Proposal of a systemic approach model in risk situations in the steel company

The potentially dangerous environment such as steel industry and civil construction still generates serious accidents, sometimes with fatal victims. This research aimed to present a model of a systemic approach to risk situations in the steel industry, and to test it in two sites of a large steel industry in Brazil. The Theory of Social Representation was used as the center of the proposed model, which integrates the risk approaches, mechanistic, cultural, social and psychological. Quantitative and qualitative surveys were carried out in the two steel sites, through semi-structured interviews with leaders and the application of questionnaires to workers in the operational area. In total, 23 interviews were conducted with leaders and 260 questionnaires were collected from workers in the operational and maintenance areas of the units located in the South and Southeast of the country. The results obtained, through the application of the proposed model, point to the existence of social representations and also of scientific knowledge aligned with the mechanistic approach adopted by the company. For employees that participate in the research, risk is socially represented as the danger itself, as well as total risk control is attributed internally to individuals. For the performance of potentially dangerous routine activities, the total control of the activity is in the attitudes of the workers involved, so accidents do not occur. There is no understanding that risk cannot be fully controlled by them, as there are external factors that are not controlled. It was found that at times production takes priority over safety. In these moments, social representations are fundamental to the feeling of safety necessary to carry out the activity. Violations of rules and procedures defined by the company are justified in order to meet production goals or because they are considered exaggerated or unworkable. The findings obtained through the application of the proposed model for a systemic approach in the steel industry proved to contribute to understand workers' behavior in potentially dangerous situations. Critical reflections can be made by managers of the organizations in order to adapt practices and processes aimed at harmonizing safety and production process, without the need to prioritize, even if only at certain times, production rather than people's safety.