Active participation in preventionist professional practices: a specific ergonomics training course Léonard Querelle a,* , Michel Duwelz b , Joffrey Beaujouan c and Anne Pignault d a European Ergonomist, Ergonomie & Conception, 348 avenue Napoléon Bonaparte, 92500 Rueil-Malmaison, FRANCE +33 6.03.80.21.58, ergonomie.conception@gmail.com, www.ergonomie-conception.com. b INRS, Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité, michel.duwelz@inrs.fr. c Ergonomist, ENSC, Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux, beaujouan.joffrey@gmail.com. d Université Paris Ouest, Nanterre La Défense, anne.pignault@u-paris10.fr Abstract. Currently, the different forms of corporate management methods (quality circles, lean manufacturing, etc.) are usu- ally based on employee mobilisation. Very often, the goal of this type of approach is at best, to ensure that employees embrace corporate projects, or otherwise to impose changes on them without taking into account the real work and difficulties that they face daily. However, do these employee solicitation methods converge with participatory approaches as envisaged by ergono- mists and more generally, preventionists? Based on the observation that the activity of institutional preventionists evolves with regulatory constraints and work related to the monitoring of indicators, the implementation and steering of the participatory approach within companies may be a major lever for prevention. After describing the foundations of a participatory approach, this paper will present a training experiment aimed at implementing and promoting employee participation in prevention ef- forts. The content of this training is then analysed with regard to the balance between methodology and the use of trainees’ narratives. The results of the training session are presented from the point of view of the development prospects for pedagogi- cal tools and the organisation of the training. Keywords: Ergonomic work analysis, Active participation, Preventionists’ professional practices, Professional narratives, Conditions and learning process * Corresponding author, ergonomie.conception@gmail.com. 1. Introduction In 1991, the European Foundation for the Im- provement of Living and Working Conditions (EU- ROFOUND) noted that 40% of European companies surveyed did not integrate employee or employee representatives’ participation. When companies ap- proach their employees, it is mainly for “information” purposes and not to organise “consultations” or to allow their employees to take part in the decision- making process concerning their workstations. This is due partly to the high number of failures in terms of delays in the start-up of installations and design er- rors. However, many studies show the importance of developing employee participation in industrial de- sign projects (Vink [36], Hägg [13]), organisational changes (Maciel [22]), and prevention projects (Zalk [38], Hignett [13]). Based on the observation that the activity of insti- tutional preventionists evolves with regulatory con- straints and work related to the monitoring of indica- tors, the implementation and steering of the participa- tory approach within companies may be a major lever for prevention. After describing the foundations of a participatory approach, this paper will present a train- ing experiment aimed at implementing and promoting employee participation in prevention efforts. The content of this training is then analysed with regard to the balance between methodology and the use of trainees’ narratives. The results of the training session 1051-9815/12/$27.50 © 2012 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved 5189 Work 41 (2012) 5189-5195 DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2012-0808-5189 IOS Press