Comportamento informacional dos servidores técnicos administrativos acerca do uso e manutenção de extintores de princípios de incêndio em uma universidade pública

Abstract

Concerns about risk prevention and the promotion of safe environments, central themes in the field of Occupational Safety, have been progressively incorporated into the mission and objectives of modern organizations. Within federal universities, the dissemination of information is essential to creating a safe environment for the academic community, and it is up to managers to ensure that everyone is aware of best practices and prepared to act appropriately in emergency situations. In this sense, the analysis of information behavior is an important aspect for a better understanding of how the challenges inherent to safety are faced in Brazilian public higher education institutions. Information behavior is related to the various ways in which individuals interact with information, indicating how they appropriate, process and use it when necessary. Thus, this research aimed to analyze the information behavior of employees regarding occupational safety, focusing specifically on preventive practices concerning the maintenance of one of the main protective equipment, fire extinguishers, within the Center for Exact and Earth Sciences (CCET) of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. The research was characterized as a descriptive study in which the case study was adopted as a technical procedure and had as participants the technical-administrative staff of the CCET - UFRN who perform activities related to safety management. Data collection was carried out through documentary analysis, observation and application of a questionnaire with closed and open questions based on the Wilson model. The results indicate that most of the employees have data on the safety and handling of fire extinguishers. However, there are numerous needs that encourage the search for more information on how to act, with informational behavior characterized by the use of strategies based on the analysis of the context, risks, type of fire and characteristics of the extinguishers available from the consultation of sources such as the internet and institutional channels, as well as the support of close colleagues. As a product of this research, it is proposed to develop a technological device, the prototype of an application for the management of fire extinguishers, to be used as a tool in the optimization of the safety management process in work contexts.