Working together for risk prevention

Working together for risk preventionHealthy Workplaces Campaign 2012-13

Name and title of speaker

Date | Event title

Safety and health at work is everyone’s concern. It’s good for you. It’s good for business.

2www.healthy-workplaces.eu

Scale of the problem

Why is safety and health important?

• Good for business, workers and for society as a whole

• Significant improvements across the EU in recent decades, but …

• Every year more than 5,500 people lose their lives due to workplace

accidents

• 159,000 die as a result of work-related illnesses (ILO estimates)

• € 490 billion cost to the EU economy


Benefits of good safety and health

• Reduced risks and costs

− Lower employee absence and turnover rates

− Fewer accidents

− Lower accident insurance costs

• Productivity increases

• Threat of legal action is lessened

• Better reputation among customers, suppliers and investors


Prevention is better than cure

Prevention is the cornerstone of Europe’s approach to managing

risks.

Prevention is about managing work-related risks with the ultimate aim of

eliminating and reducing the number of work-related accidents and

occupational illnesses.


What does prevention mean in practice?

• Managers and workers working together to prevent risks

• Managers and employers have primary responsibility

• However….. active worker participation is vital for success


Basic principles of risk prevention

• Avoid risks

• Evaluate risks that cannot be avoided

• Combat them at source

• Adapt work to the individual

• Adapt to technical progress

• Replace the dangerous by the non- or the less dangerous

• Develop a coherent overall prevention policy

• Prioritise collective protective measures over individual ones

• Give appropriate instructions to workers


Strategic aims of the campaign

• Promotion of core message that workers and managers must work

together

• Giving clear guidance to employers to manage specific work-related

risks

• Provision of practical guidance to promote a risk prevention culture

• Laying the foundations for a more sustainable risk prevention culture in

Europe


Management taking the lead

It is the legal and moral duty of management to take the lead on

workplace safety and health. In practice this means:

• Visible and active commitment by management

• Engaging with the workforce and their representatives

• Effective ‘downward’ and ‘crossways’ communication

• Using risk assessment to guide decisions

• Integration of good health and safety management throughout an

organisation

• Promotion of these ideas throughout entire supply chain

• Monitoring, reporting and reviewing health and safety performance


Worker participation

Worker participation is vital. Benefits include:

• Lower accident rates

• Cost-effective solutions

• A happier and more productive workforce (lower absence rates)

• Greater awareness and control of workplace risks


Consulting on safety and health

Employers have a duty to consult workers/worker representatives

on health and safety. This means in practice:

• Effective and open dialogue

• Joint problem solving and decision making

• Listening and acting on what is said

• Participation in spotting hazards, assessing risks and devising

solutions

• Participation in implementing solutions and promoting safe working

conditions

• Workers fully cooperating with employers

• Putting in place arrangements so these can happen in practice


About the campaign

How the 2012-13 Healthy Workplaces Campaign works

• We help create safer and healthier workplaces for everyone’s benefit

• But we cannot do this by ourselves

• We need you to help foster and promote workplace safety and health


Network-based campaigning

Core strength: national focal points and tripartite networks.

But also … engage other stakeholders/partners

• Official campaign partners (Pan-European and international

organisations) including social partners, NGOs, sectoral federations

and networks, private companies

• EU institutions including European Commission, EU Parliament, EU

representations,

EU agencies, Enterprise Europe Network


How to get involved?

The campaign is open to all individuals and organisations. You can

get involved by:

• Disseminating campaign information and materials

• Joining in with one of the many events, conferences, competitions,

advertising campaigns – taking place during the campaign

• Organising your own activities


Campaign partnership offer

Pan-European organisations can also apply to be campaign

partners. The Agency offers:

• Partner certificate

• Welcome pack

• Promotion at EU level and in the media

• Online Communication Platform

• Partner web section


European Good Practice Awards

• Recognise outstanding and innovative contributions

• Encourage managers and workers to work together

• Enhance workplace safety and health

• EU Member States, EEA, Western Balkans and Turkey

• Two categories:

− Workplaces employing fewer than 100 people

− Those with 100 or more workers

• Winners chosen from entries submitted by national focal points

http://osha.europa.eu/en/about/competitions


Resources

• Campaign guide

• Practical guides for workers and managers

• Good practice examples

• News about campaign events

• Presentations and animated video clips

• All available in 24 languages

www.healthy-workplaces.eu


Key dates

• Campaign launch: 18 April 2012

• European Weeks for Safety and Health at Work:

October 2012 and 2013

• Good Practice Awards Ceremony: April 2013

• Healthy Workplaces Summit: November 2013


Further information

• Visit the campaign website

www.healthy-workplaces.eu

• To find out about events and activities in your country, contact your

national focal point

www.healthy-workplaces.eu/fops

Working together for risk prevention

Health & Medicine

Transcript of Working together for risk prevention