Printed in Great Britain. 0003-4878/01/$20.00PII: S0003-4878(01)00005-9 Grassroots Ergonomics: Initiating an Ergonomics Program Utilizing Participatory Techniques

The introduction of ergonomics programs throughout the world requires an easy to under-stand and inexpensive process. Participatory ergonomic intervention techniques have proven to be beneficial in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders. The participatory approach to ergonomics has also been found to be a useful application within industrialized (developed) countries and industrially developing countries (IDCs). Grassroots Ergonomics principles utilize expertise within a workforce that focuses on participatory ergonomics interpretations of quantitative and qualitative risk and exposure assessment information that in turn results in a peer-developed ergonomics training. Regardless of the intricacy of the exposure assess-ment tools, workers should fully assist in gathering and analyzing data, then in identifying and implementing solutions. A coordinated and multidisciplinary application of this approach within IDCs would succeed in the creation and sharing of job-specific ergonomics training information for high physical exposure professions, such as agriculture, fishing, forestry, min-ing, and small-scale enterprises, to initiate ergonomics programs regionally. Published b