Claudio Brunoro

Contributions of ergonomics to the construction of bus drivers health and excellence in public transport and at work

This article is the product of research that analyzed the work of bus drivers of a public transportation company that is considered a benchmark reference in its field of operations, in which it strives to achieve operating excellence. Within this context, the authors sought to understand how such a company has managed to maintain a policy that is capable of reconciling quality public transport while also providing working conditions compatible with the professional development, comfort and health of its workers. Ergonomic work analysis and activity analysis were the guiding elements used in this study. Initial analyses indicate that the activity of drivers includes serving a population and providing mobility for it, which depends on driving the vehicle itself and on relationships with colleagues, users, pedestrians, drivers and others.

Work for sustainability: Case studies of Brazilian companies

The introduction of strategic corporate sustainability policies is expected to result in the improvement of several issues in companies. One of these issues is work, which should involve greater well-being for workers. Within the context of production engineering, this research connects sustainability and work-related issues, the latter seen in light of the discipline of ergonomics. Based on case studies conducted at four companies considered sustainability benchmarks, we examined how the introduction of the theme of sustainability has influenced work-related issues. The elements analyzed here were the corporate sustainability strategy, organizational practices for deploying the strategy, and the work design phase. The last element is the moment in which work is prescribed in the organization. The results show that, despite the announcement of the inclusion of changes in work, there is not any explicit evidence confirming that such changes are considered as a requirement for corporate sustainability projects.

Work in corporate sustainability policies: the contribution of ergonomics.

BACKGROUND By introducing policies for sustainability and social responsibility, companies declare their interest in caring for all stakeholders, including workers. OBJECTIVE To analyze how and which themes related to work practices and to workers are approached in the discourse of corporations are considered sustainable and socially responsible. Based on ergonomic principles, more elements are brought into this discussion, viewed from a strategic perspective for the development of corporations and society. PARTICIPANTS Data collected from 20 corporations considered more sustainable according to an assessment made by the Corporate Knights organization. METHODS Multiple-case study, based on the analysis of secondary sources content (websites and reports). Analysis of websites and reports by their content, and their classification according to the aspects present in the thematic of work practices and of human rights elaborated by standard ISO 26000. RESULTS Corporations show that the worker is one of the stakeholders to be considered in their sustainability and social responsibility policies. However, its not possible using this method to obtain effective evidences related to actual programs performed by companies in order to demonstrate the real importance of workers in sustainable polices. CONCLUSIONS The discipline of ergonomics could be active in improving the implementation of corporate social responsibility policies, especially by emphasizing the social dimension of these policies.

Sustainability policies and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Ergonomics contribution regarding work in companies

The growing importance of sustainability in corporate policies represents a great opportunity for workers to gain more consideration, with great benefits to their well being. Sustainable work is believed to be one which improves the organization’s performance and fosters professional development as well as workers’ health. In a multiple case study based on document research, information was sought about work activities and their sustainability or CSR policies, as disseminated by corporations. All the companies devoted attention to work activities and delivered a good amount of information about them. Nevertheless, the information presented was generic; all the actions developed were top-down and there was no information about the impact of changes aimed at sustainability on the workers’ activities. It was found that the companies seemed to be at an early stage. In the future, they need to show more commitment through concrete goals: they must be aware that workers contribute directly to the corporations’ sustainability. This would allow room for Ergonomics and Work Psychodynamics to be incorporated and to be useful for both companies and society, so as to promote and ensure work sustainability.

The workers role in knowledge management and sustainability policies

Based on the concepts of sustainability and knowledge management, this article seeks to identify points of contact between the two themes through an exploratory study of existing literature. The first objective is to find, in international literature, the largest number of papers jointly related to the theme of knowledge management and sustainability. In these documents, the authors looked at the kind of relationship existing between the two themes and what the benefits introduced in organizations are. Based on an ergonomic point of view, the second objective of this article is to analyze the role of the worker (whether at the strategic or operational level) and his importance in this context. The results demonstrate that there is very little literature that addresses the two themes together. The few papers found, however, can be said to show the many advantages of introducing sustainability policies supported by adequate knowledge management. Very little has been studied with regards to the role of workers, which could be interpreted as meaning that little importance is given to the proactive role they may play. On the other hand, there is a high potential for future research in these areas, based on the high level of consideration of workers in knowledge management and sustainability literature, as well as in literature in the areas of ergonomics and sociology.

The work of bus drivers and their contribution to excellence in public transportation

The article is the result of a survey aimed at analyzing the work of bus drivers for a collective urban transportation company that is considered a benchmark. The research sought to understand how the company could maintain a policy capable of reconciling the quality of public transportation with working conditions that are compatible with the professional development, comfort and health of the workers. The ergonomic work analysis methodology was adopted as a guide. The results show that one of the pillars of excellence achieved by this company is the quality of the work performed by their drivers, which is guided by the organizational values that permeate the organization. The driver plays a role in regulating the system by serving the population and providing mobility. Their activity is controlled by a series of interdependent variables, such as the demands for conducting the vehicle and the relationship with others.

Exploring work-related issues on corporate sustainability

BACKGROUND In a research project about work-related issues and corporate sustainability conducted in Brazil, the goal was to better understand how work-related issues were addressed in the corporate context. Particularly, there are some specific initiatives that serve as guides to organizational decisions, which make their performance indicators for the context of corporate sustainability. OBJECTIVE 1) To explore the presence of work-related issues and their origins in corporate sustainability approach, analyzing a) corporate disclosures; b) sustainability guidelines that are identified as relevant in corporate disclosures; c) documents that are related to sustainable development and also identified as key-documents for these guidelines and initiatives. 2) To present the activity-centered ergonomics and psychodynamics of work contributions to work-related issues in a corporate sustainability approach. METHODS An exploratory study based on multiple sources of evidence that were performed from 2012 to 2013, including interviews with companies that engaged in corporate sustainability and document analysis using the content analysis approach. RESULTS Work-related issues have been presented since the earliest sustainable development documents. It is feasible to construct an empirical framework for work-related issues and corporate sustainability approaches. CONCLUSIONS 1) Although some authors argue that corporate sustainability has its roots based only on the environmental dimension, there is strong empirical evidence showing that social dimension aspects such as work-related issues have been present since the beginning. 2) Some indicators should be redesigned to more precisely translate the reality of some workplaces, particularly those indicators related to organizational design and mental health.

Building Sustainable Organisations: Contributions of Activity-Centred Ergonomics and the Psychodynamics of Work

Different actors working on organisations aligned with sustainability take into account aspects pertaining to environmental, economic, and social dimensions. This implies a complex system-of-systems approach that particularly involves social aspects. In this sense, according to both activity-centred ergonomics and the psychodynamics of work point of view, work activity can be interpreted in terms of human action, from the standpoint of sustainability for the individual as well as for collective life inside and outside the companies. This means work activity should be highlighted as vital not only for quality and productivity but also to workers themselves, including, ultimately, the development of society and culture. However, even organisations that claim to regard work activity as something that should be designed to provide meaning and purpose that helps to build both individuals’ mental health and identity, these elements are still poorly developed in practice, at least in Brazilian organisations where it has been deeply studied. Therefore, this chapter discusses how corporate actors perceived and implemented relevant issues related to internal social corporate sustainability (e.g. worker’s health) and also the relationships between work activity and corporate sustainability. Lastly, the proposal aims to understand how ideas and principles of activity-centred ergonomics and the psychodynamics of work can contribute to the development of more sustainable organisations.

Effects of an Industrial Logic Implemented in Service Relation: The Case of Drivers of Ambulances of a Brazilian University Hospital

The transportation of patients by ambulance is part of the services offered by a well-known Brazilian University Hospital. Ambulance service is extremely important as it connects different institutes involved in the global patient care. However, the increase in the complaints by nurses of irritability and aggressiveness of drivers after a strategic change in the organizational structure of the hospital attracted the attention of the research team. Based on ergonomic work analysis (EWA), the data were obtained through observation and interview with managers, leaders and drivers of the transportation sector of the hospital. The main results found were: (1) the key measurement of drivers’ work is time. However, time is a measure which is not manageable by drivers—as it doesn’t consider all variabilities that occur during their work. Moreover, this measurement also doesn’t consider the real content of their work, (2) prescribed work of drivers only considers the task of driving an ambulance, whilst their real work includes taking care of the patient as well, (3) drivers are not recognized as health professionals despite working with nurses and physicians in the care of patients.

Involvement and emancipation of the worker. Action research in a university hospital

The present action research article is linked to an ergonomics project in a university hospital. The authors proposal is to focus action on the effective worker involvement required for the creation of spaces/mechanisms within organizations where people can enhance cooperation and deliberation on matters relating to work. For this purpose, a committee was introduced to assist in finding problems and solutions directly in work situations, so that workers could experience relative autonomy allowing them to develop procedures and choose tools appropriate to their own real needs. Based on this organizational implementation and on subsequent interviews, the practical results are analyzed and related to employee involvement. One can conclude that workers in all areas of the organization can be active elements for improving working conditions and productivity in companies.