You are required to develop a two-page written report that must include each of the following elements:

1. an overview of the case;
2. identification and discussion of the elements/components of the participatory ergonomics program and the occupational safety and health management systems that were similar and different (you may need to refer to your unit lesson); and
3. YOUR assessment of the compatibility of participatory ergonomics programs and occupational safety and health management systems.

Please see below the case study

How compatible are participatory ergonomics programs with occupational health and safety management systems?

Prevention of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) often involves aparticipatory rrgonomics (PE) program. The paper compares the PEapproach with occupational health and safety management system(OHSMS). The PE literature did not speak to many elements of OHSMS.It is expected that paying attention to management systemframeworks could make prevention of MSD activities more effectiveand sustainable.

Key terms:ergonomics; management system; MSD; MSD prevention;musculoskeletal disorder; occupational health and safety;occupational health and safety management system;

How compatible are participatory ergonomics programs with occupational health and safety management systems?

Objectives Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a major cause of pain, disability, and costs. Prevention of MSD at work is frequently described in terms of implementing an ergonomics program, often a participatory ergonom-ics (PE) program. Most other workplace injury prevention activities take place under the umbrella of a formal or informal occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS).

This study assesses the similarities and differences between OHSMS and PE as such knowledge could help improve MSD prevention activities.Methods Using the internationally recognized Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS 18001), 21 OHSMS elements were extracted. In order to define PE operationally, we identified the 20 most frequently cited papers on PE and extracted content relevant to each of the OHSAS 18001 elements.Results The PE literature provided a substantial amount of detail on five elements: (i) hazard identification, risk assessment and determining controls; (ii) resources, roles, responsibility, accountability, and authority; (iii) competence, training and awareness; (iv) participation and consultation; and (v) performance measurement and monitoring. However, of the 21 OHSAS elements, the PE literature was silent on 8 and provided few details on 8 others.Conclusions The PE literature did not speak to many elements described in OHSMS and even when it did, the language used was often different. This may negatively affect the effectiveness and sustainability of PE initiatives within organizations. It is expected that paying attention to the approaches and language used in management system frameworks could make prevention of MSD activities more effective and sustainable.Key terms MSD; MSD prevention; musculoskeletal disorder; OHSAS 18001; OHSMS; quality; risk assessment.1 Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.2 Centre of Research Expertise for the Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders (CRE-MSD), Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.3 Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.4 Dpartement de Mathmatiques et de Gnie Industriel, cole Polytechnique de Montral, Montral, QC, Canada.5 School of Public Health and Health Systems, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.6 Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.7 Canadian Index of Wellbeing, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.Correspondence to: Amin Yazdani, Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada. [E-mail: ayazdani@uwaterloo.ca]Employers have a duty to anticipate, assess, and control a wide range of hazards in order to protect the health and safety of their workers. Many organizations have a busi-ness framework that they use to structure their prevention activities. If formalized, it could be considered an occupa-tional health and safety management system (OHSMS). Musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a major cause of pain, disability, and costs to workers, employers, and soci-ety. It might be expected that MSD prevention activities would draw on methods and approaches like the OHSMS. A forthcoming scoping review (Yazdani et al. Preven-tion of musculoskeletal disorders within management systems: A scoping review of practices, approaches, and techniques. Submitted to J Appl Ergonomics), however, found there was little information on how MSD preven-tion activities might be implemented within an OHSMS. Instead, MSD prevention was often described in terms of implementing a stand-alone ergonomics program, often