Radio message

Every three-and-a-half minutes, someone in Europe dies from work-related causes, that means either as a consequence of a work accident or as a result of an illness caused by their work. One example of such an illness is lung cancer caused by asbestos. Most of these accidents and illnesses are preventable, says the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, and the first step in preventing them is to do a risk assessment.

That is why this European Agency has launched an information campaign called: “Healthy Workplaces. Good for you. Good for business.” The campaign focuses especially on high-risk sectors such as construction, healthcare and agriculture, and on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. It will run until the end of 2009.

Risk assessment is a systematic examination of what could cause injury or harm to workers. The main purpose of risk assessment is to eliminate the hazards, or – if this is not possible – to protect the workers from the risks. Take the construction sector. Still – too many workers die or get seriously injured when heavy objects are thrown or fall down from heights, for example a roof or scaffold. In this case, the employer can take a series of preventive measures such as using enclosed rubbish chutes, installing covered walkways and not letting material that could fall accumulate on roofs.

Under European law, all employers are required to carry out risk assessments. But statistics from around Europe show that many – especially small and medium sized enterprises – do not properly assess their workers’ risks. Therefore, the Healthy Workplaces campaign wants to inform about this important issue. If more companies do their risk assessment – and do it well –, work-related accidents and illnesses could be substantially reduced. The goal of the European Union is to cut work-related accidents by a quarter across Europe by 2012.

The Healthy Workplaces campaign has two main messages: First, risk assessment is not necessarily complicated, bureaucratic or a task only for experts. This mistaken belief is particularly common among small and medium sized enterprises. There are simple-to-use checklists and the European Agency promotes a five-step-approach. Secondly, proper risk assessment not only benefits the workers’ safety and health, it also brings a number of business benefits to enterprises, because making workplaces safer and healthier helps to reduce worker absenteeism and insurance costs, and increases worker motivation and productivity.

• All campaign material can be downloaded free of charge in 22 languages
• Campaign summary

• Factsheet 80: Risk Assessment – roles and responsibilities
  

• Factsheet 81: Risk Assessment – the key to healthy workplaces
  

• Risk assessment – special website

• Council directive 89/391 of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work

• Community strategy for Health and Safety at work (2007–2012)

International press: Birgit Müller, Press Officer   European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao, tel. +34 94 479 35 52

Campaign Manager: Jochen Müller, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Bilbao, tel. +34 94 479 35 57

Brussels: Brenda O'Brien, Brussels Liaison, Officer, European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Square de Meeus, 38/40 1000 Brussels, Belgium tel. +32 2 401 68 59

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, Gran Via 33, E-48009 Bilbao, Spain,

Fax: +34 94 479 4383

was set up by the European Union to help meet the information needs in the field of occupational safety and health. Based in Bilbao, Spain, the Agency aims to improve the lives of people at work by stimulating the flow of technical, scientific and economic information between all those involved in occupational safety and health issues.

is the process of systematically evaluating the risks to workers’ safety and health from workplace hazards. It looks at all aspects of the workplace and the work that is carried out there, considering what could cause harm, whether hazards can be eliminated, and if not, what preventive or protective measures should be put in place. Risk assessment is the start of the process of health and safety management.

” is EU-OSHA’s Europe-wide information campaign, designed to raise awareness of the importance of Risk Assessment and to make European workplaces safer, healthier and more productive. The campaign runs for two-years (2008/2009) and is backed by the EU Presidencies, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European social partners.

During the European Week for Safety and Health at Work (20-26 October 2008 and 19-25 October 2009), a series of events will be organised, involving the focal points, which are usually the national OSH authorities in each Member State.

The campaign also features Good Practice Awards, which recognise companies and organisations that have made outstanding contributions in promoting risk assessment in the workplace.

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The communication and inspection campaign on manual handling of loads was initiated by SLIC in 2007 and it focused on the care and transport sectors. In 2008 it continues with the campaign targeting construction and retail sectors. SLIC affiliates labour inspectorates from various Member States of the European Union and EFTA countries. The objective of the campaign is to raise awareness about risks connected with manual handling of loads and to promote solutions which eliminate or greatly reduce manual handling. The campaign should facilitate better understanding and implementation of the European Directive 90/269/EEC concerning manual handling of loads.