Search Results (10)

The quality of education is significantly influenced by occupational health and safety (OHS) measures. To this end, a safety incident at a university could have far-reaching negative effects on facilitating teaching and learning for both lecturers and students. Although OHS standards are widely established in numerous industries, they are often overlooked in the academic setting. It is for this reason that, to date, research gap exists in OHS systems in academic settings. While universities primarily focus on education, they also pose significant health and safety risks to staff and students due to their design and setup. Effective implementation of an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) within universities can mitigate these risks. However, there is a notable lack of research focusing on the efficiency of OHSMS in South African universities. This study, therefore, aimed to fill this gap by assessing the efficiency of the OHSMS at a South African university. Data were collected using in-depth interviews, observations, and document analysis qualitative research methods. Data analysis was carried out using the thematic analysis approach. Inductive logic was used in the interpretation of the current study results. This study highlights that while there is strong awareness of the OHS Act 85 of 1993 (>90%) among university staff, significant gaps exist in the communication and enforcement (5%) of OHS policy, alongside the poor communication of hazards and risks (30%). Amongst other challenges are infrastructure maintenance (>35%), as well as the lack of standard operation procedures (>5%). To address some of these setbacks, the current study recommends enhancing policy communication, conducting regular hazard assessments, increasing training participation, and improving documentation practices. These steps aim to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the university’s OHSMS, ensuring a safer environment for all stakeholders. Full article

With the burgeoning landscape of new enterprises and business paradigms, industrial and trade enterprises are facing escalating pressure to ensure operational safety. Conventional safety management mechanisms have proven to be inadequate for adapting to the dynamic market demands and intricacies of modern production environments. To improve safety management practices, this study integrates complex network theory to dissect the causal chains underlying accidents in industry and trade enterprises. A network model is established to elucidate the factors contributing to accidents and leverage datasets from safety inspections to construct a repository of latent safety risks. To address deficiencies in extant safety frameworks, a comprehensive safety management evaluation system is formulated, comprising ten primary evaluation indices and 30 secondary metrics. Based on the established frameworks, such as ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS), standardized safety production protocols, and risk hierarchical management and control systems and hidden hazard identification and treatment systems (dual prevention systems), a holistic safety management system (SMS) is synthesized on the basis of system-theoretic accident model and process (STAMP) theory. This systematic approach culminates in a robust framework tailored to modern industrial and trade enterprises, fostering flexibility and efficacy in safety management capabilities. This case analysis underscores the model’s ability to enhance its safety management proficiency, thereby amplifying its relevance in fortifying enterprise operations and fostering sustainable growth. This study represents a pivotal step toward augmenting safety management capacities within the industrial and trade enterprises to safeguard enterprise vitality and advance sustainable business practices. Full article

Although notable efforts have been made in the past to improve Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), the overall performance has not significantly improved as high-level injuries, risks, and fatalities continue to occur. Earlier studies have shown that implementing an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) ensures a reduction in accidents on site, which is, however, not easy due to the many challenges arising during its implementation. The research objectives were to identify, in order of importance, factors that affect the implementation of an OHSMS on construction sites and to analyse how an OHSMS can be implemented in the construction industry of the Western Cape, South Africa, using the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) method. The research questionnaire obtained online opinions from construction professionals. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 27.0. The data were interpreted through Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, frequencies, descriptive statistics, and a multi-regression analysis. A multi-regression test was conducted to determine the relationship between internal and external factors and the implementation of an OHSMS, including the use of the PDCA method. The findings reveal that both internal and external factors affected the implementation of the OHSMS. The most important internal factors were risk control strategies, senior management commitment, and support and communication channels. The most common external factors were pressure from clients on project delivery, company reputation, OHS enforcement, and government legislation. A framework was developed to outline how an OHSMS can be implemented using the PDCA approach based on the findings from this study. The framework can be adopted by the construction industry to improve effectiveness when implementing their OHSMS. Full article

Accidents are more prevalent in the construction industry compared to other economic sectors. Therefore, understanding the benefits of occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMSs) in terms of their sustainable implementation, management and performance, as well as the awareness of OHMSs and barriers to their implementation, are important for improving OHSMSs in the sustainability of the construction industry. Although there is considerable research on OHSMSs, further assessments are needed concerning other aspects of OHSMSs, particularly the benefits of OHSMSs. Thus, this review paper summarises the empirical state of the art of OHSMS activities. Scopus, Web of Science and other databases were searched using predefined standards. The query was limited to articles published from 1999 to 2023. Consequently, one hundred and four articles were selected and analysed. These articles present analyses of OHSMSs and their potential benefits concerning the implementation of OHSMSs and management, performance, awareness, and barriers in relation to OHSMSs. The results reveal that 12.50% of the reviewed studies assessed the implementation of OHSMSs in the construction industry, and 25.96% studied the management of OHSMSs. Analyses of the performance of OHSMSs in the construction industry accounted for 8.65%, analyses of the awareness of OHSMSs accounted for 4.81%, model-related analyses accounted for 13.46%, studies on the significance/benefits of OHSMSs accounted for 3.85%, studies on the barriers/challenges associated with OHSMSs accounted for 5.77%, analyses on the safety indicators of OHSMSs accounted for 2.88% and other types of studies accounted for 20.19%. This study further reveals that the implementation of OHSMSs is characterised by a dearth of proper communication, the non-utilisation of personal protective equipment (PPE), wrong postures and work activities, a dearth of training, physiological factors including burnout and stress, and a dearth of safety culture and orientation; in addition, matters relating to compliance with effective laws are significant safety challenges in the construction industry. However, the rationality for evaluating the benefits of OHSMSs, comprising their implementation, management and performance, as well as awareness of and barriers to OHSMSs, is challenging to authenticate because appropriate field, survey, organisational and clinical data concerning incident occurrences in the construction industry are lacking for comprehensive evaluations. Thus, this novel study presents our effort to narrow this gap by establishing a framework for increasing our understanding of the benefits of implementing OHSMSs and accident reduction. Full article

This paper proposes a workflow so that engineering scholars can learn to ask effective questions to establish systems of consultation to workers following the indications of the international standard ISO 45001 “Occupational health and safety management systems” (Chapter 5.1) in the context of a medium-size developer and construction company. The methodology has been specifically designed to assess whether it is possible for students to acquire skills in ISO 45001 by developing an innovative method for their own employee questionnaires, and this new standard requires professionals who know how to apply the fundamentals in an industrial context. An experiment with 31 mechanical engineering students was carried out. The new methodology was applied based on three learning levels: large group, working group, and individual student. Different research instruments have been applied to evaluate how they perceive the activity with respect to the usefulness for learning and adaptation to reality. It has also tried to evaluate the subjective sensation during the development of the activity: feelings of happiness, self-confidence, and satisfaction of the scholars. The results show that students considered the activity as interesting, useful for learning, and adapted to reality, posing an important challenge that may have served to improve intrinsic motivation in the learning of management systems. Full article

Protecting labor safety and health and actively carrying out occupational safety and health management (OSHM) is a common need worldwide, and it is also one of the important efforts of Chinese enterprises under the background of promoting the implementation of the Healthy China strategy. Based on in-depth thinking on the current stage of OHSM, this study incorporated “management framework, management process, management effectiveness” (FPE) into an integrated framework and constructed an FPE evaluation system for enterprise OHSM. This study innovatively collected and refined FPE information from the perspective of information disclosure and used the combined weight cloud model to evaluate the occupational health and safety management level (OHSML) of 69 listed companies in China’s energy industry from 2009–2019. The results showed the following. (1) The OHSML of most listed companies in China’s energy industry was still at a low-end level. Among the companies that have issued relevant information reports, only 5.58% (S = 30) of the sample companies’ OHSML were at an acceptable level (Level IV) or declarable level (Level V). The OHSML comprehensive evaluation level of 92.56% (S = 498) of the sample companies was between the transitional level (Level III) and the improved level (Level II). (2) During 2009–2019, although the annual OHSML of listed companies in China’s energy industry showed an upward trend, the growth rate was low, and even the OHSML of some listed companies in the energy industry showed the characteristics of reduced fluctuations. (3) From the perspective of the PFT three-dimensional subsystem level of OHSM, the evaluation level of the governance framework subsystem was the highest, whereas the evaluation level of the management process subsystem and the management effectiveness subsystem were relatively low. Finally, according to the relevant results, some suggestions were proposed to improve the OHSML of listed companies in China’s energy industry. These findings can provide guidance for companies to improve their OSHM performance. Full article

Many organizations around the world recognize the complementarity of public and environmental health and focus their attention on the effective management of both health and environmental risks. For this purpose, they often use the international standards ISO 14001 and ISO 45001. However, when a company intends to implement multiple standards simultaneously, the challenge of overlapping increases. Therefore, the objective of article is to analyze the requirements and documented information of two management system standards: environmental management systems (EMS), according to ISO 14001, and occupational health and safety management systems (OH&S), according to ISO 45001. A combination of content analysis and clustering methods was used to conduct the research. Visualization of the interrelationships between the requirements of the standards was done using TouchGraph Navigator. The outputs of the analysis can serve managers in the integrated implementation of these management systems as well as auditors during the review and check process when formulating recommendations for the improvement of management systems. Integrated implementation comes with multiple benefits, including reduced bureaucracy and management costs, a simplified certification process, improved internal management, and facilitation of continuous improvement. Full article

The preventive systems required to ensure workers are protected from occupational accidents and injuries dwell heavily on effective occupational health and safety management (OHSM) systems and practices. In this study, the concepts of the job demand-resource model (JD-R), self-determination theory (SDT), and perceived organizational support for safety (POSS) theory were adopted to develop a holistic conceptual model that seeks to unravel moderating and mediating effects of work motivation on the causal link between OHSM practices and work performance in the oil and gas sector. The study measured OHSM practices from six distinct safety dimensional perspectives and work performance using a two-dimensional distinct construct that assesses different aspects of positive work behaviours. A quantitative research approach through the structural equation modelling analysis technique was applied. A total of 1310 participants were selected across three major organizations that represent downstream, upstream, and middle stream of the Ghanaian oil and gas sector. Respondents were recruited through stratified, purposive, and convenient sampling techniques. The findings from the path estimate through the SEM analysis suggested that OHSM practices positively and significantly influenced both safety performance and task performance of employees. However, OHSM practices indicated a higher positive significant influence on task performance than safety performance. The significant influence of OHSM practices on both task and safety performance was significantly moderated and partially mediated by work motivation, while both task performance and safety performance were significantly determined by work motivation. In this study, the dimensions for assessing work performance extend the performance theories established in previous literature, whereas the integrated multifaceted OHSM practices employed diverge from the traditional individualistic approach by providing insights into more flexible managerial practices that are employee-centred and outcome-oriented. The findings from this study address the need for organizations to appreciate the importance of managing workers’ perception of OHSM practices as a motivational drive that induces work performance. Full article

Sustainability of the workforce becomes a crucial issue, of which responsible care for employees can increase job satisfaction and human capital that impact corporate ability to absorb and generate new knowledge. Firms are obligated to provide a healthy and safe working environment for their employees, but it may in turn hinder innovation due to rigid and structured institutional regulations. Drawing on data of 308 China’s pharmaceutical firms from 2010 to 2017, we investigated whether employee care can trigger innovation under corporate adoption of the occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS). Our results suggest that both employee care and OHSMS adoption have a positive impact on innovation. Moreover, the positive relationship between employee care and innovation was more pronounced in firms that had adopted the OHSMS certification. These findings are valuable to policymakers and corporate managers in emerging economies through corroborating the important role of workforce sustainability in facilitating firm innovation. Full article

A significant part of literature has shown that the adoption of Sustainability and Health-Safety management systems from organizations bears some substantial benefits since such systems (i) create a suitable frame for the sustainable development, implementation and review of the plans and/or processes, necessary to manage occupational health-safety (OHS) in their workplaces and (ii) imply innovative thinking and practices in fields of economics, policy-making, legislation, health and education. To this context, the paper targets at analysing current sustainability and OHSMSs in order to make these issues more comprehend, clear and functional for scholars and practitioners. Therefore, a literature survey has been conducted to map the territory by focusing on two interrelated tasks. The first one includes the presentation of the main International Management Systems (IMS) with focus on Sustainability and OHS (S_OHSMS) topics and the second task depicts a statistical analysis of the literature-review findings (for the years 2006–2017). In particular, the main purposes of the literature research were: (i) the description of key points of OHSMS and sustainability standards, (ii) the comparative analysis of their characteristics, taking into account several settled evaluation-criteria and (iii) the statistical analysis of the survey’s findings, while our study’s primary aim is the reinforcement of OHMSs’ application in any organization. The results evince, that the field of industry (with 28%) and also of the constructions (with 16%), concentrate the highest percentage of OHSMS use. In general, there were only few publications including OHSMSs (referred to various occupational fields) available in the scientific literature (during 2006–2017) but on the other hand, there was a gradually increasing scientific interest for these standards (especially during 2009–2012). Full article