The Identification of the Competency Components Necessary for the Tasks of Workers’ Representatives in the Field of OSH to Support Their Selection and Development, as Well as to Assess Their Effectiveness

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I congratulate the authors for this work, which attempts to identify the competencies required of workers' representatives with responsibilities in the field of occupational safety and health.
With regard to the content of the paper, I recommend that the authors improve/detail certain aspects, namely:
1. updating the bibliographical references, many of which are more than five years old;
2. specifying in the content of the paper the fields of activity in which the respondents work, as this may influence the responses received;
3. presenting in the manuscript how workers' representatives in the field of occupational safety and health in other countries acquire the necessary knowledge.

Author Response

Comments 1: updating the bibliographical references, many of which are more than five years old;

Response 1: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight, comments, and constructive criticism of our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. While I acknowledge that some sources are more than five years old, they have been selected for their continued relevance, foundational value, and contribution to the theoretical and methodological framework of this research. Despite our belief that the current bibliography provides a balanced and solid foundation for the study, we have supplemented it with references published within the past five years. 16, 27

Comments 2: specifying in the content of the paper the fields of activity in which the respondents work, as this may influence the responses received;

Response 2: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. We have added the following text: (All of them were employed either as employees or contractors by employers. The distribution by sector was as follows: 6 participants from manufacturing, 4 from trade and motor vehicle repair, 3 from public administration, defense, and compulsory social security, 6 from electricity, gas, steam supply, and air conditioning, 1 from professional, scientific, and technical activities, 3 from human health and social work activities, 5 from construction, 3 from transportation and storage, and 1 from the field of education)

Comments 3: presenting in the manuscript how workers' representatives in the field of occupational safety and health in other countries acquire the necessary knowledge.

Response 3: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. While we acknowledge that including an overview of the training systems for workers' representatives in occupational safety and health across European Union member states would enrich the manuscript, our current research is limited to the Hungarian context. In the future, we certainly intend to expand the scope to cover all EU countries; however, due to time constraints at this stage, we are unable to do so.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

You have conducted a study on the evaluation of the unique competencies of workers' representatives in the field of occupational safety and health. I think it is an important factor in improving work systems and efficiency. Therefore, I think this study is included in the content category that can be published in this journal. However, the following revisions and supplements are required for publication of the paper.

. It would be better to revise the topic so that the purpose of this study can be well contained. The topics are scattered, so readability is poor.

. In the abstract, please revise it so that it can be developed into the core content with the structure of objective, method, result, and conclusion. The research background takes up a lot of space. Please clearly present the purpose of the study in the abstract.

. First of all, the paper has a well-structured framework of introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and conclusions. However, the introduction is very long. In particular, the contents corresponding to 1.1. to 1.3. explain the conceptual part, so please add a framework between the introduction and materials and methods and present these contents.

. Also, in the materials and methods section, please describe the design of this study.

. The way the table is displayed in the results looks like a report. Please present the core and important messages based on statistical research methodology.

 

Author Response

Comments 1: It would be better to revise the topic so that the purpose of this study can be well contained. The topics are scattered, so readability is poor.

Response 1: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight, comments, and constructive criticism of our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. The current format was intentionally designed to clearly communicate key findings in a structured and accessible way. We believe the current title provides a reflects the core messages derived from the statistical analysis.

Comments 2: In the abstract, please revise it so that it can be developed into the core content with the structure of objective, method, result, and conclusion. The research background takes up a lot of space. Please clearly present the purpose of the study in the abstract.

Response 2: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. We have added the following text: The main objective of the study is to identify the competencies and their components required for workers' representatives in the field of occupational safety and health, by following the steps of the DACUM method with the assistance of OSH professionals. First, tasks were identified through semi-structured interviews conducted with eight occupational safety experts. In the second step, a focus group consisting of 34 OSH professionals (2 invited guests and 32 volunteers) determined the competencies and their components necessary to perform those tasks. Finally, the results were validated through an online questionnaire 

sent to the 32 volunteer participants of the focus group, from which 11 responses (34%) were received.

The research categorized the competencies into three groups: core competencies (occupational safety and professional knowledge) and distinguishing competencies (per-sonal attributes). Within occupational safety knowledge, 10 components were defined; for professional expertise, 7 components; and for personal attributes, 16 components. Based on the results, it was confirmed that all participants of the tripartite system have an important role in the training and development of workers’ representatives in the field of occupational safety and health.

Comments 3: First of all, the paper has a well-structured framework of introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, and conclusions. However, the introduction is very long. In particular, the contents corresponding to 1.1. to 1.3. explain the conceptual part, so please add a framework between the introduction and materials and methods and present these contents.

Response 3: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. We have added the following text: 2. Workers’ representative in the field of OSH, OSH representative, 3. DACUM (Developing A Curriculum) process, 4. Fundamental and distinctive competencies

Comments 4: Also, in the materials and methods section, please describe the design of this study.

Response 4: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. We have added the following text: In the first phase (The first two steps of the DACUM process) of the current research, the participants were selected based on their in-depth knowledge of the role of workers' 

representatives in the field of occupational safety and health.

The participants thoroughly studied the characteristics, requirements, and responsibilities of the role of workers' representatives in the field of occupational safety and health.

In the second phase (The third step of the DACUM process) the identified soft skills and abilities were summarized in a table as part of the competencies.

At this stage, the focus group compiled a list of the skills and knowledge required to fulfill the identified occupational roles through collaborative group work.

Comments 5: The way the table is displayed in the results looks like a report. Please present the core and important messages based on statistical research methodology.

Response 5: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. In presenting the results, the tables were replaced with statistical charts.

We have added the following text:

Figure 2. Components of distinguishing competencies expected by OSH professionals for work-ers’ representatives in the field of OSH, [7]

Figure 3. The categorization of the said abilities according to the categories selected by AI, source: editing by the authors

Figure 4. The components of the fundamental competence: Occupational safety knowledge of workers' representatives in the field of OSH, as determined by the focus group, and the 

number of votes cast in the questionnaire survey, source: editing by the authors

Figure 5. The components of the fundamental competence: Professional knowledge of workers' representatives in the field of OSH, as determined by the focus group, and the number of votes cast in the questionnaire survey, source: editing by the authors

Figure 6. The components of the distinctive competence: Traits of workers' representatives in the field of OSH, as determined by the focus group, and the number of votes cast in the questionnaire survey, source: editing by the authors

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper describes a survey of employers to identify traits in OSH representatives.  The outcomes are not surprising, and would not surprise any OSH leader.

This list of traits is provided as: (Good communication, Good problem solving, Diplomatic sense, Good technical sense, Assertive communication, Quick situational awareness, Good conflict management, Adherence to rules, Leadership skills, Taking responsibility, Good interpersonal skills, Confidence, Empathy, Peace of mind, Thoroughness, Openness))

 

The list can be made shorter, through some suitable reflection.  For example - what is the difference between Good Communication and Assertive Communication?  or perhaps Diplomatic Sense and Good conflict management?  Would suggest that the list would be better as Communication (with descriptors), Leadership (descriptors), Problem Resolution (identification of the problem boundaries, the stakeholders, and the constraints - and working with the stakeholders).

Similarly, in lines 305 and 307 - what is the difference between "Organization structure of the employer" and "hierarchical structure of the employer".?  Surely - they are the same thing.

Finally - you mention "Adherence to Rules".  But - if we follow the ISO 45,001 approach - the employer would have policies and they would have procedures.  One doesn't follow rules - one follows the procedure, and when there is an issue, one uses an MOC approach for the temporary release from the procedure.

A different question comes from the paragraph 331- 335.  You note that an employer could use an MBTI assessment to examine other hard to assess competencies.  But - MBTI is a personality type assessment.  If the MBTI assessment is used for a decision making process - it follows that the organization has decided which personality type is preferred.  But - personality type is not a competency - and one could argue that many OSH fail because they have the wrong personality types involved.

I recognize that this article is part of a study that is continuing.  OK - but - the current submission should be made more succinct.  And - it think the submission needs some reflection as well.

Author Response

Comments 1: The list can be made shorter, through some suitable reflection.  For example - what is the difference between Good Communication and Assertive Communication?  or perhaps Diplomatic Sense and Good conflict management?  Would suggest that the list would be better as Communication (with descriptors), Leadership (descriptors), Problem Resolution (identification of the problem boundaries, the stakeholders, and the constraints - and working with the stakeholders).

Response 1: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. For components with nearly identical meanings, we proposed their consolidation. We have added the following text:

Figure 7. The modified components of the fundamental competence: Professional knowledge of workers' representatives in the field of OSH, source: editing by the authors

Comments 2: Similarly, in lines 305 and 307 - what is the difference between "Organization structure of the employer" and "hierarchical structure of the employer".?  Surely - they are the same thing.

Response 2: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. It was addressed in the previous comment. We have added the following text:

Figure 8. The modified components of the distinctive competence: Traits of workers' representa-tives in the field of OSH, source: editing by the authors

Comments 3: Finally - you mention "Adherence to Rules".  But - if we follow the ISO 45,001 approach - the employer would have policies and they would have procedures.  One doesn't follow rules - one follows the procedure, and when there is an issue, one uses an MOC approach for the temporary release from the procedure.

Response 3: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. We changed "Adherence to Rules" to “Compliance with OSH procedures (aligned with ISO 45001, including MOC practices)”

Comments 4: In accordance with the ISO 45001 framework, adherence refers not to informal rules but to formally documented procedures. Deviations should follow a structured Management of Change (MOC) process to ensure continued control of risks

Response 4: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. It was addressed in the previous comment.

Comments 5: A different question comes from the paragraph 331- 335.  You note that an employer could use an MBTI assessment to examine other hard to assess competencies.  But - MBTI is a personality type assessment.  If the MBTI assessment is used for a decision making process - it follows that the organization has decided which personality type is preferred.  But - personality type is not a competency - and one could argue that many OSH fail because they have the wrong personality types involved.

Response 5: Dear reviewer, thank you very much for your time and effort to give us valuable insight comments and constructive criticism on our research. We highly appreciate them, and we have done our best to improve on the manuscript based on your comments and suggestions. All changes in the manuscript have been highlighted in yellow. We have added the following text: Through the identified components of competencies, a candidate's suitability can already be assessed during the selection phase. In Hungary, occupational safety knowledge—considered a fundamental competency—can be acquired through man-datory basic and advanced training courses required for workers’ representatives in the field of occupational safety and health. For professional knowledge, it is advisable to examine the candidate’s prior education, professional background, and knowledge of the employer. However, this knowledge can still be acquired through employ-er-organized training. In contrast, personality traits—which are the components of distinguishing competencies and are generally difficult to develop—should be assessed in advance. A wide range of paid and free personality tests are available for this purpose (e.g., DISC, MBTI, Big Five, Thomas-Kilmann test, etc.).

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thanks for your efforts!

Finally, please double-check for typos and the paper's regulations.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The paper is better than it was.  There has been much work done in understanding worker representatives and training in North America.  Perhaps - this could become a focus for the next piece of work