| Summary: | This collective reflection on the first field study (40 years ago!) conducted by ergonomists from Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers (Paris) is produced jointly by union representatives who requested the research and by ergonomists who conducted it. The aim is to piece together the flow of events in this common experience and to draw lessons about union action, the production of ergonomic knowledge, and work transformation. This research project on the work of female mass production workers marked an epistemological turning point in ergonomics, due to a number of factors: how the researchers entered the workplace, the progressive development of the research process, and the production of unexpected knowledge on the « real » work and its effects on health. New methods, a new research position recognizing « workers’ expertise », and new models of the work activity had to be developed. The study then established the foundation for an ongoing dynamics based on cooperation between the different actors, and linking research, training and action. Developments and limitations are also discussed.
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