RAMP -  A new tool for MSD risk management in manualhandling

• Summative Statement: In this conference contribution RAMP (Risk Assessment and Management tool for Manual Handling - Proactively) will be presented. It is developed for managing MSD risks in manual handling jobs. The presentation will include a demonstration of the digitalised tool and information about upcoming Massive Open Online Courses about it.Problem statement: Manual handling work is regarded as one of the main causes to increased risks of developing Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Several MSD risk assessment tools have been developed, but have been found to have insufficiencies in managing MSD risks in manual handling. The insufficiencies include that tools only assess certain body parts or certain types of work, are not freely accessible, assess exposure but not risks, and don´t support the whole risk management process. In 2009 there was a call from a global company, which had identified a need for a scientifically based, freely accessible, risk assessment and risk management tool. The tool should support systematic risk management of MSD risks in manual handling jobs and be able to be used by companies themselves. To meet this call the development of the RAMP tool (Risk Assessment and Management tool for Manual Handling – Proactively) was started. It has been developed in a research and development (R&D) project in close co-operation between researchers and practitioners at companies.Research Objective: The objective of this conference contribution is to present the results of a seven year long R&D project: to describe the RAMP tool and its development, present the digitalised version, share some experiences from its use, and inform about upcoming RAMP Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), aimed at educating and training users in the RAMP tool.Methodology: RAMP is scientifically based and was developed with a participative R&D methodology. The participating organisations as well as the methodology, including the base for the development, ranging from scientific publications and legislation to user testing and feed-back, will be described in the presentation.Results: The RAMP tool consists of four parts: RAMP I, RAMP II, The Results module and the Action module. At the conference, these will be presented and the digitalised version of RAMP will be demonstrated. In addition, information about three Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) about the RAMP tool which are being developed will be presented and user experiences from applying RAMP will be shared. In addition to the oral presentation a workshop on RAMP is planned to be held at the conference.Discussion: The discussion focuses on how methods like RAMP, which are freely accessible, can be spread after the R&D project is finished. Another question is how to secure updates in the future for methods which do not bring any profit for the developers/owners.Conclusions: It is concluded that RAMP, a scientifically based new tool for risk management of MSD risks in manual handling, is freely available via KTH’s homepage and that a MOOC-package for disseminating knowledge and training on how to use the tool will be accessible from the autumn 2017.

• La présente communication décrit comment un nouvel outil de gestion des risques fondé sur la recherche (RAMP :Risk Assessment and Management tool for Manual Handling) a été développé de même que la conception d'une formation en ligne souple pour utiliser l'outil et le mettre en application.

Keyword

Risk assessment

method

dissemination

MOOC

training

Évaluation des risques

méthode

diffusion

cours en ligne ouverts à tous (CLOT)

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)