Ergonomic procurement guidelines for visual display units as a tool for progressive change

The Swedish Telecommunications Administration (STA) has put to gether a set of requirement specifications for general purpose Visual Display Units (VDUs), and in particular for VDUs to be used in telephone directory services and similar computer supported customer services. For VDUs based on Cathode Ray Tube technology, a rationale is presented for ergonomic requirements such as dark characters on a light background, a minimum refresh rate of 70 Hz, limits for acceptable levels of electric and magnetic field strengths, and full tilt, swivel and height adjustability of the VDU. Standardized measurement methods for e.g. legibility and resolution are needed in further developing the ergonomic procure ment process.