Mandowa Johanes, Matsa Mark, Jerie Steven
Department of Geography, Environmental Sustainability and Resilience Building, Midlands State University, Gweru, Zimbabwe.
Front Public Health. 2025 Jan 29;13:1450567. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1450567. eCollection 2025.
Several studies elucidating a plethora of factors that influence establishment of OSH management systems in many industrial sectors have been conducted worldwide. Very few studies have been conducted to explicate factors influencing OSHMS implementation in Southern African countries, particularly in Zimbabwe. The study evaluated factors enhancing implementation of OSH management systems in the manufacturing industry of Mutare.
A descriptive cross-sectional research design was utilized in the study. Primary data sources were questionnaires and interviews, and secondary data sources were e-OSH databases and past OSH research papers among others.
The results revealed the primary factors that enhance OSHMSs implementation as strong senior management commitment, involvement and support, strong employee involvement and participation, good safety culture, provision of adequate resources among others. Strong senior management commitment, involvement and support was identified as a catalyst of all other factors enhancing implementation of OSHMSs, hence a recommendation is made for employers to invest in programmes aimed at bolstering management commitment, involvement and support to OSH management.
Considering that lack of adequate resources emerged as a significant impediment to OSHMS implementation, the study challenges the Government to take a leading role in establishing policies that unlocks various funding mechanisms to support workplaces in overcoming financial barriers in the implementation of OSHMSs. It can be inferred from the study results that employee involvement is central to effective implementation of OSHMSs as it enables the generation of knowledge, ideas and deployment of abilities that are paramount in enhancing OSH management. Inferential statistics also revealed the existence of an association between factory size and implementation of OSHMS. Development of scaled down OSHMSs requirements for small to medium manufacturing companies (SMMCs) is recommended considering the unattractiveness of OSHMSs in SMMCs owing to sustainability challenges. This recommendation places a demand on researchers and OSH stakeholders globally to rethink the current global order for OSHMSs implementation in order to advance an approach to OSHMSs implementation in the SMMCs that is sensitive to contextual compounding factors. The study develops a framework that is key in creating a "preventive safety culture" at workplaces which is an epitome for sustainability in OSHMSs implementation.
全球范围内已开展了多项研究，阐明了影响许多工业部门职业安全与健康（OSH）管理体系建立的众多因素。但很少有研究去阐释影响南部非洲国家，特别是津巴布韦职业安全与健康管理体系（OSHMS）实施的因素。本研究评估了促进穆塔雷制造业职业安全与健康管理体系实施的因素。
本研究采用描述性横断面研究设计。主要数据来源为问卷调查和访谈，次要数据来源包括电子职业安全与健康数据库及过往职业安全与健康研究论文等。
结果显示，促进职业安全与健康管理体系实施的主要因素包括高层管理人员的坚定承诺、参与和支持，员工的积极参与，良好的安全文化，提供充足资源等。高层管理人员的坚定承诺、参与和支持被视为促进职业安全与健康管理体系实施的所有其他因素的催化剂，因此建议雇主投资于旨在加强管理层对职业安全与健康管理的承诺、参与和支持的项目。
鉴于缺乏充足资源成为职业安全与健康管理体系实施的重大障碍，本研究呼吁政府发挥主导作用，制定政策，开启各种资金机制，以支持工作场所克服职业安全与健康管理体系实施中的财务障碍。从研究结果可以推断，员工参与对于职业安全与健康管理体系的有效实施至关重要，因为它能够产生知识和想法，并发挥能力，这对加强职业安全与健康管理至关重要。推断统计还揭示了工厂规模与职业安全与健康管理体系实施之间存在关联。鉴于中小型制造企业（SMMC）由于可持续性挑战而对职业安全与健康管理体系缺乏吸引力，建议为中小型制造企业制定简化的职业安全与健康管理体系要求。这一建议要求全球的研究人员和职业安全与健康利益相关者重新思考当前职业安全与健康管理体系实施的全球秩序，以便推进一种对中小型制造企业职业安全与健康管理体系实施方法敏感的方法，该方法要考虑到背景复合因素。本研究开发了一个框架，该框架对于在工作场所创建“预防性安全文化”至关重要，而这种文化是职业安全与健康管理体系实施可持续性的缩影。
