BPESP as an ergonomic decision-making tool: hybrid assessment, engineering controls, and prospective economic analysis in a manual packaging workstation

Resumo

Introduction. Ergonomic assessment has preventive value when its findings are translated into technically justified, documented, and economically assessable control decisions. Objective. To analyze the application of the Business Plan Ergonomic Safety Program in a manual packaging workstation in the manufacturing sector, from quantitative risk identification to the implementation of engineering controls and their ex ante economic assessment, and to identify its preventive, productivity-related, and legal implications. An applied, technical-documentary case study was conducted. The baseline assessment combined task inspection, Rapid Entire Body Assessment, the Revised NIOSH Lifting Equation, biomechanical modeling, and artificial intelligence-assisted postural analysis. Post-implementation follow-up was descriptive. The economic analysis used an adapted break-even approach, while the legal analysis examined the preventive duty, evidence of due diligence, and applicable social protection mechanisms. Results. The original task involved lifting 65-pound boxes 1,040 times per shift, representing an accumulated load of approximately 31.2 metric tons. The assessment identified high ergonomic risk and supported mechanization through conveyors, vacuum-assisted handling, and mechanized palletizing. The documented capital investment was USD 130,045; the break-even analysis indicated that this investment was equivalent to the average direct cost of approximately 4.06 occupational strain claims based on the reference used. Conclusion. BPESP can integrate ergonomic assessment, engineering, follow-up, and economic decision-making while also generating traceability relevant to preventive due diligence, although the absence of a quantitative post-intervention reassessment limits estimation of residual risk.