QHSE & Prevention Officers: How to empower your teams in preventing MSDs
Preventing musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is a major concern for companies, where the role of the QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment) and the Prevention Officer is central. These professionals, working closely with teams, assess risks and implement concrete actions to safeguard employees’ health.
But how can we ensure that the prevention of MSDs becomes a shared responsibility among all employees? In this article, we will explore the challenges of MSD prevention and the best practices a QHSE/Prevention Officer can implement to make teams more responsible.
Role of a QHSE / Prevention Officer
The QHSE and the Prevention Officer share the same goal: to ensure a healthy and safe work environment for employees.
A QHSE (Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment) Officer is responsible for designing and implementing comprehensive policies related to Quality, Health, Safety, and Environment. With a strategic approach, they focus on preventing various industrial risks, and their role is cross-functional. Their duties include:
- Risk assessment
- Ensuring compliance with standards and regulations
- Conducting compliance audits
- Regulatory monitoring
- Implementing QHSE policies
- Training and raising employee awareness of risks
Monitoring quality indicators
The Prevention Officer, on the other hand, focuses more specifically on managing risks related to employee health and safety. Their approach is more operational and centers on handling immediate risks and implementing corrective measures. The Prevention Officer is the primary actor in day-to-day safety, and their tasks include:
- Identifying occupational risks
- Implementing a prevention strategy
- Leading actions and tracking performance indicators
- Engaging teams in the field
Although their approaches differ, both the QHSE and the Prevention Officer share a common goal: reducing occupational risks and implementing a prevention strategy. In this context, the challenges of prevention are numerous for both roles.
Prevention: What Are the Stakes?
The prevention of MSDs is part of a regulatory environment where every company must meet its obligations. This includes, notably, the implementation of the DUERP and adherence to applicable standards.
The Single Document for the Assessment of Occupational Risks (DUERP)
Under the Labor Code, every employer has a legal obligation to assess the occupational risks to which their employees are exposed and to record them in a document known as the DUERP (Document Unique d’Évaluation des Risques Professionnels).
Find our legal focus on the DUERP in our article on HR: Promoting Ergonomics in Human Resource Management.
When it comes to preventing MSDs, the DUERP goes far beyond a simple obligation—it becomes a strategic tool to protect employees. The QHSE or the Prevention Officer plays a crucial role in its application, involving:
- Diligently assess working conditions: A full assessment of high-risk jobs (repetitive movements, handling of loads, awkward postures) is essential.
- Involve employees in the process: active participation and feedback from employees in the field means that the risks encountered in the field can be identified as closely as possible.
- Propose appropriate measures: Once the risks have been identified, practical measures must be implemented to reduce them.
- Regularly update the DUERP: by law, the DUERP must be updated once a year, even if no new risks are identified or working conditions change.
The regulatory framework: standards, laws and regulations
In addition to the DUERP, there are a number of legal obligations governing the prevention of occupational risks.Compliance with these regulations is a major challenge, but also a lever for continuous improvement in workplace safety. These include :
- The Labour Code: As part of prevention, the employer is required to ensure the safety and protect the physical and mental health of workers (article L4121-1 of the Labour Code).
In addition to the obligations set out in the Labour Code, a number of HSE regulations also apply, such as the requirement to have a Health and Safety Officer since 2012 (Article L4644-1).
- Standards: Several standards, such as the ISO 45001 safety standard for health and safety management in the workplace, aim to standardise best practice in risk prevention.
Compliance with these requirements not only avoids legal penalties, but also reduces the costs associated with work-related accidents and illnesses, which are often caused by MSDs.
But MSD prevention can only be effective if it is shared by everyone in the company. In addition to the actions implemented by the QHSE or the Preventer, it is essential to make every member of staff, from the employee to the manager, aware of their responsibilities.
Empowering your teams: a collective approach to preventing MSDs
Raising employee awareness
Raising awareness is one of the first steps in empowering your teams, and is a real catalyst for changing people’s perception of risk.
How can we raise awareness among our teams?
- Regular training: this involves instilling the skills and good practices needed to identify and prevent risk situations, depending on the specific nature of each job.
- MSD referents: An MSD referent is an employee trained in MSD prevention and capable of passing on good practice. They act as ambassadors for MSD prevention among employees and act as relays for reporting high-risk situations.
These two levers help to promote a culture of prevention among employees.
Internal communication as a key driver of commitment
Internal communication plays a key role in empowering teams. This means providing transparent information on risks, using a variety of communication channels, encouraging feedback and using appropriate media. For example, the compulsory posting of notices on premises is one of the fundamental HSE regulations. The aim here is to share best practice in preventing the risk of MSDs.
Ergonomics at work: an approach serving employee needs
Workplace ergonomics aims to adapt working conditions to employees’ abilities and limitations. The aim is to improve both well-being and efficiency, by taking into account various aspects of the working environment.
By integrating ergonomics into the workplace, a QHSE or Preventer can use tools such as workstation analysis to identify the factors that restrict work. By including employees’ feelings (pain, discomfort) in the analysis, they play an active role in identifying constraints and becoming aware of the risks of MSDs.
In conclusion…
So, while the QHSE and the Prevention Officer play a key role in risk assessment and the implementation of preventive measures, the success of this approach depends above all on collective responsibility. The active involvement of teams through awareness-raising, internal communication and an ergonomic approach to work represents an opportunity to prevent MSDs!
Sources :
ISO 45001:2018 – Occupational health and safety management systems https://www.iso.org/fr/standard/63787.html
LegiFrance – Article L4121-1 – French Labour Code https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000035640828
LegiFrance – Article L4644-1 – French Labour Code https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000043893856/2022-03-31/
Provigis – QHSE risk management: regulatory framework, benefits and contribution of digital technology https://provigis.com/blog/conformite/gestion-risques-qhse-digital