Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion
5.4 Practical Implications
For the practical implication of the findings, while the UAE currently has an immature approach to delivering OHSMS, work can be done at the governmental and business levels to ensure that employees can protect themselves and others. To improve the overall health and safety culture and OHS at the business and national levels, steps can be taken to provide proper training and improve policies. It starts with the implementation of
study. The recommendation is the continued use of the OHS plan, including auditing, awareness training, and continued strategy development by management to see continued growth.
The first finding in the context of the UAE on OHS is that there is a need for increased attention to be given to OHS. The government has recognized this notion in the creation of new standards, such as the OHSMS National Standard (NCEMA, 2016), which shows that there has been a renewed emphasis on change to prioritize worker safety. However, the implementation of such policies is still in its early stages. Employers must therefore develop a process for strategically developing practices that adhere to such standards. Similarly, Witt and Brit (2014) observe a low level of standard implementation, owing in part to a lack of understanding of the importance of OHS in terms of productivity. The findings highlight the importance of training and education in helping employees understand the significance of OHS and how to work safely. Thus, to give increased attention to OHS, a good starting place is increased training or OHS-related education for the leadership and employees.
The second significant finding is that increased productivity is possible when profound and strategic change is made in OHS practices. The literature suggests that there has long been an interest in creating a fiscal model that links OHS practices with improved employee productivity (Taruwona & Suzanna, 2010; Ghahramani et al., 2012; Trucco & De Capitani, 2015; Bayram, 2022). Bayram (2002) investigates the relationship between safety behaviors and determinants as well as the impact on
productivity. They demonstrate that training, knowledge, motivation, and compliance increase safety productivity while also providing economic benefits. This study supports the finding, because, within SIBCA LLC,
individual employee productivity was improved by developing and implementing a strategic plan to improve OHS.
Together, the findings confirm the practicality of the application of the CDC (2018) model for workplace health. This model considers OHS to occur in stages at the organizational level. The first stage is assessment, during which the organization must determine its current OHS status as well as its specific OHS needs. This was evident in the case of SIBCA LLC when they decided to emphasize and conduct company-wide training.
According to the CDC, three levels of evaluation are required: individual, organizational, and community. It is unclear whether a community-level assessment was conducted or whether related interventions were
implemented. It may indicate a next step or area for an expanded future implementation. Nonetheless, this stage was realized per the CDC (2018) guidance by conducting instruments such as employee health services and reviewing records of safety collected within the organizational setting to drive organizational change and prioritize training and policy development.
The second stage of development is planning and management. In this stage, leadership directly engages in a plan to improve OHS. From Table 2, SIBCA LLC developed a plan with multiple layers of change, including strategic planning. They then implemented a series of changes to address the needs identified during the assessment. They did not rely on a single change or intervention, but instead implemented a series of
interventions over the course of 13 months, with the goal of changing the organization’s overall OHS culture. Increased training, hiring new leadership, implementing technology to increase safety-related reporting, conducting safety audits, holding strategy meetings to guide new policy, and implementing inspections and other evaluation practices to measure the impact of change and policy compliance were among the changes made. It
is consistent with the CDC (2018) model’s third stage: implementation. The CDC (2018) suggests that a comprehensive plan should include education, programs, policies, benefits, and realization of environmental support.
SIBCA LLC’s interventions show that these changes are considered within its plan and execution.
Finally, SIBCA LLC’s protocols for assessing the change and the outcomes or deliverables for this study meet the final stage of the model:
assessment of the impact of change. Increased employee productivity is the most common method for measuring change, but OHS-related costs, improvements in health-related outcomes, and measurable change in organizational culture are also acceptable measurements. This study found an increase in employee productivity, as measured by an increase in the total number of hours worked by employees during the study period. That is, when OHS is improved, employees missed work less and could be productive on the job. However, the CDC (2018) model encourages other forms of measurement or measures of success regarding the implementation of OHS. Thus, further study is needed on SIBCA LLC to determine if other goals of OHS beyond employee productivity are being met. It will require observing such measures over time to determine whether the organizational culture is changing and if the cost of OHS-related errors is being reduced as the changes are implemented further.
Nonetheless, the practical application of the CDC (2018) model for implementing change regarding OHS has been supported at the
organizational level in this study and can provide further guidance on how change should be implemented at the organizational level.