Hans Pettersson

I conduct research on how vibrations from machinery, outdoor work, and noise in the work environment affect workers’ health, and how we can improve workplace conditions. My work focuses primarily on occupational environments in the construction, manufacturing, mining, and forestry industries.

Current projects include studies on medical surveillance and how the screening questionnaire for nerve injuries among workers exposed to hand‑held vibrations corresponds with clinical examinations. In addition, a doctoral project is underway on outdoor work, examining how workers perceive cold environments, how such conditions affect their health, and what measures are used to improve the work environment. I am also involved in the SitVib project, which investigates whole‑body vibrations and sedentary work among timber truck drivers.

I collaborate with researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Umeå, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and universities in Tromsø (Norway) and Oulu (Finland). I am also a member of the steering group for the Arctic Centre at Umeå University (ARCUM) and previously served as the Arctic Five Chair in Occupational Medicine (https://arcticfive.org/).

Earlier research projects have included developing a more user‑friendly website for the Swedish national vibration database (https://www.vibration.db.umu.se/app/), for which I am responsible together with all Occupational and Environmental Medicine clinics in Sweden.