A newer exposure tool has been developed for health and safety practitioners to assess the exposure to risks for work-related musculoskeletal disorders. The tool is based on the practitioners' needs for such a tool and "state of the art" research findings. QEC has been tested, modified and validated based upon various simulated and practical tasks, with the help of up to 150 practitioners. The studies have shown that the tool has a high level of sensitivity and usability, and exhibits largely acceptable inter/intra-observer reliability. Field studies also indicate that the tool is, in practice, reliable and applicable for a wide range of tasks. With a short training period and some practice, assessment can normally be completed within 10 minutes for each task. Introduction Recent European Union and member state initiatives have led to substantial interest in the identification and control of "risk factors" for work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs). As a result, there has been increased interest in the undertaking of practical risk assessment and ergonomic interventions in the workplace. This calls for the development of a practical exposure assessment tool, particularly for health and safety practitioners, to quickly assess an exposure to WMSD risks for a wide range of tasks. The Quick Exposure Check (QEC) was developed for such a purpose. The main aim of this paper is to briefly describe the development procedure of the QEC, with emphasis being placed on the validation of the tool. The development of QEC Development involved the following procedures: (a) Investigation of the potential user needs, using focus groups, questionnaires, user design, and verbal protocol approaches. (b) Literature research for the "state of the art" related to WMSDs and "risk factors". (c) Critical studies of current techniques for assessing exposure to WMSD risks. (d) Construction, evaluation and improvement of the prototype exposure assessment tool -QEC. User needs for a practical exposure tool The potential users' needs were studied via user focus groups and questionnaire surveys. The focus groups were comprised of professionals from industry who hold a health and safety brief. The questionnaire survey was conducted among a wider range of health and safety practitioners (180-200). User needs for a new tool are (not inclusive): the method should be very simple, easy and quick to use; have scores to measure the level of risks; be applicable to a variety of work situations; have an introduction about how to use the method or how to carry out assessment; complete an assessment in lo-20 minutes; have sound scientific basis; be comprehensive; involve operators; and it should be reliable.