The integration of ethnography and movement analysis in disabled workplace development

A physical disability should not be an obstacle to participate in the work world, however, some workplaces are not conceived in order to admit disabled workers. The aim of this paper is to present the process conducted by an interdisciplinary team to analyze human-product physical interaction and develop an accessible workplace. We focused our research in a PC-workplace to be used by physically impaired people for their professional reintegration. In previous experiences [1] simple biomechanical measurements and electromyographic analysis were used to evaluate the physical stress connected to different workplace situations. In the present context we have chosen to apply to occupational ergonomics both a biomechanical and ethnographic approach and then correlate them in an integrated approach. The idea of merging qualitative and quantitative methods has become increasingly appealing in areas of applied research. As Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) and ergonomics are multifaceted issues it is important to approach them from different perspectives and to combine data coming from different methods.