[Human response to vibration. An ergonomic applicability of current knowledge to the automobile]

With technological progress, vibrations as a risk factor for health have now extended beyond the boundaries of the workplace to become a social rather than an occupational risk. Now that we know the local or general damage vibrations can cause, ergonomists and occupational health officers are increasingly involved in the preparation of techniques for the application of their knowledge to preventive measures. Apparently, negative reactions derive form the impact on sensorial structures that develop very slowly with completely new sensorial stimuli. The acoustic and chronic effects of middle frequency vibration on various parts of the body are described both in experimental conditions and on a particular group of workers. Given the complexity of the vibration in human system interaction it is naturally extremely difficult to establish a universally valid scientific criteria to assess the response of the human body. These limitations expressly declared in the ISO 2631 guide are also implicit in the other regulations proposed. Having re-emphasised the need for research that is more relevant to application demands especially in car production, preventive medicine suggests that responses may be more adequately assessed by the application of new instrumental diagnostic techniques and the comparison of data on a vast scale.