First-line management and MSD prevention: representations and actions.

Research work on the topic of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) has resulted in progress being made in terms of knowledge of their occurrence mechanisms and their prevention modes. Nevertheless, MSDs continue to progress making it necessary to pursue studies on the most relevant intervention strategies to be adopted with their prevention in mind. In this respect, practitioners are struggling to initiate actions, notably regarding the organisational factors involved in the onset of MSDs.
It is difficult to envisage an organisational transformation without attributing an active role to supervision. Through its impact on organisation, it is likely to modify employee exposure concerning situations risking causing MSDs. However, few studies have examined the activity of supervision within the context of MSD prevention. This study aims to generate knowledge of the activity of supervision, its potential role in the management of organisation, and thus MSD prevention.
The reference methodology will be ergonomic research-intervention in relation to this activity. Analysing the activity of supervision will require the use of many tools (observations, interviews, self-confrontations, etc.), which will be defined as a function of the areas of intervention and subsequent to a comprehensive bibliographic analysis. The results should yield useful orientations for prevention specialists so that they can refine their prevention strategies through a better understanding of the role of supervision within the context of a comprehensive approach. The study will be the subject of a PhD thesis, scientific publications and knowledge transfers to partners in the field.