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OBJECTIVE: This article aims to demonstrate the ways in which port workers collectively respond to task demands, work organization and functional turnover instituted in a Portuguese port. METHODS: Based on both the theoretical debate on the cooperative aspects during the performance of the activity and the contextual research matrix of the activity ergonomics, the investigation conducted focused on the room for maneuvering that is assigned to the work teams and, more specifically, how collective action materializes more visibly in the elaboration of new rules of action with a view to the arbitration between the preservation of health, the guarantee of safety and the response to the required performance levels. RESULTS: The results of the analysis of port activity make evident the development of a high degree of operational synchronization between the professional skills articulated in the team, specialized communication in certain work subprocesses, and strategies for collective surveillance of risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Operating room nursing professionals are exposed to different workload. It is necessary to recognize which situations resulting from their tasks interfere with the health of the professional. OBJECTIVES: We aimed to identify the physical and physiological loads on operating room nurses and their impact on the health as well as trace ergonomic recommendations based on the literature and performed analysis. METHODS: The is an exploratory, observational, descriptive research conducted in the surgical center of a university hospital between August 2017 and July 2018. Nursing staff of both genders who worked as transport professionals or room circulators were included in the study. Data collection in the OR went through stages of Ergonomic Workplace Analysis (EWA), through semi-structured interviews addressing the physical and physiological work issues and a worksheet of data collected from the observations of the practitioners' actions. RESULTS: The study included 20 nursing workers of both genders with an average of 17.33±12.58 years of work experience. The most reported problematic factors were: lack of material, staff pressure, patient transporting, employment legal status with the institution, and lack of communication among the practitioners. CONCLUSIONS: There was a physical effort during the activity and a high prevalence of workers with pain complaints, which justifies the investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The work of transport and handling of goods at the port is collectively executed and so it requires good communication among workers to deal with the usual and unexpected situations of daily work. Objective The aim of this study was to analyze the form and functions used in the communication between port workers and determine their importance for the preservation of workers' health and safety. Methodology This research is the result of a case study conducted in a port located in the north of Portugal. It involved general and systematic observations of work activity on the pier and boats, completed with semi-structured interviews and individual and collective refunds. Individual and collective refunds served to deepen some aspects identified during observations, fundamental to the knowledge of subjective experiences of these workers. Results and discussion During the investigation each port worker was observed not as an isolated individual but inserted into working relations with other port workers, who perform other functions, such as boarding, stevedores, inspectors, crane operators, among others. These interactions among workers take place through various forms of communication: gestures, movements, looks, facial expressions, verbal or printed information, operative codes. Conclusions The impact of these forms of communication is visible at several levels: the possibility of meeting deadlines; the quality of their work; and also for the safety of all those involved in work situations. There are variations in communication not only according to the type of load to be carried, but also according to the function of each team member. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]