• Visual representation of sociotechnical system paradigms for occupational health and safety practices: A scoping review. • Publication of graphical models for sociotechnical systems has increased since 2014. • Data visualization software helps to articulate sociotechnical models. • Digital platforms contribute to international scholarly collaboration. A scoping review was undertaken to determine the extent of graphically represented sociotechnical systems (STS) in peer reviewed journals, applied to the domain of occupational health and safety (OHS) and safety science between 1980 and 2024. The study sought whether identified publications employed a retrospective or predictive approach, and associated key characteristics related to STS and associated authorship. Four databases comprising Web of Science, Scopus, ScienceDirect and PubMed were used. The review focused on gathering, categorizing, and describing evidence on published STS graphical models, and mapping their key characteristics. Analysing 257 eligible publications, this review summarizes publication volume, STS elements and model types used, and associated authorship. Commonly depicted graphical STS models and frameworks were AcciMap, Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) and the Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM) with Rasmussen’s Risk Management model also incorporated in several publications alongside STAMP. The review highlights publication frequency, the evolution of STS elements and models, and the growing use of nonlinear models to explain STS complexity. The review offers recommendations to support the continued use of STS graphical models to illustrate the complex interactions between technical and organizational system components. It also recommends greater use of research technologies and digital platforms to improve literature access and enable collaborative, interdisciplinary, and international knowledge development. The insights presented may help guide future research breadth, depth, and direction in STS as applied to OHS and safety science.
Bogna et al. (Tue,) studied this question.