Participatory Ergonomics Process
To make change it is not only neccessary to know what the problem is and have a solution, it is also neccessary to implement it. Implementing it can be at least half the battle. Using a participatory approach can help enormously not only in implementation but also in the "diagnosis" and "solution building" phases
Participation within an ergonomics program at work can be taken to be:
“The involvement of people in planning and controlling a significant amount of their own work activities, with sufficient knowledge and power to
influence both processes and outcomes in order to achieve desirable goals.”
Such a participatory process has the following benefits:
Enhanced Change Effectiveness
It has been stated that a participatory process results in effective changes as the knowledge and experience of all stakeholder parties are used to develop each specific change project. St. Vincent and colleagues state that "involving workers before implementation avoids errors, refines interventions, and results in a change which is better accepted by the workers". An important component of that statement is than a participatory process eases implementation of change.
Back to Participatory Ergonomics ProcessEasier Change Implementation:
The perfect solution to an ergonomic hazard is useless if it is not utilized by the workforce. Resistance to change is a cultural characteristic of some workforces, regardless of the potential benefits that may be reaped through the change. Therefore, it is important to use a process that enhances the use of the change solution, product or process. Participatory ergonomics processes are well-suited to address this potential obstacle as involvement in the change project creates workforce and management ownership in the developed solutions, which result in eased implementation of the change. Thus, participatory methods can result in a change that is more readily accepted and used by the workforce, which then has a greater ability to reduce risk factors for injuries.
Back to Participatory Ergonomics ProcessEnhanced Communication:
If communication between members of an organization leads to shared knowledge, and increased knowledge of a production system, then it can be hypothesized that improved communications within a plant should lead to positive outcomes for the plant stakeholders. As each stakeholder accumulates more knowledge, they are better equipped to make responsible and informed decisions, which have a higher chance for success.
Participatory interventions lead to improved communications between different stakeholder groups, resulting in benefits beyond the scope of ergonomics. Similarly, increases in communications (in both quantity and quality) between Ergonomic Team members in a participatory ergonomics project were documented through researcher diary entries.
A participatory approach to ergonomic issues can enhance internal communication via posters, newsletters, and official presentations. The participatory activities of an ergonomics team (presentations, discussions of possible solutions) lead to increased contact and interaction between workers and team members that gave workers an opportunity to express their viewpoints, of particular interest to corporate management groups,
A process encouraging involvement may extend beyond an individual plant to encourage sharing solutions between plants, and across an organization. Thus, it appears that a participatory approach to ergonomics can enhance the quality of communication between stakeholder parties with potential benefits beyond the scope of health and safety.
Back to Participatory Ergonomics ProcessDecreased Psychosocial Risk Factors:
As previously stated, for an ergonomics intervention to have the highest chance for success, biomechanical, personal, and psychosocial risk factors should be considered. Participation by workers can lead to improvement in self-confidence, competence, and attachment of more importance to self-determination. In addition, a participatory process could lead to increased perceptions of job control and influence, and increased feelings of importance and recognition. Beyond the physical benefits of each specific change project, improvements in these psychosocial elements should further enhance workplace morale and reduce the risk of injury for workers.
Back to "Participatory Ergonomics Process"Model Transfer
The participatory process employed for ergonomic issues is not specific to health and safety issues, and its use has effects beyond the scope of ergonomics. The implementation of a participatory ergonomics program can 'bring about a series of changes in the way union delegates go about their work, in their relationships with employees and managers, and even in their way of seeing their work in the context of the whole company.
In addition, the integration of a participatory ergonomics approach was a step forward in "the management of system differences". It appears the a participatory model used to address ergonomics can be employed for other workplace issues such as improved quality and productivity, with the same potential benefits to the workplace as discussed above. Hypothetically, a participatory ergonomics program could be a vehicle to shift the 'culture' of a company towards stakeholder participation as a standard
Critical Components of the Participatory Process
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Design Changes
The use of laboratory findings, digital human modeling and a user fitting trial to improve the quality of a production system redesign are described. The redesign of a previously studied production system with identified cumulative low back and shoulder loading problems provided an opportunity to reduce the mechanical loading of a substantial number of people.
The human digital modeling predicted that tilting the work surfaces would reduce peak spinal compression by approximately 20%. For the 50th percentile male, a 500 N reduction in peak spinal compression (2200 N – 1700 N) was observed.
The virtual fitting trial using a digital mannequin allowed many tool configurations addressing the human and technical concerns to be evaluated. The user fitting trial served to both evaluate apparently suitable tool configurations, gather specific feedback on aspects of the new design not previously considered and to introduce the new design to the workplace.
Wells R.P Frazer M. B. And Laing A. C., Participatory ergonomics in an industrial setting facilitates proactive design, in: Proceedings of the 34th Annual Conference of the Association of Canadian Ergonomists, Banff, October, 2002.
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Copyright © 2005 Richard Wells,
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