Fabien Coutarel

Operational leeway in the work situations: Do ergonomic risk assessment tools consider operational leeway for job analysis?

Our study shows that information on operational leeway is limited in the originator articles of the ergonomic risk assessment tools for prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The tools’ underlying theoretical models do not consider the indicators of operational leeway, and they cannot determine the sufficiency of the situational operational leeway in a work situation. Consequently, regulation of the activity, which ensures the performance goals and the individuals health, has been overlooked. The lack of literature on indicators of situational operational leeway is one of the reasons for this deficit. Defining the indicators for this concept would be an innovation in the approach of MSD risk prevention. Developing empirically the concept of situational operational leeway in risk assessment tools would help to progress the current approach of MSD prevention. This study therefore proposes indicators of situational operational leeway to increase the representativeness and reliability of the risk assessment tools for MSDs.

A study of the individual activity of professional volleyball players: Situation assessment and sensemaking under time pressure

The aim of this study is to understand interindividual differences in defensive behaviour in elite volleyball players facing similar game situations. This recurrent observation leads us to adopt an activity-centred ergonomic approach. Two case studies are conducted in naturalistic contexts. In the first, thirty-one professional players are observed in order to account for typical forms of behaviour in relation to certain specific sets of game situations. Two characteristic populations are distinguished. The second study uses observations and self-confrontation interviews with twelve players representative of each population in order to characterise their situation assessment. Results highlight important contrasts between the two populations, both in behaviour and in situation assessment. They suggest that one norm of activity centred on the rally-ending issue and another on the roles to be assumed, guide the specific coherency of these populations under time pressure. The identification of these norms provides a hypothesis concerning the foundations of sensemaking. Implications for training development are discussed.