Table Of ContentERGOCHECK
for a Preliminary
Mapping of Risk at Work
Ergonomics Design and Management:
Theory and Applications
Waldemar Karwowski
Industrial Engineering and Management Systems University of
Central Florida (UCF) – Orlando, Florida
PUBLISHED TITLES
Risk Analysis and Management of Repetitive Actions
A Guide for Applying the OCRA System (Occupational Repetitive Actions),
Third Edition
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Knowledge Service Engineering Handbook
Jussi Kantola and Waldemar Karwowski
Neuroadaptive Systems
Theory and Applications
Magdalena Fafrowicz, Tadeusz Marek,
Waldemar Karwowski, and Dylan Schmorrow
Safety Management in a Competitive Business Environment
Juraj Sinay
Ergonomics in Developing Regions
Needs and Applications
Patricia A. Scott
Human Factors of a Global Society
A System of Systems Perspective
Tadeusz Marek, Waldemar Karwowski, Marek Frankowicz,
Jussi I. Kantola, and Pavel Zgaga
Working Posture Assessment
The TACOS (Time-Based Assessment Computerized Strategy) Method
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
ERGOCHECK for a Preliminary Mapping of Risk at Work
Tools, Guidelines, and Applications
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.crcpress.com/
Ergonomics-Design--Mgmt-Theory--Applications/book-series/CRCEDMTAPPS
ERGOCHECK
for a Preliminary
Mapping of Risk at Work
Tools, Guidelines, and Applications
Edited by
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
First edition published 2020
by CRC Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Names: Colombini, Daniela, editor. | Occhipinti, Enrico, editor.
Title: ERGOCHECK, for a preliminary mapping of risk at work: tools, guidelines, and applications /
edited by Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti.
Other titles: ERGOCHECK, un metodo per la mappatura preliminare dei fattori di rischio per la
salute e il benessere al lavoro. English
Description: Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2020. | Series: Ergonomics design & mgmt. theory &
applications | “This book was previously published in Italian entitled, ‘ERGOCHECK un metodo per la
mappatura preliminare dei fattori di rischio per la salute e il benessere al lavoro. Strumento, modalità
di uso, esempi applicative.’ By Daniela Colombini, Enrico Occhipinti No 1125, 2019; published by
Dossier Ambiente, Milano, Italy.” | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019056387 | ISBN 9780367230098 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429281556 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Industrial safety–Data processing. | Industrial hygiene–Data processing. | Work
environment–Case studies–Data processing. | Risk assessment–Data processing. | Employees–
Health risk assessment–Data processing. | Lists–Data processing. | ErgoCheck.
Classification: LCC T55.3.D38 E74 2020 | DDC 658.3/820285–dc23
ISBN: 978-0-367-23009-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-28155-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times
by codeMantra
This book was previously published in Italian entitled, “ERGOCHECK un metodo per la mappatura
preliminare dei fattori di rischio per la salute e il benessere al lavoro. Strumento, modalità di uso,
esempi applicative. By Daniela Colombini, Enrico Occhipinti
No 1125, 2019; published by Dossier Ambiente, Milano, Italy.
We have fond memories of when, as recent graduates in occupational
medicine, we were sent by Prof. Antonio Grieco and Prof. Giulio
Maccacaro to a factory to evaluate the health problems of the
“working class”. There were no tools back then other than talking
with workers, listening to their problems and reporting “worker
subjectivity through homogeneous groups”. This was back in
1974–1975. We knew precious little about occupational health
“in the field” but were fast learners and soon found simple ways
of detecting the preventive needs of workers and their priorities.
We dedicate this volume, which emphasizes the need to focus on
subjectivity through the use of simple guidelines and evaluation tools,
to our mentors Prof. Antonio Grieco and Prof. Giulio Maccacaro.
THE HOMOGENEOUS WORKER GROUP,
GENERATING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH COLLECTIVE
SUBJECTIVITY (Giulio Maccacaro, 1970s)
It is through this process and with this outlook that the Italian
workers’ movement in 1968 became aware that the traditional
approach, based on the “neutrality”, “objectivity”, and “uniqueness”
of the production cycle and of the technology and science driving
it, is no longer acceptable. There is no point in acquiring an
abstract snapshot of the production process; what is needed is a real
depiction of what each member of the working group experiences
as his or her own personal condition. Of course, this depiction is
not an individualistic view but rather the result of an evaluation and
exploration of the different individualities that contribute, each with
their own subjectivity, to constituting the Homogeneous Worker
Group and their collective subjectivity. To achieve this, it is necessary
to understand how the work of the Homogeneous Worker Group is
actually organized and how the group experiences it, together with
their working and social backgrounds and real working conditions.
ANTONIO GRIECO is a distinguished Teacher
and Researcher, a Mentor to all those involved
in Prevention, and for over 15 years, the Director
of the “Clinica del Lavoro-Luigi Devoto” at
the University of Milan. His contribution to the
development of Occupational Medicine at the
national and international levels and his political
and social commitments have profoundly shaped
the development of the discipline over the last
40 years and significantly enhanced prevention
and the protection of workers’ health. He was
one of the first Italian experts in ergonomics. He
founded (together with other colleagues)
-the Italian Society of Ergonomics (1969);
-EPM, the Research Unit of Ergonomics of
Posture and Movement (1985);
-CIIP, the Italian Inter-associative Council for Prevention (1990).
GIULIO ALFREDO MACCACARO is a
prominent physician and academic since 1964.
He taught medical statistics and biometrics at
the University of Milan. And as an advocate of
scientific dissent, he spearheaded a movement
calling for the renewal, on a democratic basis,
of the organization of health care in Italy
(Democratic Medicine) and fought against
human experimentation and drug consumerism.
Contents
Preface.......................................................................................................................ix
Acknowledgement .....................................................................................................xi
Editors ....................................................................................................................xiii
Contributors ...........................................................................................................xvii
Chapter 1 Introduction and Aim ...........................................................................1
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Chapter 2 Reference Sources ................................................................................5
Chapter 3 Pre-mapping of Risk Factors for Occupational Health and
Wellbeing: General Structure of ERGOCHECK ...............................41
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Chapter 4 First-Level Pre-mapping: Key Enters and General Overview ...........45
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Chapter 5 Second-Level Pre-mapping (Quick Assessment) for Studying
Biomechanical Overload ....................................................................55
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Chapter 6 Second-Level Pre-mapping (Quick Assessment) for the
Preliminary Study of Exposure to Chemical Agents and Particulate ...67
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Chapter 7 Second-Level Pre-mapping (Quick Assessment) for the
Preliminary Study of Exposure to Biological Agents ........................71
Ugo Caselli
Chapter 8 Second-Level Pre-mapping (Quick Assessment) for the
Preliminary Evaluation of Work-Related Stress ................................77
Paolo Campanini and Alberto Baratti
Chapter 9 Summary of Pre-mapping Evaluations by Homogeneous Group
and Manufacturing Unit ...................................................................113
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
vii
viii Contents
Chapter 10 Examples of ERGOCHECK Spreadsheets ......................................127
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Chapter 11 Using ERGOCHECK for Pre-mapping Risk:
Application Examples ......................................................................145
Chapter 12 Pre-mapping in an Agricultural Setting: Presentation of a
Specific ERGOCHECK Model ........................................................181
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
Chapter 13 Conclusions ......................................................................................211
Daniela Colombini and Enrico Occhipinti
References .............................................................................................................213
Index ......................................................................................................................217
Preface
In recent years, there has been an undeniable increase in the number of complex,
multifactorial work-related disorders and diseases in the working population. Only
a “holistic” approach can hope to prevent these work-related health effects such as
musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and other issues generated by occupational
stress. National and international prevention agencies and professionals are therefore
searching for simple tools that they can use for assessing and managing specific
work-related risk factors, but that non-experts can also employ in both developed
and developing countries, especially in very small businesses, small and medium
enterprises (SMEs), and non-industrial sectors.
For years now, the World Health Organization (WHO) has encouraged the devel-
opment of “toolkits” to make it easier to identify occupational risks and disorders.
In describing how such a toolkit should be designed, the WHO indicates a set of
practical risk assessment procedures and guidelines, including advice on simple risk
control options (WHO, 2010). The toolkit should thus be simple and easy to use even
by non-specialists in SMEs and developing countries.
The Milan-based International School of Ergonomics of Posture and Movements
(EPMIES) has played an active role in designing a toolkit for analyzing and manag-
ing the risks associated with biomechanical overload and preventing WMSDs, in
cooperation with the WHO and the International Ergonomics Association (IEA),
along with other agencies operating under the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) and International Labour Office (ILO).
Much space within this project is obviously allocated to defining simple risk fac-
tor analysis tools that can also be used by non-experts in ergonomics, occupational
health or industrial hygiene.
ix
