Maintenance, occupational health and safety: a systematic review of the literature

The objective of this article is to use a systematic review of the literature to answer how the maintenance sector considers the occupational safety and health (OSH) criteria, what impacts safety has on maintenance activities, which are the most significant branches of activities in this relationship, and which phases and types of maintenance are more prone to be influenced by OSH. The articles for these studies were selected through the Capes Portal, limited to the period between 2010 to 2015. Articles selected from the Brazilian Congresses on Asset Management and Maintenance in the period from 2013 to 2015 were also used. 38 articles were selected in total for the systematic review of the literature. The results were summarized through conceptual maps and revealed that there are fundamental relationships between OSH, Maintenance and Asset Management and that maintenance has a central role to play in these relationships. It is also concluded that the impacts of safety on the maintenance activities involve all stages of the process and that the maintenance sector considers the OSH criteria as a function of the safety of the persons performing the maintenance and operating the equipment. The contributions include a discussion on the importance of maintenance and safety according to different organizational cultures, the elements considered in management practices, maintenance strategies and safety criteria.