Professional knowledge and MSD prevention: portrait of their transmission during training and the intervention perspective

Abstract

Perspectives interdisciplinaires sur le travail et la santé 11-2 | 2009 2e conférence du Groupe de recherche francophone sur les troubles musculo-squelettiques (TMS) Savoirs professionnels et prévention des TMS : portrait de leur transmission durant la formation et perspectives d'intervention Professional knowledge and MSD prevention: portrait of their transmission during training and the intervention perspective Saberes profesionales y prevención de las LMS : un retrato de su transmisión durante la formación y perspectivas de intervención

Knowledge Transmission in Light of Recent Transformations in the Workplace

“…In our case studies, we found that the workload is increasingly heavy due to various factors, including the variability of the work, frequent changes within the organizations, budget constraints, and a shortage of qualified workers. Again, it must be emphasized that knowledge transmission and occupational learning are processes that take time (de Bruycker, 2007;Chassaing, 2006;Lave, 1991): time for more experienced workers and new workers to establish relations; time to explain, discuss, observe, and compare viewpoints; and time for new workers to understand the work environment, have their own experiences, gradually assimilate the experiential knowledge that has been passed on to them, and, lastly, develop their own ways of doing things (Vézina et al, 2003;Ouellet and Vézina, 2009). Yet, we observed that all the occupations in our case studies were facing a marked intensification of work.…”

“…Researchers also note that workers have great difficulty verbalizing this knowledge because they are so closely tied to the work activities and context, and have been so completely integrated into them for a long time (Klack and Marquette, 2008;Ouellet and Vézina, 2009;Vézina et al, 1999;Tremblay, 2007). In this context, the transmission of experiential knowledge becomes a strategic issue for organizations.…”

“…Even when occupational training is provided in the workplace and when a formal orientation and integration process is in place for new workers, such measures do not suffice (Chassaing, 2006;Gaudart, Delgoulet and Chassaing, 2008;Lave, 1996;Ouellet and Vézina, 2009). Experiential knowledge and skills are primarily developed by having to deal with concrete work situations, a process that varies in length depending on the occupation, and continues until all facets of the work have been mastered.…”

“…and knowledge of human and strategic relations (regulation of work teams, work-safety attitudes and behaviours, power relationships and informal rules, values and social representations, etc. ), but also the organizational culture and occupational values may be passed on from experienced workers to new workers in the workplace (Ledoux, Cloutier and Lefevbre, 2007;Lefebvre, Charland and Lecompte, 2000;Ouellet and Vézina, 2009;Raoult, Delay and Marchand, 2006). The transmission of experiential knowledge and skills is part of a dynamic process of knowledge transformation (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995).…”

Workplace Training: How Context Impacts on Instructors’ Activities

“…Furthermore, a worker does not consider work conditions separately, but rather in relation to each other so that he may develop strategies that allow him to meet work related constraints and protect himself from risks (Denis et al, 2007;Chassaing, 2006;Chatigny, 2001;Gaudart, 1996). In Ouellet and Vézina (2009) for example, deboning operators explained that, as a piece of meat is coming toward their workspace, they choose a given technique and estimate the time required while considering several determinants: 1) the right or left side of the piece of meat (and of the animal); 2) the quality of the work already accomplished (length of the shank, fat removal quality); 3) the direction of the piece of meat with respect to the hand holding the tool; 4) the position of the piece on the conveyor belt; 5) the position of colleagues before and after on the line; and 6) the cutting quality of the knife.…”