainly the case in my workplace!

As well as being a long-time sufferer of HMS, I am an active Safety Rep for the PCS Union. I took up this role to support myself as much as my colleagues and I have learned an awful lot about what an employer can & can't get away with. If your a public servant then you are lucky in that the government has to practice what it preaches on H&S and DDA.

I have had problems with computer mouses and keyboards. The lastest mouse I am using is a Touchpad which is operated by gliding your finger over a small screen on your desk and then has buttons for right and left clicking. Although it takes a bit of getting used to it really makes a difference, I have very little discomfort in my hands since I moved to it. Google it to see what you think - I think the brand is Smart Cat or something like that.

The thing is with specialist equipment though, what works for one, does not work for another.It is very much a hit and a miss and the OH nurse (if she's any good) will encourage you to try different things until you find those that suit.Access to Work will also tell you this - no one knows what is the best for you - except you.

Good luck with your OH consultation - mine is next Wednesday so I may get back to you and compare notes.

[Sez]

Thanks for your informative post.
I'm a Council employee in Children's Services. My contract is, technically, still that of a Personal Assistant. When I started working for the Council, I was an agency temp and the Council's partner company "bought me out" of the agency, and I started working for the Home to School Transport team, designing pupil databases, sending letters out and dealing with the returned forms for pupils who were entitled to a school bus pass, and then the actual design and production of the passes themselves. After six months of this, a job came up in the PAs section to work for one of the Assistant Directors, and a large part of that job was minute taking, which is, as such, written into my contract.
When the Assistant Director left a few years ago, I was moved to "plug a gap" in the Advisory service (their support officer was off on maternity leave). But technically, I was still under the same contract as I had been as a PA. Last year, we all transferred to the Council itself when the partnership was dissolved, and I was informed that, as a result, I would get a new contract. Since moving over here, I haven't been required to minute a regular meeting, but would get asked occasionally to cover it if the PA who normally did it was off or in another meeting. The last time was not long after I'd badly hurt my back and I ended up being sent home, and hadn't been asked to cover since, so I thought that they had maybe realised that I wouldn't cope with it and decided not to ask me.
The meeting arrangements are all due to change and I have been informed that it is "more appropriate" for me to minute these particular meetings than for one of the PAs. I will have a chat with the OH person to see what they think, though. Given the problems I and my ex-husband had with the Council's partner due to disability and health issues, I'm always afraid to say that I struggle with anything. I know that I shouldn't really just carry on regardless, and my partner is forever going on at me about pacing myself and not causing further aggrivation to prolong the amount of time I am actually well enough to work for, but I find it really difficult to talk to my colleagues about it all, and I am just so grateful that my line manager actually noticed I was struggling and suggested the Assessment, rather than me having to pluck up the courage to ask for it!

You're right, though, I could probably do with a chat with my Union representative.

Thanks again

[bendyone]

I am sure you will get good advice from your Union but feel free to contact me if you think I could help.

As for your colleagues, I bet there's hardly a member on this site who hasn't come up against ignorance and scepticism amongst those they work beside.

I am convinced my colleagues think I'm either a hypocondriac or a freak.I have developed a thick skin though and my union work in Health & Safety has been empowering.

Good Luck Sez
x

[Sez]

Well, I just got my report back (how quick was that!?) and my manager and I have been having some retail therapy going through the online catalogue for the equipment I have been recommended I've been allowed to choose pretty much whatever I fancy between various styles of products

HR are being difficult about my referral to Occupational Health and keep saying that they will only write the same report as Health and Safety have already done, so my manager has been feeling a bit frustrated this afternoon in trying to follow it up. I've mentioned Access to Work again (and played the "grant" card, in the hope that HR might be more tempted if they thought it wasn't all coming out of the Council budgets), so if they continue to be difficult about sending me to the OH team, we're going to pursue the Access to Work route.

I've been having a really awful day (generally feeling really low... perhaps a ramble on the Eeyore thread is in order), so a bit of online shopping and not actually spending money out of my pocket has cheered me up!