Designing Enabling Environments in a Protected Workshop
In this article, we analyze the work activity of handicapped operators, taking account of their health, safety and professional skills, as well as the mediation activities of the supervising workshop monitors with a view to identifying the potentially enabling situations for these operators. We present two ergonomic studies conducted in protected workshops in France within an establishment and service of aid through work (ESAT). The concept of “enabling environment” serves as a guideline for examining the working conditions of handicapped people as well as the learning situations made available to them. In doing so, we identified workstations and equipment causing operators to adopt unsuitable and dangerous postures, work strategies enabling operators to protect themselves, but which are limited and insufficient and difficulties causing them to run certain risks. We also underline on-the-job learning difficulties. The workshop monitors have a crucial role. Their mediation activities are a determinant of the potential development of handicapped operators, both because of the importance of their pedagogical role and because they are partly responsible for managing the risks confronting the operators. They are therefore responsible for the prevention of any health risks facing these operators. However, their own working conditions, their lack of familiarity with the different handicaps and their poor access to training limit their potential to provide support both at the pedagogical level and with regard to risk prevention. Designing enabling environments for protected workshop operators involves improving the working conditions of handicapped workers, while also improving the working conditions and access to training of the monitors concerned.