Citation

Chatigny C, Montreuil S. Safety Sci. 2003; 41(4): 377-391.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This ergonomic comparative study of apprenticeship situations in a work setting was conducted in two types of occupations that differ in terms of work requirements and learning. Our objective was to gain an understanding of aspects in the environment that promote or hinder the construction of occupational knowledge and the strategies implemented to solve problems that arise. Our results show that the "operational resources" constructed by workers play a role in fostering or allowing learning. We also identified several organizational factors that hinder the development of occupational knowledge, as well as their ensuing human costs. An ergonomic analysis allowed us to determine the global strategies and types of resources used in both industries. These results should be validated in other work environments in order to develop diagnostic tools for apprenticeship situations, changes to them and improvements in occupational training programs.