Contributions of Ergonomics to MSD prevention

Musculoskeletal disorders are costly for both companies and operators. The most common prevention approaches are aimed at identifying physical risk factors in order to improve them. In recent decades, ergonomic assessment grids have gained popularity and are now a widely used tool to identify activities with a higher risk of developing MSDs. This paper describes the use of an ergonomic grid to evaluate the risks of workstations in an asbestos testing laboratory. It presents the results of the analysis with the associated improvement actions. It also uses tools and practices retrieved from the literature to complete the analysis and to properly identify the occupational risks. This made it possible to identify the shortcomings of the company's grid and to propose improvements. It shows how ergonomics can integrate traditional prevention approaches to improve working conditions.