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Document ID (ISN)111033
CIS number 10-0739
ISSN - Serial title 0041-1868 - Travail humain
Year 2010
Convention or series no.
Author(s) Chassaing K.
Title Understanding gesture and work organization: An analysis in the context of the car industry and civil engineering
Original title Les 'gestuelles' à l'épreuve de l'organisation du travail: du contexte de l'industrie automobile à celui du génie civil [in French]
Bibliographic information Apr. 2010, Vol.73, No.2, p.163-192. Illus. 51 ref.
Abstract This study aims to analyze the elaboration of gestures learned on the job in order to examine the organization of work. The specific objective is to highlight the complexity of the organization of gestures in a social context which tends to deny the role of manual work and to underestimate the complexity of gestures. This organization is complex because it has been developed over time and with experience, because its structure is based on principles relating to gestures and finally because it has been circumscribed by the characteristics of a work situation. The analysis of the elaboration of gestures is carried out in three distinct work situations with respect to the latitude for gestures. Two of these relate to car assembly lines and the third to an expressway bridge construction site. The gestures are analyzed by similar methods using interviews and observations. Findings confirm that the combination of high demands (workload) and low latitude (highly constraining procedures) restrain the development of gestures, thereby penalizing operators' health. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Descriptors (primary) work posture; manual dexterity; positioning tasks; cognitive performance; experience; ergonomics
Descriptors (secondary) physical workload; work study; motor vehicle industry; civil engineering
Document type D - Periodical articles
Subject(s) Psychology and sociology
Broad subject area(s) Stress, psychosocial factors
Browse category(ies) Psychology of work organization
Motor vehicle manufacturing industry
Construction industry and civil engineering