Title: A participatory ergonomics approach to prevention of musculoskeletal disorders in Portuguese small and medium enterprises: Ergo@Office

Authors: Tânia M. Lima; Denis A. Coelho

Addresses: Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies (C-MAST), Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Beira Interior, Calçada Fonte do Lameiro, 6200-358 Covilhã, Portugal ' Supply Chain and Operations Management Department, School of Engineering, Jönköping University, 55111 Jönköping, Sweden; Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies (C-MAST), Department of Electromechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Beira Interior, Calçada Fonte do Lameiro, 6200-358 Covilhã, Portugal

Abstract: A participatory ergonomics program enables a company to engage employees in its preventive strategy. This paper presents Ergo@Office, an integrated methodology devised for promoting continuous implementation of preventive measures while monitoring their effectiveness over time in a participatory manner. It consists of a straightforward and cost-effective resource which is primarily aimed at supporting the identification of the need for implementation of interventions for strategic prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. As a practitioner tool, Ergo@Office guides the deployment of a participatory approach to ergonomics in both the analysis as well as in the intervention phase. The implementation of the measures envisaged in this planning support framework result from teamwork between the OSHS (Occupational Health and Safety Services) and the employee whose work is under focus. The implemented measures should then be monitored, which will enable assessing their effectiveness and their adjustment to the labour setting in an up-to-date manner.

Keywords: participatory ergonomics; musculoskeletal disorders; psychosocial factors; individual characteristics; computerised work; Nordic musculoskeletal questionnaire; NMQ; Copenhagen psychosocial questionnaire; physical ergonomics checklist; occupational health; safety; small and medium sized enterprises; SME.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHFE.2019.104597

International Journal of Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2019 Vol.6 No.3, pp.273 - 295

Received: 11 Feb 2019
Accepted: 28 Sep 2019
Published online: 21 Jan 2020 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article