ERGOCHECK for a Preliminary Mapping of Risk at Work : Tools, Guidelines, and Applications

One of the latest developments being pursued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international organizations (ILO, ISO), in relation to preventing work-related diseases and disorders, concerns the creation of "toolkits" and, within them, of simple tools. This book suggests a methodology and a comprehensive simple tool (ERGOCHECK, downloadable for free from the website www.epmresearch.org) for bringing together various potential risk factors to undertake a preliminary mapping of discomfort/danger in the workplaces and to assess consequent priorities for prevention, especially (but not only) in small and very small businesses. The tool is primarily designed to be used by employers, OSH (Occupational Health and Safety) operators and trade union representatives, but it may also be useful for occupational medical staff conducting periodical inspections and drafting health surveillance protocols, and for supervisory bodies (labor inspectors) conducting inspections in the workplace needing to rapidly detect potentially dangerous situations requiring specific preventive interventions. Daniela Colombini is a certified European ergonomist and a senior researcher at the Research Unit Ergonomics of Posture and Movement, Milan, where she developed methods for the analysis, evaluation and management of risk and damage from occupational biomechanical overload. She was a professor at the School of Specialization in Occupational Medicine in University of Milan and University of Florence. She is the coauthor of the OCRA method (EN 1005-5 standard and ISO 11228-3). She is the founder and president of the EPM International Ergonomics School (EPMIES). She has been working with accredited native teachers in countries such as the USA, France, India, Spain, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil and other South American countries. She is a member of the Ergonomics Committee of UNI working in the international commissions of European Committee for Normalization (CEN) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Enrico Occhipinti is a certified European ergonomist. He is a professor at the School of Specialization in Occupational Medicine in University of Milano, and the director of the Research Unit Ergonomics of Posture and Movement (EPM) at Fondazione Don Gnocchi ONLUS-Milano. He developed and coauthored the OCRA method. He is a member and has been a coordinator (up to 2012) of the Technical Committee on Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), and represents Italy in international commissions of the CEN and the ISO dealing with ergonomics and biomechanics.