Occupational health and safety management systems in South African Universities: a systematic review

Abstract

Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems (OHSMS) play a crucial role in ensuring workplace safety and compliance with regulatory standards in higher education institutions. However, the efficiency of OHSMS implementation in South African universities remains largely unexplored. This systematic review assesses global studies on OHSMS in universities to identify key challenges, efficiency factors, and best practices that may inform South African institutions. This systematic review, conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) framework, assesses global studies on OHSMS in universities to identify key challenges, efficiency factors, and best practices that may inform South African institutions. A structured search across ScienceDirect, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar was conducted using keywords related to OHSMS in universities. Subsequently, limited relevant studies were discovered but none of the studies focused on South African universities, highlighting a significant OHSMS research gap across the country. Moreover, the limited results of relevant studies indicate that universities with structured OHSMS frameworks, such as ISO 45001 and OHSAS 18001, experience reduced workplace incidents, improved regulatory compliance, and enhanced safety awareness. However, barriers such as leadership commitment, financial constraints, and regulatory alignment impact efficiency. This highlights the necessity for further research on OHSMS implementation in South African universities to gain a deeper understanding of their unique challenges and operational dynamics. Additionally, the study recommends strategic policy interventions aimed at strengthening occupational health and safety management frameworks within institutions of higher education in South Africa.