BOONE, N.C. — At Appalachian State University, the Human Resources (HR) Science Research Team — a group comprising faculty members and graduate students in Appalachian’s Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Human Resource Management (IOHRM) program — is exploring how the use of data analytics could factor in to increased workplace safety for companies and their employees.
The team’s multiyear data analytics project with Eastman Chemical Co., a chemicals, fibers and plastics manufacturer located in Kingsport, Tennessee, began in fall 2018, when Dr. Shawn Bergman, professor in Appalachian’s Dr. Wiley F. Smith Department of Psychology, was awarded $37,000 in funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for the study. Bergman has received an additional $37,000 in funding from NIOSH for the second year of the study in 2019–20.