This study aims to analyze the elaboration of gestures learned on the job and, in so doing, to examine the organization of work. Specifically, this paper highlights the complexity of the organization of gestures in a social context which tends to deny the role of manual work and to underestimate the complexity of gestures. This organization is complex because it has been developed over time and with experience; its structure is based on principles relating to gestures; and finally, because it has been circumscribed by the characteristics of a work situation. We therefore proceed to analyze the elaboration of gestures in three various work situations. Two of these relate to car assembly lines and the third to an expressway bridge construction site. On the basis of three examples describing the development of three gestures (one in each situation), we will show that these developments are marked by the organization patterns prevailing in specific professional environments. The gestures are analyzed by similar methods using interviews and observations. Even though these situations are different, the gestures reveal several shared characteristics that allow us to make comparisons. However, in each situation, the latitude allowed to perform the gestures varies.
In the first situation, the latitude is nearly nil. This situation relates to training aimed at enhancing dexterity in a car assembly plant with a view to standardizing practices. We show that the operators' experience with gestures does not apply to this situation.
In the second situation, namely a car assembly line in another plant, operators have more latitude. However, this latitude is restricted by the implementation of guidelines that give a precise description of the movements to be performed. The aim of these guidelines is to harmonize practical experience. We show that operators nonetheless build gesture strategies, and that experience with gestures appears and develops.
Lastly, in the third situation, namely the construction site of an expressway bridge, operators have quite extensive latitude. In this case, there is latitude for developing gestures. We emphasize that gestures are elaborated according to the experience of situations and their variability. In this context, experience is invaluable to the preservation of health as well as to the enactment of more flexible strategies in which the diversity of contexts plays a role.
If we accept that strategies resulting from experience play a role in the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders, our findings confirm that the greater the latitude for gestures the greater the role of experience. However, latitude for working or learning can only constitute a target at the very earliest stage of design. Latitude for developing gestures should not just be accepted; it should be actively promoted and built upon.