According to EU-OSHA, musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in children and young people and young workers are worryingly high. Involving schools in occupational safety and health issues can help prevent this. Integrating safety and health in education is essential in developing a culture of prevention for students.
A new report offers approaches to ‘health-promoting schools’ and examples of good practices in Europe to get people moving and prevent MSDs. The report presents success factors and obstacles and examines how schools can contribute to long-term prevention early on.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) is running a Europe-wide campaign from 2020 to 2022 to raise awareness of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and the importance of preventing them. The objective is to encourage employers, workers and other stakeholders to work together to prevent MSDs and promote good musculoskeletal health among EU workers.
Why it is so important to prevent work-related MSDs and to promote good musculoskeletal health among EU workers?
Key for EU workers’ quality of life and for sustainable work, productivity and social security systems.
Work-related MSDs remain the most common work-related health problem in the EU and one of the most common causes of disability and sick leave.
Work-related MSDs result in huge costs that fall on the workers, employers, health services and the wider society and economy.
MSDs are preventable and manageable. So high costs related to MSDs can be reduced. The return on investment for workers’ quality of life at work, businesses and social security systems is worth the effort.
Taking into account the need for an ageing EU workforce to remain healthy and productive, it is urgent for organisations to implement MSD policies to prevent and reduce work-related MSDs.
As well as the prevention of new disorders, rehabilitating workers with MSDs and integrating them back into work should also form an integral part of any workplace MSD policy.
All info sheets and other campaign materials are available to download from EU-OSHA’s Healthy Workplaces Campaign website (https://healthy-workplaces.eu).
“Ergonomists are committed to creating safe and healthy workplaces with the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders.” The Federation of the European Ergonomic Societies submitted the application to be the official campaign partner of the upcoming Healthy Workplaces – Lighten the Load 2020-2022 campaign organized by European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
Millions of workers across Europe suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). About three in every five workers in the European Union report MSD complaints, based on data from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey. It makes it one of the most common work-related health problems and also cost employers huge amounts.
Millions of workers across Europe suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). About three in every five workers in the European Union report MSD complaints, based on data from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey. It makes it one of the most common work-related health problems and also cost employers huge amounts.
Working actively with prevention helps improving workers’ lives, but it also benefits companies. MSDs are manageable and can be preventable, so costs related to MSDs can be reduced. If someone does develop an MSD, taking simple measures — such as providing professional support and adjusting the work environment — as soon as the symptoms appear significantly lowers the chance of long-term absence from work.
To preview EU-OSHA’s upcoming Healthy Workplaces Lighten the Load campaign focused on raising awareness of and preventing musculoskeletal disorders, the Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise organises two orientation sessions to introduce the audience to the topic.
This webinar gives examples of Swedish statistics, future tools for risk assessment of hand intensive repetitive work and a presentation by the authers of a brand new report – Physical work environment for health, well-being and performance.
Presentations:
Physical work environment for health, well-being and performance – Cecilia Berlin o Maral Babapour
Risk assessment of hand intensive repetitive work – Mikael Forsman
Statistics – The people behind the figures – Minke Wersäll
The Healthy Workplaces Campaigns have been running since 2000, and several topics highlighted the importance of good ergonomic design as the best way for risk prevention, e.g.
2000: Turn your back on musculoskeletal disorders
2007: Lighten the load (Musculoskeletal disorders)
2016 – 2017: Healthy Workplaces for All Ages
When the campaign partner scheme was installed, FEES decided to dedicate the European Month of Ergonomics to the Healthy Workplace Campaign. For ten years, we have been communicating campaign messages along with adequate ergonomics content every October.
Christa Sedlatschek, EU-OSHA Director, and Kasia Jurczak, Member of Cabinet of Commissioner Marianne Thyssenand, handled the Campaign Partner certificate and award to FEES, represented by Gyula Szabó, chair of the Communication and Promotion Committee, at the Exchange of good practices in OSH Healthy Workplaces Campaign Partner event, Brussels, 5 – 6 March 2019.
Thanks to the commitment of individual ergonomicists around Europe, to the joint effort of national ergonomics societies and OSHA focal points, and to FEES’s partnership with EU OSHA, ergonomics is well represented in campaign activities. The regular EU-OSHA campaign partner meetings create further opportunities to represent ergonomics in the OSH community.
We are ready to continue with the upcoming campaign to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.
The “Manage Dangerous Substances” EU-OSHA workplace health and safety campaign was launched on April 2018 and following traditions the Federation of European Ergonomics Societies (FEES) become an official campaign partner again.
FEES dedicates the 2018 / 19 European Month of Ergonomics – “ERGONOMIST TO MANAGE DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES BETTER” to identify, elaborate and demonstrate how ergonomic profession can contribute to the healthy and safe handling of hazardous substances.
FEES encourages ergonomist and their networks or organisations to join in, organise events, sessions, press conferences, communicate and promote the ergonomics profession capabilities.
The Communication and Promotion Committee of FEES calls educational institutions to initiate research and development programs, in particular student projects, master thesis and PhD works to produce solutions of high ergonomics quality in regard of management of hazardous substances, and submit these result to theThe Healthy Workplaces Good Practice Awards
FEES campaign activity has begun May 24, 2018, in Poznan at the Polish Ergonomics Society seminar, when Gyula Szabó, chair of Communication and Promotion Committee of FEES presented the initial EME communication package. The “ERGONOMIST TO MANAGE DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES BETTER” ppt presentation downloadable from this page, and can be used at EME related activity in October at the EME period, and around the year when feasible.
To achive a sustainable working life and to prevent musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) arising from sedentary desk-based work. campaign partnerSAP started a program and received the award for the initiative ‘Run Your Health’ that empowers employees of all ages to take action for their health. Thanks to the program the participants reported:
a 100 % increase in regular exercise
a 30 % increase in the number of steps recorded per month
Campaign partner Toyota Material Handling was commended for a physiotherapy programme to prevent strain injuries at work and to deliver measurable change across partner companies. They took action to prevent strain injuries at work:
following an in-depth analysis of accident data, as well as consultations with service technicians, poor manual handling practices were identified as the primary cause of injuries; therefore, the company developed a physiotherapy programme. Some results achieved
In the last 2 years, accidents through overstrain have more than halved.
The proportion of employees who took leave of absence as a result of an accident decreased from 20 % in 2006 to 5 % in 2014.
Since undergoing treatment with the physiotherapist, none of the employees who experienced overstrain injuries has experienced a similar injury.
On the photo Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labour Mobility, Karoly Gyorgy, chair of the EU-OSHA Governing Borad (left) and Gyula Szabo (right) with the certificate that recognises the Federation of the European Ergonomics Societies as an Official Camapign Partner.
Pour les années 2016/2017, Federation of the European Ergonomics Societies (FEES) a décidé de nouveau de soutenir la campagne annuelle ”pour des lieux de travail sûrs” menée par l’Agence européenne pour la santé sécurité au travail (EU-OSHA).
Le thème de cette nouvelle campagne est “Des lieux de travail favorables au maintien de la santés pour tous les âges – Promouvoir une vie de travail soutenable“. Une partie importante de cette campagne est dédiée à l’adaptation du travail et des situations de travail aux travailleurs. Ce sujet est tout particulièrement intéressant pour les ergonomes, dont c’est un des principaux domaines d’expertise. FEES est également un partenaire officiel de l’Agence européenne EU-OSHA.
C’est pourquoi la campagne annuelle de FEES, le Mois européen de l’ergonomie (EME) en 2016-2017 est dédiée à cette question autour du thème “L’ergonomie pour tous les âges“. Le but de cette campagne est de démontrer le potentiel de l’ergonomie pour promouvoir une vie au travail soutenable et, de ce fait, la possibilité d’une coopération entre les ergonomes et les experts en santé sécurité au travail pour travailler ensemble cette question. La campagne de l’Agence européenne EU-OSHA ”Être bien sur les lieux de travail quel que soit l’âge” a pour objectif de mettre en évidence et de traiter l’enjeu que constitue le vieillissement de la force de travail. L’accent sera mis non seulement sur le vieillissement des travailleurs mais aussi sur la situation des travailleurs à tous les âges en soulignant l’importance d’une approche tout au long de la vie. Le déploiement de pratiques de travail sûres chez les jeunes travailleurs et le développement de bonnes conditions de travail permettent de promouvoir un travail soutenable tout au long de la vie professionnelle et d’assurer un vieillissement en bonne santé (voir www.healthy-workplaces.eu.)
La campagne de l’agence européenne EU-OSHA aborde cette question de manière globale en mettant l’accent sur les questions de management de la santé et de la sécurité au travail, liées au travail soutenable et au vieillissement en bonne santé, telles que le leadership et la participation, l’évaluation des risques prenant en compte la diversité, l’adaptation des situations de travail aux travailleurs, la prévention du handicap et la réadaptation, la coopération avec le management des ressources humaines, la promotion de la santé sur les lieux de travail, l’apprentissage tout au long de la vie, etc. La campagne de FEES devra, du point de vue des ergonomes, attirer tout particulièrement l’attention sur les principes de l’ergonomie, tels que l’adaptation des situations de travail et de l’activité de travail aux capacités des travailleurs. La raison essentielle des problèmes de santé liés au travail réside dans les mauvaises conditions de travail qui, le plus souvent, peuvent être attribuées à une conception du travail qui ne prend pas en considération les principes de l’ergonomie. C’est seulement si ces principes sont mis en oeuvre qu’un travail sûr et enrichissant sur le plan de la santé pourra être mis en place. Par ailleurs, si l’ergonomie est laissée de côté dans la conception des situations de travail, il peut être difficile, coûteux ou même impossible de mettre en place par la suite de bonnes conditions de travail au moyen de mesures correctives. En présence de mauvaises conditions de travail, il est difficile pour les professionnels de la santé – sécurité d’assurer un travail sûr et enrichissant sur le plan de la santé. La conception ergonomique du travail et des situations de travail est une des clés d’une vie au travail soutenable.
La campagne de FEES EME 2016-2017 “Ergonomie pour tous les âges ” peut suivre le déroulement des campagnes précédentes, en commençant par une introduction et en se poursuivant à un niveau plus pratique avec la présentation de cas pratiques, de méthodologies ou la discussion d’expériences au niveau national. Dans la réalisation de cette campagne, l’implication active des sociétés nationales d’ergonomie est essentielle, par exemple par l’organisation de séminaires ou d’autres événements, la distribution de matériel, la collecte et la diffusion d’expériences.
Une présentation introductive en format PowerPoint pour la campagne EME 2016-2017 “Ergonomie pour tous les âges” est désormais disponible (cf ci-joint).
In order to develop the future EME campaigns, and to share the experiences within the national societies, we kindly ask all interested parties to gather experiences on the coming EME campaigns in 2016 and 2017 (e.g. information concerning the realized events, the cooperation with other organisations, other initiatives, articles, other useful documents, etc.). This information or material can be sent to the Communication and Promotion Committee of the FEES to info@ergonomics-fees.eu
For the two-year period of 2016-2017 the Federation of the European Ergonomics Societies (FEES) has decided again to support the annual Healthy Workplaces Campaign of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA).
The theme of this campaign is now “Healthy workplaces for all ages – Promoting a sustainable working life“. An important sub-field of the campaign deals with adapting the work and the workplace to the workers. This topic is especially interesting for ergonomists, for whom it is a part of their core expertise area. The FEES is also an official partner of the EU-OSHA.
Therefore, the yearly FEES campaign European Month of Ergonomics EME in 2016-2017 is dedicated to this subject, by the topic “Ergonomics for all ages“. The aim of the campaign is to demonstrate the potential of ergonomics to promote a sustainable working life, and thus to promote the collaboration between ergonomists and occupational health and safety experts to work together for this subject. The EU-OSHA campaign “Healthy Workplaces for all ages” aims at recognizing and managing the challenges of an ageing workforce. The focus is not only on aging workforce but on the workers of all ages, highlighting the importance of a life-course approach. Fostering healthy work practices in young workers and developing good working conditions promotes sustainable work throughout their working lives and ensures healthy aging. For more information, see www.healthy-workplaces.eu.
The EU-OSHA campaign covers this topic on the whole, emphasizing OHS management issues relating sustainable work and healthy aging, such as leadership and participation, diversity-sensitive risk assessment, adapting the workplace to the workers, disability prevention and rehabilitation, cooperation with human resources (HR) management, workplace health promotion, lifelong learning, etc. The FEES campaign will, for ergonomists’ part, draw a special attention to ergonomics considerations, like adapting the workplace and work activity to the capabilities of the workers.
The basic reason for work-related health problems lies in poor working conditions, which can most often be attributed to poor ergonomic design. By good ergonomic design the long-term preconditions for safe and healthy work can be created. On the other hand, if ergonomics is forgotten in the design of the workplace it may be difficult, costly or even impossible to achieve good working conditions later by corrective measures. In poor working conditions it is difficult for the OHS personnel to maintain healthy and safe work. Ergonomic design of the work and workplace is one of the keys to a sustainable working life.
The FEES campaign EME 2016-2017 “Ergonomics for all ages” can follow the general scheme of the earlier campaigns, starting from the introduction and continuing to a more practical level, e.g. to presentation of cases or methods and discussion of experiences at the national level. In the realization of the campaign the active involvement of the national ergonomics societies is essential, for example by organizing seminars or other events, by distribution of material, and, by gathering and distribution of experiences. Thanks to Martti Launis an introductory power point presentation for the EME 2016-2017 campaign “Ergonomics for all ages” is now published.
In order to develop the future EME campaigns, and to share the experiences within the national societies, we kindly ask all interested parties to gather experiences on the coming EME campaigns in 2016 and 2017 (e.g. information concerning the realized events, the cooperation with other organisations, other initiatives, articles, other useful documents, etc.). This information or material can be sent to the Communication and Promotion Committee of the FEES to info@ergonomics-fees.eu
Focusing on sustainable work and workplace safety and health in the context of the ageing workforce, the Healthy Workplaces for All Ages campaign provides a timely reminder that the younger workers of today are the older workers of tomorrow.
The campaign focuses on Europe’s enterprises (both private and public) and the need to promote sustainable work and healthy ageing from the beginning of working life. By doing so, they will be protecting their workers’ health up to and beyond retirement age and their organisations’ productivity.
Focusing on sustainable work and workplace safety and health in the context of the ageing workforce, the Healthy Workplaces for All Ages campaign provides a timely reminder that the younger workers of today are the older workers of tomorrow.
The campaign focuses on Europe’s enterprises (both private and public) and the need to promote sustainable work and healthy ageing from the beginning of working life. By doing so, they will be protecting their workers’ health up to and beyond retirement age and their organisations’ productivity.
This campaign’s objectives are four-fold:
· to promote sustainable work and healthy ageing from the beginning of working life;
· to highlight the importance of risk prevention throughout working life;
· to assist employers and workers (including in small and medium-sized enterprises) by providing information and tools for managing occupational safety and health in the context of an ageing workforce;
· to facilitate information and good practice exchange.
The Federation of the European Ergonomics Societies feels the responsibility that this campaign only can be a success with strong ergonomics contribution. Ergonomist around Europe are devoted to do it
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Millions of workers across Europe suffer from work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). About three in every five workers in the European Union report MSD complaints, based on data from the sixth European Working Conditions Survey. It makes it one of the most common work-related health problems and also cost employers huge amounts. 
