Occupational Safety & Ergonomics training of Future Industrial Engineers: a Project-Based Learning Approach

Abstract

As industries push for continuous technological innovation, the need to balance work demands and human capabilities and to ensure the workers’ safety is now more pressing than ever. Therefore, the training of future industrial engineers must promote the development of different skills, including in the Occupational Safety & Ergonomics (OS&E) domain. Based on this assumption, Project-Based Learning (PjBL) is an active learning methodology where students develop projects in teams as a means of building effective professional skills and knowledge. The current study aims at evaluating the impact of PjBL in effective learning on OS&E, based on the participants’ perceptions. PjBL has been applied in the 7th semester of the Integrated MSc in Industrial Engineering and Management at a Portuguese University. In the last years, different companies in the northern region of Portugal have participated in this PjBL, welcoming the students to develop the projects. The current study included a documental analysis that was also developed, considering the final technical reports developed by the students during a scholar semester. In addition, a questionnaire for data collection was developed and applied to the participants. The sample (n = 64) included university students who participated in the referred PjBL, their teachers, and the supervisors of the companies where the Project was developed. Globally, the participants' perceptions reveal that the PjBL participants attribute a positive evaluation to this learning methodology, concerning the development of technical (on OS&E) and transversal skills.