Workplace accommodation to people with disabilities: a case study in civil construction / Inclusão Laboral de trabalhadores com deficiência: estudo de caso na construção civil

Abstract Objective : the aim of this paper was to assess and describe the various tasks of the jobs of servant of construction, bricklayer, painter and charge of construction in the civil construction to determine the profile of workers with disabilities who could perform these functions and what adjustments are needed. Methods : this research it is a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative approach. Direct observation of the activities performed at the construction site in each of the jobs evaluated and the environment; interviews with two workers each function evaluated, except painter there was only one worker, a civil engineer and a safety technician to describe detailed, together, as they were carried out each of the required tasks; a video and photographic record of tasks being carried out to analyze the jobs, ErgoDis/IBV software resources were used. At the time the research was conducted in the field, were working a total of 1,547 employees. Results : It was observed that workers with hearing impairments could perform the activities without any adaptations in the workplace and individuals who had had a leg or foot amputated need to use appropriate prostheses to perform the activities of the functions. Conclusion : only workers with full or partial hearing impairment could perform all the jobs analyzed without any accommodation in the workplace and individuals with amputation of leg or foot may only perform tasks using appropriate aids.

Resumo Objetivo : o objetivo do artigo foi avaliar e descrever as diversas tarefas dos postos de trabalho do servente, pedreiro, pintor letrista e encarregado de turma da construção civil para determinar o perfil dos trabalhadores com deficiência que poderiam exercer essas funções e quais as adaptações necessárias. Métodos : esta pesquisa trata-se de um estudo descritivo transversal de abordagem quantitativa. Foi utilizada observação direta das atividades realizadas no canteiro de obras em cada uma das funções avaliadas e do ambiente; entrevistas com dois trabalhadores de cada uma das funções avaliadas, com exceção do pintor letrista, que só havia um trabalhador, o trabalhador com deficiência, um engenheiro civil da obra e um técnico de segurança para descrever detalhadamente, em conjunto, como eram realizadas cada uma das tarefas prescritas; registro em vídeo e fotográfico da execução das tarefas e, para análise dos postos de trabalho, foram utilizados os recursos do software ErgoDis/IBV. No momento em que foi realizada a pesquisa de campo, estavam trabalhando na obra um total de 1.547 funcionários. Resultados : observou-se que os trabalhadores com deficiência auditiva poderiam exercer as atividades avaliadas sem nenhuma adaptação no ambiente de trabalho e que, para indivíduos com amputação de perna ou pé, seriam necessárias algumas adaptações. Considerações finais : apenas os trabalhadores com deficiência auditiva total e parcial poderiam exercer todas as funções analisadas sem nenhuma mudança no ambiente de trabalho e que os indivíduos com amputação de perna ou pé somente poderão exercer as tarefas nos postos de trabalho avaliados se utilizarem próteses adequadas.

Workplace adaptation to people with disabilities at construction industry in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Despite the attempts to include people with disabilities at work, the number of such people seeking employment and of those receiving job opportunities remains low. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to evaluate the construction jobs of bricklayer, carpenter, steel fixer, painter, laborer 1, laborer 2 and foreman on the construction site of a water supply network so as to determine the profile of workers with disabilities who could perform these jobs and what adaptations are needed. METHODS: The methods used were: direct observation of the activities and the environment, interviews with staff on the site, and a video and photographic record of the tasks, while the software ErgoDis/IBV was used to analyze the jobs. RESULTS: it was found that workers with hearing impairments could perform the activities without any adaptations to the job, while for individuals whose leg or foot had been amputated, some adjustments would be needed. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, by the knowledge of the task, the physical, intellectual and organizational demands of jobs and knowing the functional capabilities of workers with disabilities, reasonable adaptation to work environments can be carried out adequately. To achieve this goal, it is important that this be done through an integration of a multidisciplinary team, which involves the areas of occupational safety and ergonomics.

Methodological proceedings to evaluate the physical accessibility in urban historic sites.

Historic urban sites are set by cultural and social diversities, generating multiple activities and use and access to these sites should be available to all people including those with disabilities. Taking into consideration that using the same methodology that was used in different historic sites researches with positive results facilitates replication, we aimed to develop methodological procedures that identify conditions of physical accessibility in open public spaces and access to public buildings in historic urban sites to support proposals about design requirements for improvements to the problems diagnosed and control inadequacies of the physical environment. The study methods and techniques from different areas of knowledge culminated in a proposal built with an emphasis on user participation that could be applied with low cost and in relatively short period of time.

The deaf and the classroom design: a contribution of the built environmental ergonomics for the accessibility.

In any concept of school design, classroom occupies the central place. Dimensions, lighting, the equipment needed, ventilation are old questions already answered, even in form of laws and standards adopted. However, the best use of available materials and physical conditions of comfort is not sufficient for a classroom design guaranteed success. The classroom should provide deaf students elements to facilitate the learning process, eliminating as much as possible the obstacles created by lack of hearing and allowing them to have the same access to learning as a listener student. As users of a school building, teachers, students, parents and staff are the best evaluators of the physical environment of schools. The environmental comfort is a largest ally of pedagogy. The learning comes from the perception and the concentration of students in the classroom. The purpose of this study is to detect the role of direct perception (physical) and indirect (intangible) elements that informs and have symbolic value, and propose layouts for accessible classrooms to deaf students. The ergonomics of the built environment evaluation methods could use the participatory design method tools as basis to assessing how users perceive and use the school environment.

Análise da carga de trabalho de analistas de sistemas e dos distúrbios osteomusculares / Analysis of the workload of systems analysts and musculoskeletal disorders

O objetivo desta pesquisa foi realizar avaliação das condições ergonômicas de analistas de sistemas, com a finalidade de conhecer os fatores geradores de sobrecargas físicas e cognitivas, suas repercussões sobre os trabalhadores e propor melhorias para a diminuição dessas sobrecargas. Metodologia:Foram utilizados o método SHTM (sistema homem-tarefa-máquina) de avaliação ergonômica; o diagramade Corlett, para a avaliação do desconforto corporal; o questionário de avaliação do mobiliário; e o NASATLX,para a avaliação de carga mental de trabalho. Resultados: Foram encontradas as prevalências de dorna coluna lombar (71%) e na coluna cervical (64%) dos entrevistados. Após a avaliação da carga mental de trabalho, foi observado que a demanda mental foi a mais exigida entre os analistas de sistemas e a média da carga global foi de 13,23. Conclusão: Pode-se concluir que a alta prevalência de dor musculoesquelética pode ser causada pela presença de mobiliário inadequado, pela adoção de posturas incorretas e pela alta exigência mental das atividades desenvolvidas.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to conduct assessment of ergonomic conditions of systems analysts in order to understand the factors causing physical and cognitive overload, its implications for workers and propose improvements to reduce these physical and cognitive overload.METHODOLOGY: The SHTM (human-machine-task) method was used for ergonomic evaluation, the Corlett diagram for evaluation of bodily discomfort, questionnaire evaluation of the furniture and the NASA-TLX to assess mental workload. RESULTS: It was found a prevalence of pain in the lumbar spine of 71% and 64% of respondents in the cervical spine. After evaluation of mental workload, it was observed that the mental demand was most required among systems analysts and the average loading rate was of 13.23. CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that the high prevalence of musculoskeletal pain may be caused by the presence of inappropriate furniture, adoption of incorrect postures and high mental demand of the developed activities performed by systems analysts.