Arto Reiman

Review of Regional Workplace Development Cases: A Holistic Approach and Proposals for Evaluation and Management

The labour-intensive manufacturing industry faces many working-life challenges in the rural, sparsely populated northern areas of Finland at both operational and strategic levels. These challenges vary, being in interaction with both technical and social systems and their combinations. In this paper, the authors review and evaluate needs, actions and results carried out to improve work and productivity in three regional industrial development cases. The actions discussed in this paper, such as work environment management, change management in general and the sociotechnical approach, are essential for the success of enterprises. Using the results of this research as a basis for developing design knowledge, two guidelines for strategic management purposes are proposed. These guidelines implement sociotechnical aspects into the work environment and its management, and recognise that it is important to focus on human and organisational factors in addition to technical end environmental aspects. A proposal for a specific, unique self-assessment tool for evaluating the level of the quality of the work environment in SMEs is also suggested.

Ergonomics development needs in truck body design - from video analyses to solution proposals

Truck drivers need improvements on their work environment in ergonomics and safety issues. In this study, participative video analyses were performed to identify areas of discomfort and the risks drivers face when working outside the cab. Analyses resulted in identification of 262 discomfort and risk factors of which roughly half occurred in trucks and trailers. Due to the findings, a web questionnaire was used to investigate what kind of participative product design aspects truck body and trailer manufacturing companies apply currently. Accordingly, the need for participation is recognised but these companies lack such systematic procedures and methods. This study also introduces a procedure to utilise the identified risks and discomforts for developing the design and development requirements. The procedure has led to new solutions that are currently utilised in different interest groups’ processes. The procedure supports participation by all stakeholders and may be used in product design processes in environments where a mutual understanding is crucial for eliminating the recognised safety problems in practice.

Safety Training Parks – Cooperative Contribution to Safety and Health Trainings

ABSTRACT Recent debate regarding the possibility for decreasing the risk of accidents within the construction industry has emphasized the need for innovative training methods. Training should combine behavior- and culture-based approaches, simulate real-life situations, and involve multiple methods. The concept of Safety Training Park (STP) has been developed to meet these challenges. Eighty stakeholders from the Finnish construction industry have been involved in the construction and financing of the STP in northern Finland (STPNF). This unique cooperation has contributed to the immediate success of the park. However, little is known regarding the creation process and how the utilization of the STPNF could be improved. This article presents as a case study the concept, joint creation process and lessons learned this far. Detailed descriptions of the STPNF, findings from focus group interviews, and evidence from the literature are presented with a focus on the pros and cons of the STPNF. The STP is a new and innovative method for safety training that stimulates different learning styles and inspires changes in individuals’ behavior and in the organizations’ safety climate. The stakeholders’ high commitment, a long-term perspective, and a strong safety climate are identified as preconditions for the STP concept to work.

Strategic accident reduction in an energy company and its resulting financial benefits

This study provides a case example of an energy company that prioritized occupational safety and health and accident reduction as long-term, strategic development targets. Furthermore, this study describes the monetary benefits of this strategic decision. Company-specific accident indicators and monetary costs and benefits are evaluated. During the observation period (2010–2016), strategic investments in occupational safety and health cost the company EUR 0.8 million. However, EUR 1.8 million were saved in the same period, resulting in a 2.20 cost–benefit ratio. The trend in cost savings is strongly positive. Annual accident costs were EUR 0.4 million lower in 2016 compared to costs in 2010. This study demonstrates that long-term, strategic commitment to occupational safety and health provides monetary value.

Ergonomics in the arctic – a study and checklist for heavy machinery in open pit mining

BACKGROUND Heavy mining vehicle operators at arctic mines have a high risk of discomfort, musculoskeletal disorders and occupational accidents. There is a need for tailored approaches and safety management tools that take into account the specific characteristics of arctic work environments. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to develop a holistic evaluation tool for heavy mining vehicles and operator well-being in arctic mine environments. METHODS Data collection was based on design science principles and included literature review, expert observations and participatory ergonomic sessions. RESULTS As a result of this study, a systemic checklist was developed and tested by eight individuals in a 350-employee mining environment. CONCLUSIONS The checklist includes sections for evaluating vehicle specific ergonomic and safety aspects from a technological point of view and for checking if the work has been arranged so that it can be performed safely and fluently from an employees point of view.

Holistic well-being and sustainable organisations – A review and argumentative propositions

Abstract This article discusses holistic well-being in a balanced work system theory framework. Holistic well-being is a combination of well-being in both work and non-work domains. Theories of balanced work systems and balanced organisations are retold in light of holistic well-being to show how different individuals in organisations can contribute to achieving desired outcomes at different process levels. Further, this article provides new insights and research challenges to the balanced organisation theory by including a sustainability aspect and by proposing a new concept of balanced value networks.

Risk factors contributing to truck drivers’ non-driving occupational accidents

The purpose of this paper is to identify various individual factors and combinations thereof that can contribute to truck drivers’ occupational accidents, particularly connected to work performed outside the cab in various work environments.,In total, 74 accidents were analysed through in-depth interviews with truck drivers. These interviews were conducted employing the critical incident technique, and analysed utilising a qualitative content analysis approach.,The contributing factors identified were categorised into 14 categories. In all, 13 of these were grouped into four sections reflecting the drivers’ work outside the cab: “Goods and equipment”, “Loading/unloading area”, “Loading/unloading tasks”, and “Organisation”. A single risk factor was associated with 40 accidents while the other 34 involved combinations of factors.,Although the tasks performed by truck drivers in different countries are probably similar, one limitation might be that all the accidents characterised occurred in one country: Sweden.,The findings reveal that complex combinations of risk factors often contribute to accidents. In addition to the transportation company itself, other stakeholders, such as clients, and designers and manufacturers of technology, may influence the occupational safety of truck drivers. Different stakeholders who could contribute to managerial decision making that is designed to prevent accidents are identified and discussed.,This investigation contributes to an in-depth understanding of the causes of accidents in the transportation industry. The findings are discussed from the perspective of the stakeholders and safety management in an attempt to identify key stakeholders who can improve accident prevention.

Participatory Macroergonomics Study – Schools and Kindergartens as Shared Workplaces

Currently, many service organizations encounter challenges that set new requirements for management: individual employees face changes to worksites, job tasks, and work communities while there is a simultaneous decrease in recruitment and increase in the average age of employees. Both physical and psychosocial burdens caused by these factors can lower the work ability and productivity of the employees. The aim of this study was to find solutions for the management of these load factors in workplaces where stakeholders from different subdivisions inside the municipal organization work together. The concept of a shared workplace, which is common in industry, was contemplated to find successful ways to manage work ability and productivity. The case organization in this study was a municipal business unit providing meal and cleaning services to target workplaces, namely two kindergartens and four schools. The objective of the study was to find practical solutions for observed challenges related to work environment and practices at the target workplaces. Study materials were comprised of Occupational Safety and Health documents and statistics, interviews, and observations of work activities. Root cause analysis, by applying the 5*Why-methodology, was carried out to find ultimate causes for the work ability challenges. Practical solutions for the challenges were sought at participatory development sessions. Based on the results, a generalizable model for the management of load factors at shared workplaces in the public sector was proposed.

Safety Training Parks - Cooperative Initiatives to Improve Future Workforce Safety Skills and Knowledge

Construction is one of the most unsafe industries worldwide. Safety training is one essential element to improve occupational safety skills and performance. A wide variety of different safety training methods has been introduced, and a need for more engaging training methods has been recognized. Finnish construction industry has introduced a new Safety Training Park (STP) concept to meet that challenge. Three STPs have been constructed in Finland. STPs are concrete learning environments, in which real life work situations are demonstrated at training points. This study focuses on STP in northern Finland (STPNF). STPNF is a macroergonomics construct designed, financed and constructed by a large consortium of 80 different stakeholder organizations. In addition to construction companies, stakeholders such as schools and universities, municipalities and service providers are included in the consortium. This descriptive study aims to provide an overview of the STPNF concept and describe the most typical STPNF utilization approaches. Further, stakeholder collaboration is discussed and a discussion is initiated on the potential and prerequisites for the transferability of the STP methodology to other contexts.

Personnel's perceptions of occupational safety in rail transport work

In rail transport work, a wide variety of occupational accidents occur. This questionnaire study aims to investigate the occupational safety (OS) challenges and needs recognised by railway personnel (N = 9404). Altogether, 1087 people answered. Answers were categorised thematically, and differences in perceptions between personnel groups and between different business sectors inside the company were identified. Differences between the category distributions were analysed with chi-square tests. Participatory approaches to improve OS emerged from the answers, e.g., attitudes, discussing and training OS. Statistically significant differences e.g., in the above-mentioned themes were found between the groups. The results provide vital information for the company to direct OS actions to the right business sectors. This study shows how personnel can contribute important views and feedback to OS development processes in a new way. The results suggest that more focused OS actions are needed. Guidance for the allocation, prioritisation and scheduling are provided.