Ergonomics and Work Organization: The Relationship Between Tayloristic Design and Workers’ Health in Banks and Credit Cards Companies

The discussion developed in this paper is based on the results of an ergonomic work analysis carried out with attendants at call centers. Some critical issues and difficulties, like working pace, inadequate tools and workstations, and software inadequacies were detected in working situations. Operator-customer interactions are presented, attempting to put in evidence working constraints, working conditions, and their connection with health problems. The main conclusion is that serving clients, especially when the job is to provide information, is not a simple task, as information is not always available in the computerized system and is completely fragmented. The scope of workers’ actions is very restricted and complicated and recurrent requests are redirected to others. Workers (individually or as groups) have limited possibilities to make adjustments to be able to give more adequate and personalized treatment to clients and, at the same time, to work in a less stressful environment. In periods of increased workload and work intensification, the situation is very much favorable to the incidence of health disorders, such as work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) and others. Some suggestions to improve the work situation are discussed

An ergonomic approach to reorganize parking inspection agents` work productivity, health and safety in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Objective: The Traffic Engineering Company of the City of Sao Paulo (Brazil) observed a decrease in productivity, and an increase in sick leave, accidents and psychological distress among their parking inspection agents. To document this situation, qualitative research was undertaken to obtain an in-depth comprehension of work activity. Participants: Workers, managers and health and safety professionals contributed to the documentation of the problem and to the proposal of possible solutions. Methods: Ergonomic work analysis focusing on real work activity, as well as interviews with individual or groups of stakeholders, were conducted. Results: This research revealed that political-economic factors gradually contributed to: 1) an increasing work load; 2) growing fatigue throughout the day, increasing the workers` vulnerability to incidents and accidents and their tendency to react inappropriately to violence experienced on the street; and 3) excessive individual responsibility to manage dangerous situations. Conclusions: Recommendations to ameliorate the situation are proposed. These suggestions are discussed in terms of feasibility given the impact of macro social factors upon micro work activity, and the associated potential expansion of the ergonomist`s role

Uso de computador e ergonomia: um estudo sobre as escolas de ensino fundamental e médio de São Paulo Ergonomics and the use of computers: a study with primary and secondary in state of São Paulo

A utilização da informática como instrumento de ensino tem se disseminado na educação. Este estudo teve como objetivo verificar como o computador está sendo usado em escolas da região metropolitana de São Paulo, avaliando o grau de considerações sobre ergonomia na introdução dessa ferramenta. A ergonomia compreende o conjunto de conhecimentos científicos visando o conforto, segurança e eficácia dos produtos. Participaram 126 escolas, 37 delas do ensino fundamental, de 1ª à 4ª série, com 21.824 alunos; 49 escolas do ensino fundamental, de 5ªà 8ª série, com 29.851 alunos e 40 escolas do ensino médio com 31.516 alunos. A maioria das escolas informou utilizar o computador como ferramenta auxiliar das matérias curriculares a partir de 1995. O uso do computador predominou, no período de 5ª à 8ª série, nas escolas particulares; com um computador para cada 2 ou 3 alunos e com a duração semanal das aulas de até 1h59min. Nas salas de informática instaladas nas escolas, predominou a ausência de mesas e cadeiras com ajustes de altura para as características antropométricas dos alunos. As orientações sobre ergonomia da computação foram fornecidas em 30% das escolas. Na maioria das escolas não se observou queixa de desconforto visual ou muscular sofridos pelos alunos durante a utilização do computador. Esse fato pode estar relacionado ao pequeno número de horas de utilização do computador. Concluímos que a aquisição de mobiliário e equipamentos para as salas de informática deve incluir a consulta a banco de dados antropométricos e à percepção de conforto dos estudantes.<br>The use of computers as a teaching tool is becoming disseminated in education. The present study has as its purpose to investigate how computers are being used in schools within the metropolitan area of São Paulo, evaluating the level of ergonomic issues considered when introducing this tool. Ergonomics comprise the collection of scientific knowledge to ensure the comfort, safety, and efficacy of products. The work included 126 schools distributed as follows: 37 primary schools (1st to 4th year) with 21,824 students; 49 primary schools (5th to 8th year) with 29,851 students; and 40 secondary schools with 31,516 students. Most schools have declared to use computers as an auxiliary tool in their syllabuses since 1995. The use of computers in the 5th to 8th year of schooling was predominant in private schools, with an average of two to three students per computer, and an average duration of classes of up to 1h59min per week. The majority of tables and chairs installed in computer classrooms at schools lack height adjustments to fit the anthropometric characteristics of pupils. Thirty percent of schools supplied computer ergonomics guidelines. In most of the schools no complaints were observed regarding students' visual or muscular discomfort during the use of computers. This fact can be related to the small number of hours of use. We have concluded that the acquisition of furniture and equipment for computer classrooms should include consulting anthropometric databases and students' perception of comfort

Saúde mental e trabalho: os problemas que persistem Mental health and work: persistent issues

Este artigo toma por objeto a Saúde Mental e Trabalho como uma subárea do campo da Saúde do Trabalhador. Parte da constatação de que os problemas de saúde mental e trabalho, já identificados em meados da década de 1980, persistem. Após retomar a taxonomia de tais problemas, busca evidenciar algumas de suas expressões atuais a partir da assistência e da vigilância em saúde do trabalhador, bem como pela perspectiva de alguns sindicatos mais atentos à questão. Para tal, toma como ponto de partida o Centro de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador (CRST) de Campinas. Por fim, pontua algumas características do trabalho no contexto atual para compreender as motivações dessa persistência.<br>This article focuses on Mental Health and Work as a subarea of the Workers’ Health field. Its starting point is the observation that the problems of mental health related to work identified in the mid 80’s still persist. After exposing the taxonomy of these problems, the paper searches to explain some of their current expressions from the assistance and the surveillance in workers’ health as well as from the point of view of some trade unions more attentive to this issue. In order to do that, the Centro de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador (CRST) of Campinas is taken as a reference. Finally, it points out to some characteristics of work in the present context to understand the reasons of this persistence