The design and implementation of knowledge management systems and e-learning for improved occupational health and safety in small to medium sized enterprises

This paper presents a review of the current challenges associated with occupational safety and health (OSH) in small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). OSH knowledge management and e-learning are considered in turn in the light of current research knowledge, with examination of the challenges and requirements of small businesses. Barriers to progression and suitable solutions from the field of research are discussed. SMEs need to manage their knowledge capital to capture and retain tacit knowledge. Employees need to collaborate and interact in order to make this tacit knowledge explicit and to enhance this knowledge through learning in the context of the shop floor. Workers and managers need to share what they know and put into practice key aspects of occupational health and safety in the workplace.

[1]  Beatriz Fernández-Muñiz,et al.  Safety culture: analysis of the causal relationships between its key dimensions. , 2007, Journal of safety research.

[2]  Dominic Cooper,et al.  Improving Safety Culture: A Practical Guide , 1997 .

[3]  Factors Influencing Active Learning in Small Enterprises , 2000 .

[4]  Michael J. Brnich,et al.  Knowledge management and transfer for mine emergency response , 2006 .

[5]  Beatriz Fernández-Muñiz,et al.  Safety management system: Development and validation of a multidimensional scale , 2007 .

[6]  Franck Guarnieri,et al.  Towards a new tool for measuring Safety Management Systems performance , 2006 .

[7]  I. Nonaka,et al.  How Japanese Companies Create the Dynamics of Innovation , 1995 .

[8]  Waldemar Karwowski,et al.  Knowledge management for occupational safety, health, and ergonomics , 2006 .

[9]  Waldemar Karwowski,et al.  Knowledge management for occupational safety, health, and ergonomics: Research Articles , 2006 .

[10]  Andreas Schmidt,et al.  User Context Aware Delivery of E-Learning Material: Approach and Architecture , 2004, J. Univers. Comput. Sci..

[11]  S Caroly,et al.  Sustainable MSD prevention: management for continuous improvement between prevention and production. Ergonomic intervention in two assembly line companies. , 2010, Applied ergonomics.

[12]  I. Nonaka.  A Dynamic Theory of Organizational Knowledge Creation , 1994 .

[13]  Fenio Annansingh,et al.  Knowledge management issues in knowledge-intensive SMEs , 2006, J. Documentation.

[14]  P. Coughlan,et al.  Development of a technical innovation audit , 1996 .

[15]  Jay Liebowitz,et al.  Knowledge Management Handbook , 1999 .

[16]  Gopal K. Kanji.  Implementation and pitfalls of total quality management , 1996 .

[17]  Tom Schmitz,et al.  Europe in Figures , 2010 .

[18]  Mike Rigby,et al.  Health and Safety in Small Firms with Particular Reference to Spain , 2001 .

[19]  Charalambos Vrasidas,et al.  Developing design principles for an e-learning programme for SME managers to support accelerated learning at the workplace , 2005 .

[20]  Enrico Cagno,et al.  Dealing with SMEs as a whole in OHS issues: Warnings from empirical evidence , 2010 .

[21]  Kay Baldwin‐Evans.  Employees and e‐learning: what do the end‐users think? , 2004 .

[22]  Bernhard Zimolong,et al.  Occupational Health and Safety Management , 2006 .

[23]  I. Nonaka,et al.  The Knowledge Creating Company , 2008 .

[24]  William Snyder,et al.  Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge , 2002 .

[25]  Emma O'Brien,et al.  Training Needs Analysis: the first step in authoring e-learning content , 2004, SAC '04.

[26]  Charalambos Vrasidas,et al.  The Nature of Technology-Mediated Instruction in Globalized Distance Education , 2003 .

[27]  D. Zohar.  Safety climate in industrial organizations: theoretical and applied implications. , 1980, The Journal of applied psychology.

[28]  Doris Gomezelj Omerzel,et al.  Knowledge Management in SMEs , 2009 .

[29]  Gilbert Probst,et al.  Managing Knowledge: Building Blocks for Success , 1999 .

[30]  Frank J H van Dijk,et al.  Knowledge infrastructure needed for occupational health. , 2007, Industrial health.

[31]  Sally Sambrook,et al.  E‐learning in small organisations , 2003 .

[32]  David Walters,et al.  Worker Representation and Health and Safety in Small Enterprises in Europe , 2004 .

[33]  Qingguo Ma,et al.  Exploratory study on safety climate in Chinese manufacturing enterprises , 2009 .

[34]  Danièle Champoux,et al.  Occupational health and safety management in small size enterprises: an overview of the situation and avenues for intervention and research , 2003 .

[35]  Mihnea Marin,et al.  Improving e-learning 2.0-based training strategies of SMEs through communities of practice , 2008 .

[36]  Andreas Schmidt,et al.  Bridging the Gap between Knowledge Management and E-Learning with Context-Aware Corporate Learning , 2005, Wissensmanagement.

[37]  George Siemens.  Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age , 2004 .

[38]  Ian Roffe.  E-Learning for SMEs: Competition and Dimensions of Perceived Value. , 2004 .

[39]  Dorothy E. Leidner,et al.  Review: Knowledge Management and Knowledge Management Systems: Conceptual Foundations and Research Issues , 2001, MIS Q..

[40]  Wilfried Admiraal,et al.  E-Learning in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises across Europe , 2009 .

[41]  Peter Hasle,et al.  Working in small enterprises - Is there a special risk? , 2007 .

[42]  Ileana Hamburg.  Informal learning and the use of Web 2.0 within SME training strategies , 2008 .

[43]  P. Arocena,et al.  An empirical analysis of the effectiveness of occupational health and safety management systems in SMEs , 2010 .

[44]  T J Lentz,et al.  Knowledge management in occupational hygiene: the United States example. , 2004, The Annals of occupational hygiene.

[45]  Daniel Podgórski,et al.  The Use of Tacit Knowledge in Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems , 2010, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[46]  Lia Buarque de Macedo Guimarães,et al.  A method for assessing health and safety management systems from the resilience engineering perspective , 2009 .

[47]  John Clayton,et al.  Critical success factors in e-learning for small and medium enterprises , 2009 .

[48]  M. Knowles.  The adult learner : a neglected species , 1979 .

[49]  David Walker,et al.  Health and safety management in small enterprises: an effective low cost approach , 2004 .