Workers at manufacturing plants are often required to lift, carry and drag heavy loads. This involves repeatedly using the same body parts and puts workers at risk of MSDs. This case study looks at an intervention to improve equipment and working conditions at a large PVC manufacturing plant in...

This case study looks at the collaboration of the Carsat occupational health and prevention organisation with factory management and employees to improve existing safety and health measures for line operators at an agribusiness packaging factory in France. The participatory approach involved...

This case study from Finland looks at how participatory workshops for kitchen workers can help them to identify, analyse and implement solutions to MSD-related risks. An external expert coordinated a participatory intervention project. It involved carrying out a series of workshops for 504 kitchen...

This case study looks at a participatory intervention at an ophthalmic lens manufacturing site in Ireland to reduce MSD risks for maintenance technicians. An internal safety and health coordinator organised the intervention that involved both maintenance technicians and machine operators.

MSDs were the main reason for sick leave at the Finnish children’s food factory Suomen Nestlé. Improving ergonomics was the solution. The company implemented various measures to improve working procedures and conditions to prevent MSDs, support the recovery of workers suffering from MSDs, and...

Workers at the Austrian materials company Rohrdorfer Transportbeton GmbH were at risk from MSDs such as back strain from manually lifting and emptying heavy packages into concrete mixer trucks. Thanks to a scissor lift introduced by the company to reduce MSDs, employees now work more safely with...

The work of some 600 older support staff at University Hospital Vienna, the largest hospital in Austria, is physically strenuous. A new work environment designed to accommodate this ageing workforce was needed. With the involvement and participation of workers, the hospital introduced measures such...