Change Laboratory for developing the health at work

Abstract

The objective of this project is to develop, test and put into practice a participatory methodology called Change Laboratory (CL) as a tool for the creation and implementation of technologies and sustainable innovations. The particular focus of the use of this methodology is the production processes for the purpose of preventing accidents and other harms at work. For this purpose it is necessary to understand and to test methodologies that combine diagnostics with transformation of work environments that include risks or anomalies. The Change Laboratory, based on Activity Theory, was developed in the 1990s by researchers and professionals at the University of Helsinki, Finland. The methodology offers to participants opportunities to analyze the contradictions that are the sources of crises and problems in the work activity in question, such as accidents or diseases of the workers. The project aims at financing a grant for the Visiting Researcher (for a period of 3-4 months) for supporting the development of the Theme 1 in the Thematic Research Project, coordinated by us, called " Work Accident, from Work Analysis to Social Construction of Changes" - FAPESP (2012/04721-1), approved in March 2013 with duration until March 2018. The researcher will help in the training and evaluation of the interventionist research activities in the following production activities: a) the production chain of jewelry in Limeira - SP, to eliminate the outsourcing of production measures in homes, situation linked with child labor with risks of accidents and harms to this population, besides discharge of heavy metals and other chemicals in the domestic draining system; b) inspection of worker health in CEREST Piracicaba for the purpose of adjusting this activity to the complexities of new work situations caused by new forms of production management and linked with new technologies of the firms in the region; c) health and safety management in an industrial enterprise for preventing accidents and other harms for workers. Expected results: Support in systematization and reflection on the intervention processes and their achieved learning; training of researchers for better mastery of the methodology; discussion and diffusion of the intervention results in international journals. (AU)