Operator training as an MSD prevention tool
The desire to do one’s job well and meet production expectations, in terms of both quality and quantity, encourages employees to adapt the way they work in order to strike a balance between their health and their performance. The production of cortisol as a result of increased stress combined with intense biomechanical stress encourages the development of MSDs. It is therefore essential to use operator training as a lever for prevention.
The impact of stress on the onset of MSDs
Stress at work occurs when an individual feels an imbalance between the resources at their disposal and the constraints of work organisation. This may be due to an overload of work, a lack of room for manoeuvre, a lack of recognition or even relations with colleagues.
There are many sources of stress. It’s therefore essential to take them into account in an MSD prevention policy:
- Pain and slow recovery
- Pressure to return to work as quickly as possible
- Fear of relapse when returning to work
It’s important to allow employees to express their views on the situations that generate stress and to involve them in decision-making when organisational changes are implemented. Indeed, if the approach is to be sustainable, they must be able to take ownership of it. Operators then become players in their own prevention, rather than targets to be convinced.
Training operators to prevent MSDs
As we have already mentioned, it is necessary to act on all the factors that contribute to the appearance of MSDs. Many levers exist, and training is one of them. National figures show that temporary workers have a higher accident rate than recruits. This difference can be explained by the multi-factorial nature of the causes, of which training is one.
Appropriate training helps to achieve prevention and safety objectives. For example, the “TMS G” training we offer can be used to train relay workers in the field. Combined with our KIMEA GP training and module, it combines a collective and individual approach to the company’s prevention policy.
This combination makes it possible to :
- Bring the operational and decision-making worlds closer together around real work
- Debating representations of constraints and their consequences.
- Co-constructing professional practices
- Building a social dialogue around the activity.
Training prevention specialists
As well as training operators, it is also essential to train those involved in prevention. In a company, this role may be played by different people: a nurse, an ergonomist, a QSE manager, etc. The degree of knowledge of the different approaches to prevention may therefore vary from one profile to another. The degree of knowledge of the different approaches to prevention may therefore vary from one profile to another.
The occupational health and safety officer plays a key role within the company, since he will be the conductor of the prevention policy and will ensure that it is properly implemented. He too must have the tools and resources needed to carry out the essential task entrusted to him.
For example, when an employee returns to work after weeks or months of absence following an accident at work, the challenge will be to support them in their gradual return to work while avoiding a relapse.
Thanks to training courses such as “Human Capital Management”, risk managers can calmly adapt the employee’s job rotation so as not to overtax the injured joints. Provided they have the method, the theoretical knowledge and a suitable tool for measuring biomechanical stress.
To conclude
The onset of MSDs is multifactorial, and their prevention is therefore also multidisciplinary. Supporting employees and preventionists through training and the provision of effective prevention tools is an excellent way of combating MSDs. It is clear that the success of a prevention policy depends on involving employees in the approach, by questioning their activity and their professional gestures, so that they become players in their own prevention.