PhareSST (Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé)
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Analysis of the functional and acoustical comfort of earplugs experienced by a group of workers in Canadian companies and identification of the influencing variables
No full textEarplugs are essential for hearing protection in noisy workplaces, but their effectiveness depends heavily on user comfort, which influences proper and consistent use. This study explores functional and acoustical comfort experienced by 173 workers across Canadian companies, each testing different ’disposable or reusable’ earplug models over seven weeks. Comfort is assessed using detailed questionnaires covering six subdimensions: ease of insertion and removal, noise protection, impact on work, and discomfort related to internal and external noise perception. Linear mixed-effects models are applied within a triad framework encompassing person-, earplug-, and environment-related characteristics in order to identify those with a significant influence on functional and acoustical comfort. Results show that person-related variables are the most influential. Handedness, hearing loss, and prior HPD experience significantly impact comfort, with left-handed participants reporting greater insertion and removal discomfort—possibly due to earcanal asymmetry and dexterity differences. Several earcanal morphological features also play a role, including isoperimetric ratios, circumference at multiple cross-sections, conicity, and length. Only a few earplug-specific characteristics influence comfort outcomes. Foam expansion time is linked to reduced acoustical discomfort associated with the perception of internal sounds, while stem presence improves insertion ease. Environmental factors do not have significant effects. In the longer term, these findings call for a rethinking of the design and selection of ’disposable or reusable’ earplugs, primarily based on earcanal morphology and users’ past experience. The study also underscores the need for improved objective metrics to assess comfort and supports the development of more personalized hearing protection solutions
Serious and fatal collisions between mobile equipment and pedestrian workers in Quebec: A critical analysis of contributing factors and the role of proximity detection devices in risk reduction
No full textContext
Mobile equipment (ME), such as loader, that runs over pedestrian workers (PWs) is still a major cause of fatal work accidents. Proximity detection devices (PDDs) are an avenue to mitigate these risks, yet there is a lack of comprehensive studies to inform their practical implementation. Aim. The aim is to provide a structured analysis of the factors contributing to ME-PW collisions and to evaluate the potential impact of integrating PDDs into the causality chain of these accidents.
Methodology
An exhaustive database was created through analysis of investigation reports on fatal ME-PW collisions in Quebec, Canada, from 2013 to 2023 (n = 34). Contributing factors were structured using fault tree analysis (FTA).
Results
ME-PW collisions account for 8 % of all available fatal accident reports. Two accident types stand out: dump trucks backing up to deliver earthwork (8/34) and hydraulic shovels used in earthwork operations (8/34). Reversing collisions were the most frequent (21/34), as were accidents occurring during the starting phase of the ME (21/34).
Discussion
In 88 % of cases, the operator was unaware of the PW’s presence just before the accident. This finding confirms the strong potential of PDD as an additional layer of risk reduction. The FTA provides a novel perspective on the potential benefits of PDDs, while also highlighting the challenges of their effective integration into real-world operations. For instance, (1) ensuring coverage of the actual danger zone according to the movement, (2) providing highly targeted warnings, and (3) accounting for subcontracting and environmental conditions that may affect PDD performance. (©Elsevier
Proactive safety reasoning in human-robot collaboration in disassembly through LLM-augmented STPA and FMEA
Full text linkDisassembly tasks in human–robot collaboration (HRC) environments present safety challenges due to hazardous materials, control system variability, and physically demanding operator tasks. To address these challenges, we propose an AI-augmented risk assessment framework integrating System-Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). This framework is implemented in four configurations: Term Frequency– Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF), Fine-tuned Large Language Models (LLMs), Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and RAG with a structured Knowledge Graph (KG) built from safety standards. The system supports real-time, standards-compliant safety reasoning by generating interpretable, context-specific recommendations. We evaluate these configurations across GPT-3.5 TURBO, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, and open-source LLMs Qwen2.5 (3B) and Ministral (3B). Among all, RAG+KG with GPT-4.1 achieved the highest results across language-based metrics (BLEU: 68.3, ROUGE-L: 72.0, Semantic Similarity: 81.1, BERTScore (F1): 90.0) and safety-specific metrics (Hazard Recall: 92, Compliance Precision: 97, Safety Violation Rate: zero). Six safetyoriented metrics were introduced to assess compliance, hazard coverage, interpretability, and robustness. A case study on electrical vehicle (EV) battery module disassembly demonstrated the system’s effectiveness in identifying unsafe control actions, tracing failure modes, and recommending targeted mitigation strategies for mechanical, electrical, and chemical hazards, and ergonomic considerations. This framework offers a scalable, explainable approach to real-time safety analysis, advancing AI-enabled risk assessment in dynamic HRC disassembly tasks and supporting the vision of human-centered Industry 5.0 manufacturing
Comprehensive comparison of sampling methods for evaluating hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) in the air of an automotive collision repair facility
No full textIdentification des moisissures cultivables
Full text linkCette méthode est utilisée pour identifier au genre ou à l’espèce des moisissures cultivées à partir d’échantillons d’air, de surface ou de matrices solides ou liquides. Après avoir isolé une souche de moisissure en culture pure, différentes techniques peuvent être utilisées : l’observation des caractères macroscopiques et microscopiques des colonies et leur comparaison à des clés d’identification de référence, la spectrométrie de masse utilisant la technologie MALDI-TOF et le séquençage de type Sanger ciblant différents loci génétiques. Les identifications obtenues par l’une, plusieurs ou l’ensemble de ces techniques sont ensuite interprétées pour rapporter une identification finale
Le cadenassage
No full textEn milieu de travail, le cadenassage ne sert pas à protéger les biens, mais plutôt à protéger les humains. Damien Burlet-Vienney, chercheur à l’IRSST, nous en dit plus sur le sujet.https://pharesst.irsst.qc.ca/balados/1014/thumbnail.jp
Evolution of stressors for healthcare workers over the COVID-19 pandemic
Full text linkBackground:
Many studies have documented exposure to psychosocial factors in healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Few have done it prospectively with open-ended questions.
Aims:
To describe the evolution of stress factors reported by HCWs during the pandemic.
Methods:
A prospective cohort of 4964 HCWs (physicians, nurses, healthcare aides, personal support workers), from four Canadian provinces, received four online questionnaires between the springs 2020 and 2022. Responses to an open-ended question on stressful events were coded into 25 stressors. Multilevel logistic regressions assessed trends in stressors, and the effect of gender, occupation, and age.
Results:
In 2020, 91% of participants reported at least one stressor compared to 51% in spring 2022. Overall, eight stressors were reported 1000 times or more among 16,786 questionnaires. Five stressors decreased over time: fear of COVID-19, problems with personal protective equipment, changing guidelines, management of difficult cases, and changes to work routine. Conversely, an increasing trend was noted for volume of work, and poor behaviour from the public or colleagues. Difficulties managing patients’ deaths remained steady. Changes in stressors over time were similar by gender, professional role, and age group, although the reporting of some stressors varied within subgroups.
Conclusions:
Reporting of most stressors decreased over the pandemic, except for stressors arising from the changing demands on staff and patients as the pandemic progressed. Such changes in workplace psychosocial factors need to be addressed by prevention programmes to ensure an appropriate support response to the needs of healthcare workers
Retour et maintien durable au travail en contexte de petites et moyennes entreprises
Full text linkL’incapacité au travail reliée aux troubles musculosquelettiques (TMS) constitue un fardeau important à l’échelle mondiale. La gestion des invalidités et le retour et maintien durable au travail (RMDT) sont essentiels pour prévenir l’incapacité au travail. Des principes de la gestion des invalidités et des bonnes pratiques de RMDT sont établis pour la grande entreprise. Même si plusieurs recherches indiquent l’existence de contraintes particulières pour les petites et moyennes entreprises (PME), peu d’études décrivent les actions de prévention d’incapacité au travail ou les principaux facteurs de difficulté et de succès pour un retour et maintien durable au travail (RMDT) dans ce type d’entreprise. Les objectifs de l’étude sont de décrire les pratiques de gestion des invalidités pour différents contextes de PME, et d’identifier des défis et des leviers à l’application des bonnes pratiques pour le RMDT pour différentes caractéristiques et conditions de contexte de PME.
Un devis qualitatif descriptif a été utilisé. Un échantillonnage de convenance a permis d\u27explorer les perspectives des parties prenantes dans la gestion des invalidités et le RMDT dans les PME. Des entretiens individuels d’environ une heure ont été menés auprès de dirigeants ou responsables de la gestion des invalidités au travail dans 8 PME du secteur manufacturier au Québec. Ensuite, deux groupes de discussion focalisés hétérogènes, d’une durée d’une heure trente chacun, ont été menés avec 16 représentants des parties prenantes externes (mutuelles de prévention, assureurs et professionnels en réadaptation). Des guides d’entretien ont été élaborés en fonction des objectifs et des connaissances issues de travaux antérieurs. Ils ont été validés au sein de l’équipe de recherche. Les entretiens et les groupes de discussion étaient enregistrés et les verbatim transcrits. Leur contenu codé, il a ensuite été analysé par 2 professionnels suivant une grille d’analyse. Les désaccords interjuges ont été résolus par recherche de consensus avec l’aide d’une chercheuse.
Les résultats mettent en évidence que la gestion des invalidités dans les PME participantes est centrée sur la gestion médico-administrative des absences. Les principes favorisant le RMDT sont généralement connus par les gestionnaires des PME participantes. Cependant, les pratiques de RMDT restent peu formalisées, appliquées différemment selon les contextes d’entreprises. Le recours à l’assignation temporaire apparaît comme un élément central à la stratégie de RMDT des responsables de la gestion des invalidités. Néanmoins, la faible disponibilité et diversité des postes peut rendre la prise en compte difficile des capacités et des intérêts du travailleur lors de la mise en place de celle-ci. La collaboration entre la personne en incapacité, le supérieur immédiat et le travailleur dans le choix, l’implantation et le suivi des solutions apparaît comme un levier potentiel. Un autre levier semble être le recours à des ressources externes, comme l’appel à des professionnels de réadaptation et le soutien de mutuelles de prévention proactives. Un consensus se dégage parmi les parties prenantes externes selon lequel, généralement, une entreprise de moins de 100 travailleurs possède moins de ressources humaines et dispose de moins d’accès à des structures externes pour les guider dans la mise en place des connaissances sur les aménagements de RMDT.
En conclusion, les pratiques de gestion des invalidités de RMDT rapportées par les participants suggèrent un besoin de sensibilisation et d’encadrement des gestionnaires sur le processus de RMDT, et sur l’importance du respect des limitations fonctionnelles lors de la mise en place et au suivi de l’assignation temporaire. Les enjeux uniques de la gestion des invalidités et du RMDT dans les PME invitent les parties prenantes et gouvernantes à une réflexion systémique sur les possibilités de mettre en place des mécanismes collaboratifs pour mieux soutenir les PME. Une avenue de recherche prometteuse qui semble se dégager de la présente étude serait d’explorer le potentiel des approches intégrées de prévention de l’incapacité, adaptées à la diversité des contextes organisationnels des PME dans le secteur manufacturier.
Abstract
Work disability related to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) is a major burden worldwide. Disability management and practices promoting sustainable return to work (SRTW) are both essential to preventing work disability. Disability management principles and best SRTW practices have been established for large enterprises. While a number of studies indicate the existence of particular constraints for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), few studies actually describe work-disability prevention actions or the main difficulty and success factors in achieving SRTW in these types of companies. The aims of this study were to describe disability management practices for different SME contexts, and to identify the challenges and levers for applying best SRTW practices for different SME characteristics and conditions.
A qualitative descriptive research design was used. Using convenience sampling, we explored the perspectives of the stakeholders involved in disability management and SRTW in SMEs. Individual interviews of approximately one hour were conducted with the managers or persons responsible for work disability management in eight SMEs in Québec’s manufacturing sector. Two heterogenous focus groups, each lasting an hour and a half, were then held with 16 representatives of the external stakeholders (prevention mutuals, insurers and rehabilitation professionals). Interview guides were developed based on the study objectives and on the knowledge acquired in earlier research. These guides were validated by members of the research team. The interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded and the verbatims transcribed. Once their content was coded, it was analyzed by two professionals on the research team using an analysis grid. Intercoder disagreements were resolved through consensus reached with the help of a researcher.
The results showed that disability management in the participating SMEs was focussed on the medico-administrative management of absences. The managers in the participating SMEs generally knew about the principles promoting SRTW. However, their SRTW practices remained minimally formalized and were applied differently depending on the company context. The use of temporary assignments appeared to be a key element in the SRTW strategy adopted by those responsible for disability management. However, job scarcity and diversity sometimes made it difficult to take into account the worker’s capacities and interests when trying to find a temporary assignment. Collaboration between the person with the work-related disability and their immediate supervisor in the process of choosing, implementing and monitoring the solutions appeared to offer a potential facilitator of SRTW. Another facilitator appeared to be that of involving external resources, such as calling on rehabilitation professionals and seeking the support of proactive prevention mutuals. Consensus emerged among the external stakeholders regarding the fact that, generally speaking, a company with fewer than 100 workers has fewer human resources and less access to external structures to guide them in applying knowledge on SRTW arrangements.
In conclusion, the disability management and SRTW practices reported by the participants indicate (i) a need to raise managers’ awareness of the SRTW process and of the importance of respecting functional limitations when implementing and monitoring temporary assignments, and (ii) the need to provide them with guidance. The specific issues involved in disability management and SRTW practices in SMEs invite all stakeholders and government bodies to undertake systematic reflection on the possibilities of implementing collaborative mechanisms that will better support SMEs. This study points to a promising avenue for exploration in future research, namely, the potential offered by integrated disability prevention approaches that are adapted to the diverse organizational contexts in SMEs within the manufacturing sector
Thermo-physiological responses to different work/rest regimes during a 4-hour heavy work simulation in hot environment
No full textOccupational exposures to chemicals in dentistry: A scoping review
Full text linkThe dental workforce comprises a variety of professions, most of which are predominantly occupied by women. Dental workers can be exposed to numerous toxic chemicals such as mercury, methacrylate polymers, and silica. This scoping review aims to synthesize the scientific literature on quantified chemical exposures and to identify research gaps in occupational chemical hazards faced by dental professionals. This review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute approach and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, using three concepts to search PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science: workers, dental care, and chemicals. Studies from high-income countries, published in French or English between 2000 and 2024 and reporting direct quantitative exposure data, were included. A descriptive analysis presents exposures measured in urine, blood, and air samples for the most assessed chemicals. Thirty articles were included in the review, with two-thirds focused on exposures of dentists and none of denturists. Exposure assessments most often focused on mercury (n = 17 studies), followed by nitrous oxide (n = 6), methacrylate compounds (n = 4), and silica (n = 3). Most studies showed exposure levels below occupational exposure standards; however, certain aerosol-releasing tasks could exceed recommended occupational exposure limits of 0.025 mg/m³ for mercury and silica. Dental students in a simulation laboratory were exposed to a 4-hr mercury vapor level up to 3 mg/m3, and dentists’ exposure in clinics reached 0.45 mg/m³. Silica concentrations were below occupational exposure limits in dental clinics but reached twice the standard in a dental laboratory during prosthodontics polishing activities. The review emphasizes the need for comprehensive exposure assessments among dental workers and highlights the lack of focus on denturists, dental technicians, and dental assistants. To adequately assess the overlooked risks posed by multi-exposures to chemicals among dental workers, future studies need to analyze and report on exposures and risks stratified by occupation, task, and sex