Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
an understanding of activity from the point of view of those who carry it
out. Issues related to performance (quality, customer satisfaction, mutual
aid between workers) constitute some of the central dimensions of this
activity. This position firmly distinguishes the developmental approach
from the hygienist approach, which focuses prevention on reducing the
constraints of exposure. Instead, the goal of the developmental approach
is to develop the resources of agents and organizations for coping with
the everyday challenges of work, to foster the possibility of achieving pro-
duction goals in favourable conditions. There is no other way to explain
why, for example, a cashier speeds up of her own accord when she sees a
large queue waiting, nor is there any way to propose relevant solutions for
prevention. If the cashier must choose between satisfying the customer
and limiting the repetitiveness of her gestures, she will choose quality of
service, because that is where the meaning of her work lies.
We will theorize this developmental approach around two main con-
cepts: leeway and empowerment. In this model, leeway is situational. It
constitutes a space for the regulation of activity, resulting from an encoun-
ter between a system of constraints (external leeway), on the one hand,
and an individual or a collective, on the other hand, in a given work situ-
ation. Empowerment refers to an active relationship between the individ-
ual and his or her environment. This concept is different from leeway in
two ways: temporality and the perimeter of the situations involved.
A situational approach to MSDs: Between
external leeway and internal leeway
In the tradition of activity ergonomics, leeway constitutes a space for
regulating activity. This space is the result of an encounter between the
characteristics of the professional environment and those of the worker(s)
involved (Coutarel, 2004; Durand et al., 2008). Leeway reflects the active
relationship between the individual and his or her task. The possibility of
being involved in one's work constitutes both a means for personal devel-
opment and a condition of performance.
Within the field of clinical studies of activity, whose proximity with
activity ergonomics is well known, the concept of empowerment echoes
that of leeway. This connection is so strong that some ergonomists tend to
switch from one to the other with no particular caution. We will propose
here a model allowing us to describe in greater detail this concept of lee-
way, derived from activity ergonomics, specifically in terms of its connec-
tion with empowerment (Clot, 2008).
This leeway is situational. As shown in Figure 12.1, it depends on the
specific features of the work situation of interest, and it can be characterized:
