This case study highlights the steps involved in a participatory intervention to reduce occupational risks for boiler assemblers and how it was adopted into the company’s prevention culture.

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.

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...

Servizi Italia Spa, a provider of laundry and sterilisation services to the healthcare sector, introduced novel operating methods and changes in its work sites to prevent MSDs. Workers were videoed while wearing Wi-Fi sensors to digitally visualise and analyse their movements to identify their MSD...

The type of physical effort required from maintenance workers at the Italian yarn company Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia increased the risk of MSDs. A participatory ergonomics intervention involving training to prevent MSDs was carried out, which improved the safety of 40 employees working with the...

This discussion paper looks at the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the construction sector in the EU and in Italy in particular and at the tasks that put workers at risk, such as manual lifting and awkward postures.