Workplace adaptation to people with disabilities at construction industry in Brazil

Despite the attempts to include people with disabilities at work, the number of such people seeking employment and of those receiving job opportunities remains low.

The objective was to evaluate the construction jobs of bricklayer, carpenter, steel fixer, painter, laborer 1, laborer 2 and foreman on the construction site of a water supply network so as to determine the profile of workers with disabilities who could perform these jobs and what adaptations are needed.

The methods used were: direct observation of the activities and the environment, interviews with staff on the site, and a video and photographic record of the tasks, while the software ErgoDis/IBV was used to analyze the jobs.

it was found that workers with hearing impairments could perform the activities without any adaptations to the job, while for individuals whose leg or foot had been amputated, some adjustments would be needed.

Thus, by the knowledge of the task, the physical, intellectual and organizational demands of jobs and knowing the functional capabilities of workers with disabilities, reasonable adaptation to work environments can be carried out adequately. To achieve this goal, it is important that this be done through an integration of a multidisciplinary team, which involves the areas of occupational safety and ergonomics.