2019 HPRCT Conference

The concept of visual literacy has been around for decades, and has typically been used in developing better teaching and learning techniques in the classroom. Recently however, visual literacy has been gaining traction in the workplace as a skill and tool to better identify occupational hazards that could lead to safety incidents. This presentation will provide background and preliminary results of a new research collaboration between the Campbell Institute and the Toledo Museum of Art to demonstrate how visual literacy relates to occupational safety.   The argument we will present is relatively straight-forward – being more visually literate allows individuals to perceive and understand more about their work environment, enabling them to see hazards and imagine the potential consequences that can result from those hazards. Having this heightened ability enables workers to be proactive about their work environment and take measures to mitigate hazards before they can cause an incident.  Learning Outcomes:

(1) Understand previous outcomes of research in visual literacy.
(2) Understand how visual literacy has been applied to the field of occupational safety.