Learning for sustainability: Towards a conceptual framework linking business process management with process safety management in occupational health and safety curricula

Abstract

This study aimed to emphasise the growing significance of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in company sustainability conversations, particularly in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, which highlighted the essential nature of OHS beyond simple awareness. Despite organisations' prior awareness of OHS principles, the pandemic's catastrophic effects underscored the imperative to comprehensively align OHS with overarching sustainability initiatives, particularly the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The advancement of global digitalisation requires safety experts to utilise management and data analytics tools, with Business Process Management (BPM) and Process Safety Management (PSM) being essential in this context. This study employs an extensive literature review to provide a conceptual framework integrating BPM and PSM aspects to advance the development of OHS students as future leaders in sustainable practices. The results support the incorporation of Sustainable Development Goals into Occupational Health and Safety courses, highlighting the necessity of providing students with Business Process Management, including data analytics, and Project Management skills to foster leadership in sustainability. This study introduces an innovative framework designed to augment students' abilities to spearhead sustainability-focused learning activities in the domain of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). Integrating SDGs, BPM, and PSM into OHS education can substantially enhance the development of a more sustainable and resilient global future. This indicates that such integration can equip students to effectively tackle difficult challenges, such as pandemics and other global disasters. This study offers novel insights by presenting a paradigm that amalgamates BPM and PSM with SDGs in OHS education, hence cultivating future leaders capable of promoting sustainable practices. Nonetheless, as a theoretical investigation, additional empirical research is required to examine particular curricular requirements in other countries and to substantiate the framework's effectiveness.

Keywords: {'name': 'Higher Education; Sustainable Development Goals; Occupational Health and Safety; Business Process Management; learning for sustainability.'}

Authors & affiliations

Elriza Esterhuyzen
University of South Africa (UNISA)

Tshepo Mabotja
University of South Africa (UNISA)

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