Measuring sustainable ergonomics: A hybrid multi‐criteria perspective on Occupational Health and Safety Indicators

Abstract

Building off Sarbat and Ozmehmet Tasan’s (2024) study, this thesis explores the integration of sustainable Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E) within the framework of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in South Africa, focusing on prioritising OHS and HF/E Indicators (EIs) through a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making approach (MCDM). By employing the Best-Worst Method (BWM) and the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), the study evaluated and ranked 23 EIs against five evaluation criteria: measurability, reliability, resilience, proactiveness, and policy relevance. The results indicated a preference for economic EIs, followed by social EIs, with ecological EIs receiving the lowest weights, suggesting that economic and social factors are prioritised significantly more than ecological considerations. This research underscores the need for a more balanced approach to OHS, one that equally values the economic, social, and ecological dimensions, to foster a more sustainable future for organisations in South Africa. Keywords: Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E), sustainability, OHS and HF/E Indicators (EI), Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), Best-Worst Method (BWM), Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), measurability, reliability, resilience, proactiveness, policy relevance