Safe maintenance is good business: 30 pan-European organisations join as Official Campaign Partners

A wide range of pan-European and international organisations have come together for EU-OSHA’s Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010/2011 on safe maintenance in a bid to reduce work-related accidents. The campaign, which builds on the achievements of the Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2008/09 on risk assessment, aims to raise awareness of proper workplace maintenance. Good practices in safe maintenance will be promoted through a variety of campaign activities including conferences, seminars and training sessions for workers, employees and other stakeholders involved in maintenance work.

“It is estimated that in Europe up to 20% of all workplace accidents are connected with maintenance and in a number of sectors over half of all accidents are maintenance-related. 10-15% of fatal accidents at work can be attributed to maintenance operations. Therefore, it is vital that maintenance is carried out properly, taking into consideration workers’ safety and health. EU-OSHA’s campaign partners will play an invaluable role through actively communicating the importance of safe maintenance in the workplace,” said Dr Jukka Takala, Director of EU-OSHA.

The campaign partners will help put safe maintenance on the agenda at both the European and national levels through their own campaigning events and communication networks. Knowledge and experience-sharing will be at the heart of the campaign and ensure that organisations reap the operational and economic benefits of safer maintenance. Across the EU, campaign partners will facilitate discussion on safe maintenance and its importance in minimising workplace hazards. For example, workshops will be organised that are targeted across industries as diverse as agriculture, construction and the chemical industry – traditionally seen as high-risk sectors where employees face greater risks to their health on a day-to-day basis.

EU-OSHA continues to sign up official campaign partners during the course of the Healthy Workplaces campaign. For more information about the campaign partners and the activities they will be hosting in your region visit the Healthy Workplaces Campaign Website at http://osha.europa.eu/en/campaigns/hw2010/partners/eu-partners

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[1] Approved Official Campaign Partners: AIRLIQUIDE WELDING; BAXTER; BUSINESSEUROPE; European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC); CEOC International; DELPHI; European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism Sectors (EFFAT); European Technology Platform on Industrial Safety (ETPIS); European Builders’ Confederation (EBC); European Confederation of Police (EuroCOP); European Federation of National Maintenance Societies (EFNMS); European Network FOCUS; European Process Safety Centre (EPSC); European Safety Federation (ESF); European Textile Services Association (ETSA); European Transport Safety Council (ETSC); European Virtual Institute for Integrated Risk Management (EU-VRi); European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC); Federation of the European Ergonomic Societies (FEES); Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA); GAMESA; General Electric Energy (GE); Ideal Standard International; Industrial Minerals Association - Europe (IMA-Europe); International Safety and Health Construction Coordinators Organisation (ISHCCO); MEDICOVER; PIRELLI & C. SpA; Federation of Occupational Health Nurses within the European Union (FOHNEU); Toyota Material Handling Europe AB (TMHE); UNI Europa.

Notes to editors:

1. The mission of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) is to make Europe a safer, healthier and more productive place to work. EU-OSHA 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, EU-OSHA 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. http://osha.europa.eu

2. The Healthy Workplaces Campaign 2010-2011, which is co-ordinated by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and its partners in the 27 EU Member States, supports a wide range of activities at the national and European level that promote safe maintenance. It will highlight the importance of maintenance (of plants, equipment, machines and workplaces) to eliminate workplace hazards, and to provide safer and healthier working conditions in workplaces throughout Europe. It is backed by the EU Presidencies of Spain and Belgium in 2010 and of Hungary and Poland in 2011, by the European Parliament and the European Commission, and by the European Social Partners. http://hw.osha.europa.eu

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