Safety leadership, safe behavior, and safety climate, which are important parts of occupational safety culture, are important in terms of preventing occupational accidents and making the working environment ergonomic. In this context, this study aims to examine the mediating effect of the safety climate on the relationship between transformational leadership and safe behavior. Research was carried out with 287 participants working in two manufacturing plants, one from Turkey and one from Romania. The two data sets were consolidated into a single database (both companies being providers of manufacturing products for the same client in the automotive industry) and were analyzed using the Preacher and Hayes plugin in the SPSS 21 package program because of the research interest in investigating safety behavior in the manufacturing field. The results of the analysis showed that the safety climate had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and safe behavior. In addition, the study results demonstrated that transformational safety leadership has a significant influence on employees’ perceptions of safety climate and plays an important role in occupational safety-related behaviors. Research results were helpful for practitioners (managers in both companies) and researchers in understanding the importance of safety-climate and transformational safety leadership practices in increasing occupational safety-related behaviors.

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This article concretizes the continuous development of social sustainability in organizations based on ergonomics methods and tools, among others. Numerous scientific studies have already revealed many reasons for justifying balanced efforts towards organizational sustainability, including its economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Because the social dimension is recognized as the weakest and is often neglected, it is placed at the forefront of the present research. The link between social sustainability in the workplace and the ergonomics concept is provided through 17 underlying indicators of the workplace sustainability framework proposed in a previous study. The OWAS and REBA ergonomic risk assessment methods were used in a toolmaking company to study how results can be used directly or indirectly to determine the size or value of indicators used in the sustainability framework. The research finds that direct use of the OWAS and REBA results is not possible, but it is certain that the implementation of proposals in response to identified levels of risk affects up to four out of five factors that constitute the sustainability framework. The use of OWAS and REBA is not suitable to address environmental concerns. This study encourages companies to use ergonomic methods and tools to develop social sustainability in the workplace. It is often necessary to decide between the pen-and-paper approach and an advanced one using artificial intelligence (e.g., supported by the ErgoIA software tool). Not only the method but also the technique chosen affects the degree of sustainability achieved. Finally, relevant aspects of knowledge exploitation in the field of ergonomic education for social sustainability were summarized.

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Studies show that heavy machinery operators are exposed to risk factors of musculoskeletal diseases. However, there has yet to be a study investigating the grip analysis of heavy machinery control levers. This preliminary study aims to investigate the grip analysis of a system that emulates the push–pull operations, handle shapes, and resistance of wheel loader control lever systems. The system was designed, analysed, and optimised using Autodesk Inventor 2019 before fabrication and testing. It underwent usability testing for estimated and perceived grip force analysis (ergonomics analysis). The tests measured estimated force using a sensor glove, and perceived force using the Borg CR10 scale. The data were analysed using regression and paired t-tests. The findings suggested that pulling and high resistance factors required higher estimated force (339.50 N) and perceived force (5.625) than pushing and low resistance factors in manoeuvring the system (p < 0.05). The cylindrical handle required more estimated force (339.50 N) but less perceived force (4.5) than the spherical handle due to ergonomic design considerations (p < 0.05). Although there were inaccuracies in force measurement methods, the perceived method was still effective for data collection, since it is challenging to measure grip force in a real situation with heavy machinery. While this study was only a simulation, it provided researchers with ideas that may solve problems in the manipulation of heavy machinery control levers.

European directives related the occupational health and safety set out minimum requirements and fundamental principles, for managing the specific problems related to occupational risks, principle of prevention and risk assessment, as well as the responsibilities of employers and employees. A series of European guidelines aims to facilitate the implementation of European directives, including standards of related fields. The European Union Strategic Framework on Health and Safety at Work 2014 – 2020 has pushed the Member States to review their national strategies in close consultation with relevant stakeholders including the social partners. Thus, national strategies must transfer and customize the European vision to the national culture and specifics, considering the European framework that acts as a common guide and reference. Romania has adopted several versions of the National Strategy for Health and Safety at Work and the last one is related to the 2018 - 2020 period. Based on this document and the implementation plan associated the article will present a quantitative approach of the SWOT analysis. This research approach is meant to identify and characterize the new strategic direction that should be followed, together with a set of important aspect for the implementation plan up-date. The conclusions of this study will provide a scientific base for policy makers in the field of occupational health and safety.

The current pandemic conditions generated new ways of working and learning by shifting from face-to-face to remote and online working environment. From an ergonomics perspective, this change involved a large variety of adaptations to ‘the new normal’, especially inappropriate furniture, and inadequate social and physical environment conditions. Therefore, the paper aims to provide a deeper understanding on the role of education in ergonomics on the basis of a study on students at Politehnica University of Timisoara. There is little to no information available on ergonomic conditions in which students attend online classes and prepare their projects. The study involved several steps: (1) attendance to an educational session where they were informed on how to sit and organise their working space; (2) presentation of their current and wished working space; and (3) response to a detailed checklist targeted at understanding both their perception and effects on their health regarding online schooling. The results were, to an extent, predicted by the authors: students do not have adequate furniture and lighting conditions; furthermore, the effects on their health are already visible, although not severe.