Regulação da carga de trabalho e autonomia: um estudo da prática dos eletricistas de manutenção de redes de distribuição

Abstract

Since the 1960’s, studies related to work organization and psychosocial factors at work have intensified strongly due to technological innovations and production systems. Inserted in this context, the company Energy invests in Research and Development (R&D) projects interested in advancing its techniques and modernizing its procedures to become a reference company in the field of power generation, transmission and distribution. Looking at one of these projects, this study intends to investigate the empirical processes of ergonomic practice at work, answering the question: What is behind the self-regulation of the performing electricians in transmission and distribution line towers? This question was motivated by concerns generated in the team of electricians performing the Group of Internal Personnel of Assembly and Installation of Lines (PIMIL) with regard to the inevitability of the use of physical strength and manual work. PIMIL is recognized for the execution of high-risk services and is the most specialized team in the entire state of Minas Gerais. Our hypothesis considers that the concerns are based on the inadequate of work organization of the most experienced electricians in relation to the younger electricians. The experiences of these workers are different, but as experienced electricians retired, the younger ones realized the need for changes in processes to save to reduce the physical and cognitive workload by evolving to modern solutions. For this reason, our goal is to observe, investigate and analyze the factors that "steal" the energy of electricians to trace the most relevant situations, indicating those that could be treated. The methodologies of data collection and analysis used are the Grounded Theory (GT), a theory based on empirical data, and the Ergonomic Analysis of Work (EAW), a study of ergonomic practices that considers the point of view of the participants for the transformation of the work. The results show us that the causal network that “theft” electricians’s energy arose from organizational factors, passing through factors of the work environment and reaching the self-regulations of electricians created to meet the demands of work effectively, efficiently and safely. Finally, we conclude that the procedures should be reviewed by the organization to the point of considering that the technology, resulting from a study by engineering projects for the design, would be able to save the body energy of electricians requiring less physical effort.