A health and safety association collaborated with two research centres to examine the dissemination of
knowledge of an ergonomic intervention by opinion leaders in the construction sector. The intervention
was a hydraulic ladder lift that aided with loading and unloading of ladders off van roofs. Thirteen
companies, with five to 900 employees, were involved. The van operators informed workmates not
employed by their companies but who worked on the same site as them about the intervention. The
opinion leaders informed decision makers within their companies which led to commitments to
purchase similar units. They also gave presentations at prearranged health and safety meetings, where
attendees indicated that they thought the intervention sounded like a good idea. In this way, knowledge
of the innovation reached at least 32 more companies and potentially several thousand other employees.
The study showed the potential for workplace change to be exponential.