Validation of a participatory ergonomic process in two plants in the electrical sector

The purpose of the project was to implement and validate a participatory ergonomic process in two industries in the electrical sector. The process consisted of creating joint ergonomics groups made up of workers and technical representatives. After initial training, the groups were to focus on hazardous jobs and analyze them by using a job analysis tool which is presented here. The groups were guided by two ergonomists. The results show that for the seven jobs studied, various solution strategies were developed. In total, 50 solution elements were implemented, and in the majority of cases (78%), a reduction in risk factors was observed. The comparison of the results obtained by the ergonomists with those obtained by the working groups shows that users can identify rather reliably the risk factors in the jobs. Finally, it appears that the most difficult aspect in the analytical process is to take the variations in the work into account.