07 Mar 2002
New guidelines on office ergonomics launched
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) launched a new set of guidelines on office ergonomics today.
The guidelines were co-launched by NTUC President John De Payva and Dr Magdalene Chan (Director, Occupational Health Department, MOM) at a seminar on office health organised by the NTUC held at the Tan Tock Seng Hospital Theatrette.
The guidelines are available on the MOM website (http://www.gov.sg/mom/wpeaw/indushea/ih.htm) from today. They aim to provide guidance on good occupational health practices in offices. The new guidelines incorporate the Guidelines on Work with Visual Display Units. There are sections on health aspects of office work, indoor air quality, manual handling and common examples of poor working postures. There is also a checklist is to evaluate of workstation design, work posture, work environment and work practices.
Workplace Musculoskeletal Disorder Clinic set up
Speaking at the seminar, NTUC President John De Payva also announced that the Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and MOM have set up a Workplace Musculoskeletal Disorder Clinic for the public. The clinic offers comprehensive services such as helping workers with diagnosis, management and prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Upon referral to the clinic, a thorough medical examination, detailed personal and work history will be established. This will be followed by a visit to the worksite to evaluate the workplace to find out the aggravating risk factors that may have contributed to the aches and pains. Preventive measures will be discussed with employers and recommendations are given to safeguard other employees working on the similar job. The clinic is run by a team of specialists which include rehabilitation physicians and occupational therapists from TTSH, and occupational physicians from MOM.
The Workplace Musculoskeletal Disorder Clinic is located at Suite B1A, TTSH Medical Center, Tan Tock Seng Hospital. The public can be seen at the clinic through referrals by their GPs or on a walk –in basis. It is recommended that the public make an appointment for consultation, the appointment hotline is at 6357 8002 .
NTUC expands Health Outreach Programme
The new guidelines on office ergonomics and Workplace Musculoskeletal Disorder Clinic are part of NTUC’s efforts to work with industry players to promote and expand its Health Outreach Programme at the workplaces. The seminar on office health organised by the NTUC is one such example. It aims to create awareness among employers and employees in areas such as office ergonomics, indoor air quality and general health screening. Through this seminar, the NTUC hopes that companies can adopt an integrated and structured health promotion approach to improve the health and well-being of employees.
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang, NTUC Programme Director for Workplace Health disclosed that the NTUC’s Health Outreach Programme has made a significant impact and that there are plans to expand it. “Since the programme was launched in March 2000, we have conducted health screenings for more than 40,000 workers under the programme. We launched initiatives such as the diabetic care programme last month. We plan to set up our efforts to further promote workplace health. The guidelines on office ergonomics and Workplace Musculoskeletal Disorder Clinic launched today will contribute significantly to our efforts.”
More information on NTUC’s Health Outreach Programme can be found at NTUC’s website at www.ntuc.org.sg.
