TUC Champions Best Practice in Ergonomics

With more than 70 member unions, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) campaigns for a fair deal at work for nearly seven million people from all walks of life and works closely with System Concepts to ensure its own employees enjoy the most productive and comfortable working conditions.

The TUC was one of the first organisations to put in processes to comply with the original EC Directive on Display Screen Equipment which was then brought into UK legislation in 1992, and has maintained this forward-thinking approach with a wide-ranging programme of improvements.

System Concepts’ first project was to carry out an ergonomics survey of working conditions.  The TUC employs over 200 people at its various locations including Congress House and the National Education Centre (NEC) in London and several regional sites across the UK, and this initial survey enabled the team to identify a number of issues requiring further support.

A key aspect of System Concepts’ work has been to help the TUC to introduce changes to the working environment, assisting initially with a major refurbishment programme and then steering the move towards open-plan office layouts.

System Concepts regularly advises clients on office planning and focuses on ergonomics to ease the planning process and the implementation of change.  Tanya Heasman, director of System Concepts explains, “People can often be very particular about their personal working environments and re-organisation can cause considerable disruption.  Ergonomics puts people first and makes the user of any system or workstation the centre of the design process.  By asking people about their needs, involving them in the process and addressing the key concerns of layout, lighting, noise control and communications, changes can be brought about relatively easily and costly errors avoided.” 

Using this strategy System Concepts was able to recommend the most suitable furniture and equipment for the refurbishment and to assist the move to an open-plan layout.

Mike Jones, head of management services at the TUC comments, “The concept of open plan working is a sensitive issue for us and staff had real concerns about its impact on the way they worked.  System Concepts worked with us to allay many of those concerns, drawing on their expertise in bringing about the changes and because of their professionalism and sensitive approach, the team has built up a high degree of credibility with staff.”

Tanya Heasman adds, “Our recommendations helped the TUC to avoid expenditure on equipment and furniture which were unsuitable for the staff and their tasks and likely to lead to discomfort if used.  The use of ergonomic principles in the environment will help to increase productivity by providing a comfortable and safe environment, which will in turn help to reduce sickness and absenteeism rates”.

System Concepts has worked closely with the TUC on a number of other projects.  Although a forerunner in the implementation of strategies to manage the use of display screens, the safety and comfort of staff when using this equipment remains a priority at the TUC and System Concepts has carried out specialist display screen equipment assessments with people suffering from back or upper limb disorders to help make their work safer, more comfortable, efficient and productive.

The team has also conducted audits of disabled facilities, access, egress and evacuation at both Congress House and the NEC and provides ongoing health, safety and ergonomics training.
 
Mike Jones concludes, “Our ongoing work with System Concepts has enabled us to achieve best practice in ergonomics and health and safety legislation, together with our in-depth working knowledge of these procedures it can assist in promoting the same standards across industry and commerce in our role as the voice of Britain at work.  Internally, the heightened awareness of these issues across the organisation means that we are more able to anticipate problems occurring and to take preventative action, and our commitment has increased staff morale as it demonstrates that employee welfare is a priority at the TUC.”

Last updated: June, 2009

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