Ergonomía participativa: empoderamiento de los trabajadores para la prevensión de trastornos musculoesqueléticos

Abstract

Participatory ergonomics is an intervention strategy acting on physical load exposures occurring in occupational settings, scarcely known in Spain but with a number of experiences and evidences coming from other countries. There are several reasons justifying the interest of this approach. First, participatory ergonomics focuses on one of the categories of occupational exposures with the largest impact on workers' health in a majority of countries all over the world, in terms of incidence, prevalence and disability. Secondly, basic principle in participatory ergonomics is empowerment of workers for them to participate identifying risks and injuries caused by physical exposures at work as well as proposing and evaluating proper control measures for each situation. Thirdly, it allows dealing and solving a number of problems without the use of complex technical protocols. From a public health perspective, participatory ergonomics is a largely tried model of community empowerment for the control of (occupational) factors affecting health and wellbeing. In this paper we revise some basic principles of participatory ergonomics, we comment on the keys leading to success or failing of the interventions and we present some main results coming from participatory ergonomics experiences developed for a long time in countries such as Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands or Finland.

Programa de ergonomía participativa para la prevención de trastornos musculoesqueléticos: Aplicación en una empresa del Sector Industrial

“…2 Por otra parte, países como España han publicado metodologías de Ergonomía Participativa aplicado a su realidad legal con buenos resultados incipientes. 18 El presente proyecto, con las limitaciones propias del estudio, constituye uno de los pioneros en Chile de aplicación de un programa de Ergonomía Participativa en forma sistemática en un período breve de tiempo. Los resultados preliminares son alentadores respecto a la implementación de medidas de control, compromiso de los trabajadores y compromiso de los ejecutivos de la empresa.…”

“…Por último, es importante no provocar expectativas que no puedan cumplirse, porque generan frustración y desmotivación. 7,18 Sobre el punto anterior, vale la pena recoger la opinión del Grupo Ergo, el que ha manifestado, dentro de las dificultades propias del proceso, problemas de comunicación y, en ocasiones, falta de reconocimiento de sus pares respecto a la función asignada, lo que desmotiva su rol preventivo en la empresa. Sobre los aspectos a destacar, el Grupo Ergo manifiesta satisfacción de haber conocido la disciplina de la Ergonomía, poder aplicarla en su labor diaria, proponer medidas de control y luego verlas implementadas.…”

Participatory ergonomics among female cashiers from a department store

“…Participatory ergonomics depart from the base that the worker knows better that anybody his own working place, allowing him to develop offers of improvement with good results [1] without the necessity of complicated technical protocols [4,5]. The definition of Participatory ergonomics of Hanes and Wilson from 1997 is the most mentioned; these authors refers to participatory ergonomics as "a strategy to involve the persons in the planning and control of a significant part of his work, with the sufficient knowledge and power to influence the processes and their results with the aim to obtain desirable goals [4][5][6].…”

“…The participatory interventions can be permanent when they join the structure of the organization and temporary when they are used for specific actions [5].…”

“…According to Gadea, the process of intervention is in the habit of being systematic and consists of [5,7]:…”