E-Fact 32 - Common errors in the risk assessment process

Summary - New risks and trends in the safety and health of women at work

In 2009 and 2010, the Agency commissioned an update to its previous research on gender issues at work , which found that inequality both inside and outside the workplace can have an effect on the health and safety of women at work. This summary provides a policy perspective and is meant to contribute to the task outlined by the European strategy on health and safety at work for EU-OSHA’s European Risk Observatory, “examining the specific challenges in terms of health and safety posed by the more extensive integration of women in the labour market”. It provides a statistical overview of the trends in employment and working conditions, hazard exposure and work-related accidents and health problems for women at work. It explores selected issues (combined exposures, occupational cancer, access to rehabilitation, women and informal work, and “emerging” female professions such as home care and domestic work). The research highlights the type of work carried out by women, issues faced by younger and older women, the growth of the service sector, violence and harassment, and increasingly diversified working time patterns as major risk factors.

European good practice awards 2010/11 - a European campaign on safe maintenance

As part of the European Campaign 2010–11 on Safe Maintenance, EU-OSHA organised the European Good Practice Awards Competition (the tenth such competition), aiming to identify examples of good practice in the management of occupational safety and health during maintenance. The awards recognise organisations that have made an outstanding and innovative contribution to Safe Maintenance. Through the competition EU-OSHA promotes good practice solutions at the workplace and shares information about good practice across Europe. Forty entries from 22 Member States and Turkey were received, including organisations of all sizes and from a wide variety of industrial sectors.

E-fact 55: Safe maintenance of fishing vessels

Maintenance of fishing vessels includes surveys and repairs in dry-dock undertaken by ship yard workers and contractors as well as minor and routine repairs undertaken by ship’s crew at sea or in wet dock. Emergency repairs carried out at sea are particularly risky, due to possible adverse weather conditions, the need to complete the repairs quickly, the lack of adequate tools or equipment, or the lack of necessary skills. This e-fact provides information on the hazards associated with maintenance of fishing vessels and summarises the essential principles to assure safe and effective maintenance operations on board fishing vessels and contains some recommendations for preventive measures to control the risks during those operations.