Universitas Indonesia inaugurated three professors from the Faculty of Public Health (FKM) at Balai Sidang, UI Depok Campus, this morning, November 20. The professors who were inaugurated were Prof. Dr. dr. Zulkifli Djunaidi, M.App.Sc., Prof. Dr. Robiana Modjo, S.K.M., M.Kes., and Prof. Dr. Ede Surya Darmawan, S.K.M., M.D.M., who became the 36th, 37th, and 38th professors inaugurated by UI this year. Thus, until today, UI has a total of 463 professors.
Prof. Zulkifli was inaugurated as a professor in the field of Occupational Safety and Health Science. In a speech titled “Manajemen Risiko K3 untuk Mengantisipasi Future Risk karena Perkembangan Teknologi dan Gap Generation” (K3 Risk Management to Anticipate Future Risks due to Technological Developments and the Gap Generation), Prof. Zulkifli explained that Occupational Safety and Health (K3) management is a proactive process that aims to identify, evaluate, and manage risks in the workplace to prevent unwanted events, such as accidents and occupational diseases.
“The main steps in K3 risk management include hazard identification, risk analysis and evaluation, control measures, and monitoring and review that are carried out continuously,” said Prof. Zulkifli.
K3 risk management has become a top priority for the International Labour Organization (ILO) in addressing safety and health issues in the workforce in the future. This gravity can be seen from the ILO publication regarding technological developments in a report titled “Safety and Health at the Heart of the Future of Work” in 2019. Along with technological developments, demographics, and climate change, K3 risk management has to adapt to face future risks. Communication and consultation are also important elements to ensure that every action taken is right on target and relevant to field conditions.
The Industrial Revolution 4.0 also brings major changes through technology that integrates the physical, digital, and biological worlds. This poses new challenges in the field of K3. Key challenges include the need for organizations to adapt to flexible and digital work models, updating lagging regulatory frameworks, revising K3 management systems to accommodate new technologies such as AI and Big Data, and transforming K3 risk management approaches to be relevant to interconnectivity and automation.
“To face this era, technology must be developed in line with K3 programs while still prioritizing humans as the center of attention. Collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and industry is essential to ensure a safe transition and prevent an increase in the risk of workplace accidents,” said Prof. Zulkifli.
Future work is a description of the evolution of work, ways of working, workforce, and work environments in the future that are influenced by various aspects of society, including socio-economic and political. Prof. Zulkifli quoted from the Society for Human Resource Management regarding the main characteristics of future work, namely Artificial Intelligence (AI), new work patterns, the gig economy, redefinition of leadership, and lifelong learning and reskilling. However, these developments also carry potential risks in the future, such as technological risks, demographic changes, climate change, and changes in work organizations.
Rapid changes in the world of work create both opportunities and challenges, especially as the impact of technology on occupational safety and health is unpredictable. To address this, an inclusive and human-centered response is needed, with an emphasis on lifelong learning and skills development. Innovative investment in human capabilities is key to addressing new risks in occupational safety and health. The ILO Global Commission highlighted the importance of universal employment guarantees, including basic workers’ rights, living wages, working time limits, and safe working environments. Collaboration between governments, employers, and workers must begin immediately to realize a safe and healthy future of work.
The ILO recommends various steps to address the challenges and opportunities in the transformation of the future of work, including anticipating new risks in K3, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach in K3 management, building K3 competencies, expanding collaboration with the public health sector, developing international standards in the field of employment and K3, and strengthening the role of governments, social partners, and other partnerships.
In his closing speech, Prof. Zulkifli said that K3 management training is a key element in increasing workers’ awareness of workplace hazards and how to control them, thus creating a safer and more productive work environment. “Risk Management in Occupational Safety and Health (K3) is one of the right anticipations to face future risks. This is because the development of future work driven by technological advances, changes in social norms, and global economic strength will be well illustrated through proper K3 Risk Management,” he added.
Prof. Zulkifli completed his medical education at Universitas Indonesia in 1985 and continued his master’s studies at the University of New South Wales, Australia, in the Master of Applied Science in Safety program until 2001. Furthermore, he took a Doctorate in Public Health at UI and graduated in 2010.
His career as a permanent lecturer at FKM UI began in 1987. He currently serves as a Senior Consultant at the UI Institute of Education and Community Health Service. Prof. Zulkifli also plays an active role in research publications, such as his research on Beban Kerja Fisik Sebagai Determinan Utama Unsafe Action pada Pekerja Konstruksi, or Physical Workload as the Main Determinant of Unsafe Action in Construction Workers (2024), Analisis Tingkat Kematangan Budaya Keselamatan Kerja Pada Proyek Konstruksi Migas Nasional, or Analysis of the Maturity Level of Occupational Safety Culture in National Oil and Gas Construction Projects (2023), and Health risk assessment at hydro cracker complex oil and gas company (2023).
