Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
However, the operations present in the instruction form a single
unit. They are dependent upon one another. Some of them leave some
leeway, while others do not. The execution of an action that is described
with potential leeway, leaving some space for various possible modes of
operation, can be constrained by the preceding operation that may or
may not be described in greater detail. Such is the case with the example
cited above. Indeed, the prescription regarding how to handle the lining
implies a certain position of the hands. This prescription precedes the one
concerning the placing of the lining in the assembly, which, conversely,
provides some leeway regarding how the lining should be placed. This
potential leeway is reduced by the rigidity of prescriptions concerning
the preceding stage.
The question that remains at this point is how not to inadvertently
reinforce restrictions to the diversity of modes of operation, and therefore:
• To provide prescriptors with the means, in terms of time and train-
ing, to understand the causes of diversity in the activity of operators
occupying the same station, in order to take into account, at least in
part and in a relevant manner, this diversity.
• To favour 'justified' prescriptions - i.e. those for which there are
clearly established stakes in terms of quality and safety that can in
turn be explained to operators.
• Following this twofold goal, and in general, not to encourage the pro-
duction of instructions that are detailed step by step, or compliance
with all of these points without referring to their importance. Some
form of prioritization seems justified in the use of these instructions.
The goal, in terms of designing prescriptions for work procedures, is
to readily include the perspective of the diversity of gestures, both within
individuals and between individuals. Following this view, if there is a
need for a physical support to define what operations should be carried
out, this support might look rather like a 'guide to the activity', which
might serve, on the one hand, to propose operations while describing their
merits and drawbacks, notably to be used by operators in training, and on
the other hand, to collect and confront gestural variations constructed by
each worker to support professional debates' focus on gestures at work
and mutualization of practices (Vézina et al., 1999). The prescription may
then become a source of reflection on practice. The analysis of the activ-
ity of experienced workers, carried out by an ergonomist, then becomes
a tool to identify and extract incorporated knowledge, so as to contribute
to the design of prescriptions that are mindful of the variability and the
diversity of people and work situations.
