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Body map finds missing toilets

A bodymapping exercise has identified unreported bladder problems in a group of firefighters with inadequate access to toilets at work. Jannettja Longyear, a tutor at Exeter Centre for Trade Union Studies, said FBU members discovered while bodymapping that they suffered from urinary problems they had been reluctant to admit it to each other. After a session with Janettja, their secret came out and they set about solving the problem. 'We discovered the cause was these guys had to go down a flight of stairs, outside, through a courtyard, out of doors in the middle of the night to get to the only toilet,' said Janettja. 'It had to be changed.' She admits that people can be cynical about bodymapping at first, but are soon won over when they see it in operation. Bodymapping involves marking on a picture wherever you feel pain. It comes into its own when people from the same workplace doing similar jobs fill in forms and discover they suffer from similar symptoms. It also means they can work together to sort out the causes and propose solutions.

• Learning Works, News from unionlearn South West, Summer 2006.
• Hazards' online guide to bodymapping, riskmapping and other workers' research tools.
• Hazards toilet breaks guide.

Briefing document (300 words) issued 4 Aug 2006