The first Work Plan of the Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centers (CCs) in Occupational Health was initiated in November 2001, following input of the CCs to choose the 15 priority areas of work for the period 2001-2005. This article reflects upon the successes and limitations of the Work Plan, describes some of the products, and points out some 'lessons learned' that were incorporated into...

Occupational therapy practitioners offer services to workers in the workplace to prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), to help the injured worker restore function, and to recover capacities needed to return to the job. Despite the existence of some evidence about the efficacy of prevention programs, there is uncertainty and even disagreement among health professionals, about the outcome of ...

Links [1] https://www.uoguelph.ca/hr/policies/back-care-policy [2] https://www.uoguelph.ca/hr/policies/bloodborne-pathogens-policy [3] https://www.uoguelph.ca/hr/policies/confidentiality-employee-health-and-medical-records-policy [4] https://www.uoguelph.ca/hr/policies/consumption-alcoholic-beverages-university-property-policy [5] https://www.uoguelph.ca/hr/policies/employee-assistance-program-...

The World Health Organisation (WHO) network of Collaborating Centres in Occupational Health aims to promote the development, implementation use of "toolkits" for workplace use in reducing the risk of injuries and disease. As a major partner within this network, the International Ergonomics Association is committed to developing a toolkit to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal disorders. This pap...

The aim of this paper is to examine the ergonomic hazards associated with small scale mining in Southern Africa. A number of ergonomic health hazards affect the workers involved in the small scale mining. Many people in Southern Africa are working in the informal mining sector without any guarantee of occupational health and safety. Actual work places in deep level mines present unique challeng...

This paper presents our work on methods to link virtual environments (VE) and quantitative ergonomic analysis tools in real time for occupational ergonomic studies. We pursued two distinct approaches: (a) create methods to integrate the VE with commercially available ergonomic analysis tools for a synergistic use of functionalities and capabilities; (b) create a built-in ergonomic analysis modu...

BACKGROUND Masons have the highest rate of overexertion injuries among all construction trades and rank second for occupational back injuries in the United States. Identified ergonomic solutions are the primary method of reducing exposure to risk factors associated with musculoskeletal disorders. However, many construction workers lack knowledge about these solutions, as well as basic ergonomic...

OBJECTIVE This article presents a training course in work analysis via an understanding of real work. The course was aimed at trade unionists and was produced by researchers in ergonomics and occupational medicine. Designing this type of training is closely associated with the history of ergonomics in France and goes back to the basic principles: training by and for action, focusing on the conc...