Unitizing worker expertise and maximizing the brain reward centers
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
People are experts when it comes to the work they do; unfortunately their expertise is not utilized as frequently as it could be. More opportunities need to be provided that allow people to participate in the design of their work including: accident investigations, job planning, and process improvements. Many employers use some form of job hazard analysis process to identify and document hazards and controls, but the front line worker is rarely involved. This presentation will show the core principles supporting employee involvement, provide examples where workers had brilliant ideas but no one listened, and provide examples where workers were given the opportunity to use their expertise to improve occupational safety. According to Abraham Maslow's Hierarch of Needs model, one essential human need is to be innovative and solve problems. Advances in brain science have proven, through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, the brain reward pathway is activated when people are recognized for their intellectual contributions. As people contribute their expertise to improve occupational safety more frequently they will feel a sense of gratification. In addition, safety professionals will have more time to spend on strategic planning of emerging occupational safety issues. One effect of the current global recession is that SH&E professionals are asked to do more with less. Therefore, to be successful it is essential that SH&E professionals incorporate worker expertise in job planning. This will be illustrated in the presentation through an example where a worker had the answer to a difficult decision on appropriate personal protective equipment for a job but no one asked the worker for his idea during the job planning phase. Fortunately the worker was eventually consulted and his recommendation for the appropriate personal protective equipment for the job was implemented before work began. The goal of this presentation is to expand the awareness and knowledge of SH&E professionals on the benefits and opportunities for leveraging brain science. This will include an overview of the components of the brain reward pathway and the biological mechanisms that make workers feel a sense of gratification when they contribute their ideas toward improving occupational safety. On-the-job examples where it is hypothesized that the brain reward pathway was activated in workers will be provided. Finally, the presentation will include a model illustrating the importance of empowering workers to participate in occupational safety programs. SH&E professionals can use this model to maintain a robust safety and health program with limited resources. The model will also help SH&E professionals prepare for challenges in the SH&E fields by showing them how to allocate more time for strategic planning of emerging issues. Many recent best selling business books such as Wikinomics, Crowdsourcing, and Sway, illustrate how the benefit of harnessing the collective knowledge of employees is a key to company success. Companies like Google and Pixar have mastered the ability to capture empFoyee knowledge in terms of technology. Why should occupational safety be any different? Workers know how to improve safety in their workplace. SH&E professionals can harness this collective safety knowledge just as top companies do with technology, and workers will feel grateful for contributing.
- Research Organization:
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC52-06NA25396
- OSTI ID:
- 1019551
- Report Number(s):
- LA-UR-10-02212; LA-UR-10-2212; TRN: US201115%%212
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: American society of safety engineers safety exposition ; June 15, 2010 ; Baltimore, MD
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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