Copyright: AMP (c) 1994 HealthWare Limited


Contents
ACTIVITY MONITORING PROGRAM HELP MENU

Limited Release for PC Magazine - The Leading Labs Based Magazine

ORDERING INFORMATION

Ordering the Activity Monitoring Program

CREDITS:

About HealthWare Limited

GENERAL:

Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 1992 Regulations

Why This is Important to You as an Employer

Why This is Important to You as an Employee

What This Program Does

How it Helps to Increase Productivity

How it Helps to Protect the Health of Your Staff

Suggested Work and Break Times

Penalties for Non-Compliance

PROGRAM FUNCTIONS:

Preferences

Examining Timers

Changing The Password

Responding To A Pause

Password Protection

Closing Down The Program

Rotating Timers

Always On Top

TECHNICAL TERMS:

Users

Display Screen Equipment

Workstation

Micropauses

Short Pauses

Long Pauses

Neuromuscular (Stretching Exercises)


Help On Preferences

THE LIMITED RELEASE OF THE PROGRAM IS NOT CONFIGURABLE - YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ALTER ANY OF THE TIMINGS IN THIS VERSION.  See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.

Selecting the Preferences option from the options list allows the user to change the lengths of suggested Pauses  and the time of continuous work that triggers the suggestion for the pause. Times can be changed by selecting the appropriate box,  typing in a numerical value and selecting a unit of time from the list provided.

See Suggested Work and Break Times  for a range of suitable times for different classes of Users .

The program will not allow you to enter values of pauses or work periods that violate some simple rules.   These rules are:

1) A pause time can not be greater than the work period that causes the pause.

2) A work period that triggers a pause can not be greater than any other work periods higher than it in the program's hierarchy, i.e. a working period before a Micropause  cannot be longer than a working period before a Short Pause .

Selecting the Preferences option also allows you to select whether the Preferences screen itself and/or Closing Down The Program  are to be Password  protected.  Selection can be made by licking on the appropriate box so that a cross appears in it.

If password protection is selected, the password will be the default password as per the manual until a Change Password  option is selected from the main menu.


Help On Examining Timers

Selecting the Examine Timers option from the main menu allows the user to view the lengths of suggested Pauses  and the duration of continuous work that will be needed to trigger a suggested rest.

This feature can also be accessed by double-clicking on the program icon.

It is not possible to change any of the times by selecting this option.   If you require to make changes then you must select the Preferences  option from the main menu.

See Suggested Work and Break Times  for a range of suitable times for different classes of Users.


Help On Changing The Password

THIS FUNCTION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE LIMITED RELEASE - See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.

Selecting the Change Password  option from the options list allows the user to change the password that the program uses.   Password protection can be added to areas of the program by selecting the Preferences  option from the main menu.

The password can be changed by first entering the old password in the appropriate box and then entering the new password in the other boxes.   The new password has to be entered twice to ensure that there were no errors the first time.

All text typed into the boxes will appear as stars (*) on the screen to give added security when entering passwords.


Help On Responding To A Pause

After a length of time defined by the Preferences  option from the main menu, advice on suggested pauses will appear on screen in a window as illustrated below.

When this occurs the user can take a break until the suggested pause has elapsed, at which time the box will disappear.   To ignore the prompt  press the CTRL and Enter keys together or click on the OK button to remove the window.


Help On Password Protection

THIS FUNCTION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE LIMITED RELEASE - See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.

Certain features of this program can be password protected.   These are:

1) Preferences

2) Closing Down The Program

Password protection can be added by selecting the Preferences option from the main menu and then by clicking the password check box.

The default password is as supplied in your documentation.

Remember to keep note of what the password is!


Help On Closing The Program Down

The program can be closed down by selecting the Close option from the main menu.  If Password Protection  has been added by using the Preferences  option then the password will be required before it closes down.


Health And Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 1992 Regulations

In May 1990 the European Community Council of Ministers produced a series of draft agreements relating to health and safety at work.  All European Community countries were obliged to incorporate these resolutions into their relevant Health and Safety at Work legislation.  One of these directives, 90/270, deals with the use of Display Screen Equipment in the workplace and seeks to minimise the risks associated with their use.

European Community Directive 90/270 became part of the Health and Safety at Work Act as at 1 January 1993.  All new or substantially altered Workstations  installed or modified after that date must conform to the new standard.  In addition employers must carry out an assessment on all their current Workstations and minimise any health and safety risks thus identified.

Regulation 4 of the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 1992 Regulations reads as follows:

"Every employer shall so plan the activities of Users  at work in his undertaking that their daily work on Display Screen Equipment is periodically interrupted by such breaks or changes of activity as to reduce the workload at that equipment."

This is the section of the Regulations that this program aims to address.  What This Program Does  shows how the Activity Monitoring Program achieves this objective.

Penalties For Non-Compliance  can be heavy and subsequent damages can easily run into millions of pounds.

The full text of the Act with information on implementation is available from:

HSE Information Centre

Broad Lane

SHEFFIELD

S3 7HQ

Tel: (0742) 892345

Cost: £5

ISBN  0 11 886331 2

HealthWare Limited is the first company in the UK to specialise in protecting the health of your computer users.   For further information contact us at the address below.

HealthWare Limited

7 Clarks Terrace

Heworth

YORK

YO3 0DQ

Tel: (0904) 430269

Fax: (0904) 423622

E-mail: Compuserve 100031,3560


Why This Is Important To You As An Employer

As an employer you are already responsible for the Health and Safety of your employees while they are at work.  The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 1992 Regulations  extend your liability to cover Display Screen Equipment  such as computers.  However if your company includes personnel spending a significant proportion of their working day using a computer then they and your company can benefit significantly from the new legislation.

All employees that use Display Screen Equipment for a significant part of their working day are classed as Users.  The people most at risk from poorly-designed computer Workstations  are those with little discretion over their use of the machine and a high dependency on the equipment to carry out their job successfully.  It is these personnel that the Act seeks to protect.

Together with other requirements you are now obliged to plan the working day of your Users to ensure that they get adequate rest from using Display Screen Equipment.  This program seeks to automate that process so that the users will receive rests in direct proportion to the amount of time that they spend using the machines.  This is explained further in How It Helps to Protect the Health of Your Staff.

Several studies (e.g. Spilling et al 1986, Ong 1984) have shown the contribution that ergonomic design can make towards increasing efficiency and reducing both sickness rates and staff turnover.  The changes brought in by the new regulations can make a positive change to the output and efficiency of your staff and a could result in significant benefits for your business.  See How it Helps to Increase Productivity  for further information on this important benefit.

As with all compulsory Health and Safety legislation the Penalties For Non-Compliance  can be severe and unwelcome.  Several well-known firms are already regretting their lack of investment in this crucial area.

For further information call Anthony Steven on (0904) 430269 and find out how HealthWare can benefit your business.


Why This Is Important To You As An Employee

The Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 1992 Regulations  place certain requirements on your Employer to ensure that you are not injuring yourself through your use of Display Screen Equipment .

If you use Display Screen Equipment for a significant part of your working day then you are classed as a User  and your Workstation  needs to comply to certain minimum standards.  These affect not only your safety but your efficiency and ultimately your job satisfaction.

Your employer should take steps to ensure that your working environment is as safe as possible.  However you are also responsible for your own health and you should take all the pauses as suggested by this program.  You should find yourself feeling less run-down at the end of the day and that your productivity will increase rather than decrease. See How it Helps to Increase Productivity for further information.

If you experience any lasting pain, swelling or other discomfort from your wrists, upper arms, shoulders, neck or lower limbs and you think it might be connected with the use of Display Screen Equipment then you are advised to see a doctor.  If you have problems with your eyesight while using a VDT then your employer should provide you with corrective devices to enable you to carry out your job.

HealthWare Limited is the first company in the UK to specialise in looking after your health as a computer user.   Contact the company below for further details.

HealthWare Limited

7 Clarks Terrace

Heworth

YORK

YO3 0DQ

Tel: (0904) 430269

Fax: (0904) 423622

E-mail: Compuserve 100031,3560


What This Program Does

The Activity Monitoring Program detects whether you are using this computer and monitors how long you continue to use the machine without a break.  Once you reach the length of time specified in the Preferences  option then you are prompted to take a Micropause  by a pop-up window.  You should then do something else (i.e. get up, stretch, move around or try a Neuromuscular  exercise) for the duration of the micropause and return to using your machine after the message has cleared itself.

You do have the option to clear the prompt by using Control+Enter or Clicking the OK button with your mouse however it is a requirement that you take each prompted rest unless there are extremely pressing reasons not to do so.  This program is for your protection as a User  and will only prompt you to take a break when one is due.

Once you have been using this machine for the length of time specified in Preferences for a Short Pause  you will see another prompt suggesting a break (e.g. 5 minutes in every hour).   Again the pop-up window can be cleared by clicking OK or pressing Control+Enter.

Should you continue to use the machine continuously until the point specified by the Long Pause  then you will be prompted to take a longer break (e.g. 30 minutes every 4 hours).

The current timer settings can be viewed from Examining Timers  on the Main Menu.  Changes to the timers can be made from the Preferences Menu but this will probably have Password Protection  as will Closing Down The Program.


How It Helps To Protect The Health Of Your Staff

The Activity Monitoring Program helps you protect the health of your staff by helping to ensure that Users  take suitable rests from Display Screen Equipment  work after they have been using their computer for a certain time.   This process is automatic and requires no further input beyond setting up the timers for the Micropause , Short Pause  and Long Pause.

Planning your employees' activities to include breaks from Display Screen Equipment work is a requirement of Regulation 4 of the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 1992 Regulations .  However proper implementation of the regulations can result in benefits ranging from reduced chances of injury, reduced staff turnover to increased productivity and staff satisfaction.

See How it Helps to Increase Productivity  for further information.


Penalties For Non-Compliance

Penalties for non-compliance with the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) 1992 Regulations  can start at £20,000 per infringement in a Magistrate's Court and end in the £100,000+ bracket in the High Court.  In addition any person who was employed in a health and safety or supervisory function and failed to take suitable action to rectify any problems with the Workstations  under their remit would be liable for damages.

A well-known Financial Newspaper has discovered that prevention is considerably better than cure.  The organisation concerned has received complaints from 40 Employees  suffering from a variety of symptoms connected with working at Display Screen Equipment.  Of these 14 have been virtually unable to continue using keyboards and are reporting problems with such everyday tasks as doing up buttons, writing etc.  With solicitors' and barristers' fees, payments to insurance agencies, loss adjusters and employing a physiotherapist three days a week the total losses could exceed £5,000,000.

The Inland Revenue paid out £79,000 to a typist in an out-of-court settlement in January 1994.  There were two main factors quoted were poor workstation setup and lack of Rest Breaks.

HealthWare can advise you on preventing this happening to your company. For further information contact us at the address below.

HealthWare Limited

7 Clarks Terrace

Heworth

YORK

YO3 0DQ

Tel: (0904) 430269

Fax: (0904) 423622

E-mail: Compuserve 100031,3560


Users

A User is defined as an Employee  who habitually uses Display Screen Equipment  as a significant part of their normal working day.  Employees working from home are covered by the legislation.   The self-employed when contracted to work for another firm are designated operators and should expect similar protection if their work would classify them as users if employed by that company.

Examples of definite (Class One) Users are:

Data Input Clerks

Word Processing Pool Operators

Secretary/PA with large typing load

Financial Dealer

Journalist

News Sub-Editor

Draughtsman using CAD/CAM

Graphic Designer

Class 2 users might have lighter workloads or more discretion over their use of Display Screen Equipment.

Receptionist/Secretary

Scientist/Programmer

Sales Executive

Accountant

However these are just examples and individual cases can vary.  Daily use is not always the best guide as some employees might use a computer all day for one day a week and thus are definitely users.

In general a user will have a high dependency on the machine and low discretion over whether they can use it or not.  They will have a significant number of prolonged spells of activity on Display Screen Equipment in excess of 1 Hour every day and possibly have to deal with a high rate of information transfer.

For suggested break times for different users see Suggested Work and Break Times.


Display Screen Equipment

Display Screen Equipment is defined as being any alphanumeric or graphic display screen regardless of the display process involved.

This covers PCs, Apple Mac, UNIX, VAX/VMS, and Mainframes regardless of screen resolution or operating system.  The CRT display only becomes outside the scope of the legislation once its main use is for showing films, TV or video.  Microfiche systems are also covered as are other non-electronic displays.

LCD or TFT technologies are also covered unless they form part of equipment that is portable and does not receive significant use at a Workstation.


Workstations

A workstation means an assembly comprising of Display Screen Equipment , any optional accessories (e.g. mouse), any disk drive, modem, printer, document holder, work chair, work desk, work surface or other peripheral item and the immediate area around the Display Screen Equipment.


Micropauses

Micropauses are small breaks of between 10 and 60 seconds duration typically taken every 2-20 minutes.  Current research appears to show that these can significantly reduce the fatigue experienced by VDT operators.  They are especially beneficial when combined with Neuromuscular  exercises or any form of light physical activity.

See Suggested Work and Break Times  for further information.


Short Pauses

THIS FUNCTION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE LIMITED RELEASE - See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.

These are pauses of typically 5 minutes duration taken every hour.  Many forms of human activity benefit from this type of rest - long enough to refresh the body but not too long to allow the body to start to stiffen up or to cool down.  Longer periods between rests usually result in a reduction in efficiency and output towards the end of the work period.

Short pauses should be spent away from Display Screen Equipment  and preferably doing some activity that involves mild physical exertion such as walking and moving about.  A good example could be to use such a time to carry out filing tasks or taking a long walk to the photocopier.

See Suggested Work and Break Times  for further information.


Long Pauses

THIS FUNCTION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE LIMITED RELEASE - See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.

Long Pauses are typically 30 minutes every 3-4 hours and allow the body to recover fully from the effects of the current task.  These must be taken away from the Display Screen Equipment  and a complete change of scenery is strongly advised.  Some form of nourishment is recommended and fruit eaten before anything else will help the body replenish its energy supplies quickly.  Light physical activity will help to stimulate the blood flow back into the extremities and allow any restricted blood vessels to work at full capacity.  This is very important in preventing pains in the lower limbs and damage to veins and capillaries.

Reading is not recommended during long pauses as this does not allow the eyes to accommodate for distance viewing and hence exercise the muscles of the lens.

See Suggested Work and Break Times  for further information.


Neuromuscular Exercises

Neuromuscular exercises are a series of stretching exercises that can be performed at a Workstation.   The effects have been studied in Germany, the United Kingdom and the former Soviet Union.  Laporte (1966) showed the benefit of such exercises in a study of post office workers.  The regular program of light physical activity during rest breaks reduced physical fatigue and improved mental alertness (as measured by the flicker fusion test) compared to normal passive rest.

For a series of suggested exercises to perform during a Micropause  (or any other break) see your User Manual provided with the full version of the Activity Monitoring Program.

See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.


About HealthWare Limited

HealthWare Limited produce a unique range of products and services which help to protect the health of people using computers.   Our specialised software, hardware, training and support services have demonstrable benefits:

*	Increased productivity

*	Less time lost through sickness and injury

*	Improved employee relations

*	Healthier working practices

*	Provable compliance with Health and Safety Regulations

Our philosophy is simple:

Healthy People in a Healthy Working Environment lead to Healthier Profits.

For further information about the HealthWare range of products contact:

HealthWare Limited

7 Clarks Terrace

Heworth

YORK

YO3 0DQ

Tel: (0904) 430269

Fax: (0904) 423622

E-mail: Compuserve 100031,3560

_________________________

The HealthWare Team

Anthony Steven

Stephen Wilson

Andrew Barlow

James Hutchinson

Edward Barker

Oliver Sturrock

Help Files:

Russell Herbert

Neuromuscular Exercise Manual:

Edgar Wilson BA(Hons) MCSP SRP

HealthWare is Registered Trade Mark Applied For.

Activity Monitoring Program © 1994 HealthWare Limited.  All Rights Reserved.


Help On Rotating Timers

THIS FUNCTION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE LIMITED RELEASE - See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.

Checking this option will display the times to the next break on the icon's status line.   The timers will display the times to the next Long Pause  (Long), Short Pause  (Short), Micropause  (Micro), and the next break (Next) which will be the shortest of the three previous times.   The timers will rotate every ten seconds.

This function can be used in conjunction with the Always on Top  feature to provide a continuous update of the time to your next break.

This feature will inhibit the standard Windows screen savers.   After Dark modules are not affected.


Help On Always on Top

THIS FUNCTION IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE LIMITED RELEASE - See Ordering Information to order the Full Version.

Checking this option will enable the Activity Monitoring Program icon to float on the top of other applications.

This feature can be used in conjunction with the Rotate Timers  features.


Help on Suggested Work and Break Times

The Activity Monitoring Program comes with the following default times:

Micropause 	30 Seconds after 10 minutes work

Short Pause 	5 Minutes after 1 hour's work

Long Pause 	30 Minutes after 4 hours' work

This should be suitable for the majority of Class One Users  for tasks such as data entry or copy typing.   However all these timings are adjustable using Preferences  and you may find that the following alternative settings are more suitable.

Micropauses

With managerial or lower intensity users you could try setting the micropauses to 1 minute every 20 minutes.  Managerial users often work in blocks of less than 20 minutes before taking natural breaks.  This setting will ensure that they are interrupted less during those periods but they will still be reminded to take breaks every hour.

Short Pauses

For those in very screen-intensive tasks such as CAD/CAM or presentation/DTP work we recommend increasing the value of the short pause to 10 minutes every hour.  This is to allow for the extra visual and mental loading caused by these tasks.

Long Pauses

Long Pauses should be a minimum of 30 minutes after 4 hours and can be increased to 1 hour every 4 hours.  However Long Pauses will primarily serve as a reminder to those with flexible working conditions that they do need to take a longer break after using their computer for 4 hours.

The Activity Monitoring Program is currently the subject of an MSc in Occupational Psychology currently being carried out at Hertford University by Joanna Bawa, Usability Editor of PC Magazine.

The results of this study will be available from around August 1994 on application to HealthWare.


How it Helps to Increase Productivity

The Activity Monitoring Program helps to increase productivity by ensuring that Users  get regular breaks from Display Screen Equipment. All human activities benefit from regular rests.  These breaks give our bodies the opportunity to recover from fatigue.  However if we take breaks because we feel tired then it is already too late.

Breaks from work are far more effective if they are taken while we are still working at maximum efficiency.  This allows us to remain working for much longer with higher output and a reduced chance of injury.

The work of Cakir, Hart and Stewart (1980) showed the results of introducing a rest schedule of 1.5 minutes every hour, as well as the normal daily breaks.  Productivity per shift increased by 6.45%.  When the breaks were increased to 3 minutes every hour productivity increased by 11.10%.   Ong (1984) in his study of data-entry workers showed the value of Micropauses  combined with exercises at the Workstation.  When combined with a series of ergonomic adjustments to the workstations, productivity rose by 25% and sickness rates fell by almost 50%.

The Activity Monitoring Program is currently the subject of an MSc in Occupational Psychology currently being carried out at Hertford University.  For further information on the research background to this product, contact HealthWare.


Ordering The Activity Monitoring Program

***   SPECIAL OFFER FOR PC MAGAZINE READERS   ***

Readers of PC Magazine who order the full version of the Activity Monitoring Program before 30 June 1994 will receive a 10% discount on list price AND a full copy of UserTest, HealthWare's integrated health checking tool.

***

The full version of the Activity Monitoring Program has the following features:

*  Fully Configurable Micropause, Short Pause and Long Pause Timers.

*  Password Protection against unauthorised changing or closing of the program.

*  An Integrated MS-DOS module.

*  A Manual of Neuromuscular Exercises written by a Chartered Physiotherapist.

This product is currently being researched by Joanna Bawa, PC Magazine's Usability Editor, as part of her MSc. in Occupational Psychology.

The Activity Monitoring Program is available from

HealthWare Limited

7 Clarks Terrace

Heworth

York

YO3 0DQ

Tel: (0904) 430269

Fax: (0904) 423622

Call for latest prices and volume discounts.

Remember to say that you saw this product in PC Magazine - The U.K.'s Leading Labs Based Magazine.

We look forward to hearing from you.

ANTHONY STEVEN

Managing Director

HealthWare Limited