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Effect of Creative Thinking on OHS
Committees Dr John F. Culvenor |
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Abstract: |
An
important principle of Australian occupational health and safety (OHS) law is
that workers participate in the management of health and safety via OHS
committees and representatives. A
further principle is that workplaces engage in problem-solving processes
according to a hierarchy of hazard control - rather than simply following
prescriptive rules. The
OHS committee is therefore a problem-solving forum,
however the benefits of problem-solving or creative thinking techniques
within committees have not been widely explored. To test the effect, two OHS committees from
two construction companies were trained in a combination of creative thinking
and risk control concepts. Subjects
were tested on their ability to generate solutions and to rank
solutions. They were compared with
untrained subjects from two further committees. The results showed that the trained
subjects generated more solutions and when ranking solutions, showed a
greater preference for solutions higher on the hierarchy of controls. |
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Full Reference: |
Ayers,
G.F. & Culvenor, J.F. 2002, 'Effect of Creative Thinking on OHS
Committees’, Journal of Occupational Health and Safety - Australia and New
Zealand, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 239-246. |
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