Survey of a systems thinking approach of occupational safety and health management applied in the micro-, meso- and macro-levels in the selected big industries of TABRIZ city

Abstract

Introduction: Occupational safety and health (OSH) is an important issue in all industries and across the globe and system thinking of OSH is important because workplace are getting more complex. The purpose of this study is to investigate the approach of a system thinking of OSH management among the micro, Meso and macro levels in selected large industries of the city of Tabriz. Also, this study investigates the status of system thinking among participating groups, compares them with each other and determines their relationship with demographic information. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. It was conducted on managers, health and safety responsibilities and workers' representatives in large industrial factories in Tabriz in 2018. The research instrument was a questionnaire consisting of two sections of demographic information and subscales from Q1 to Q8 dimensions consisting of 43 questions. Results: The status of OSH system thinking at the levels of micro, meso and macro shows that health and safety responsibilities have a standard deviation score of 65/27, managers with a standard deviation score of 63/65, and representatives of workers with a standard deviation score of 60/56. Among the dimensions, Q1 has the highest score, and Q6 has the lowest score among the participating groups in this study. Conclusion: In this study, health and safety responsibilities have the highest degree of satisfaction and representation of workers with the least degree of satisfaction with the system thinking approach in their industry. This study helps senior managers of the industry to use the system thinking approach to overcome company crisis, free from traditional thinking and creating synergy in the company, as well as senior managers to address problems in the dimensions that the stating of systemic thinking is weak; it will take corrective and preventive measures.