1. Management Leadership in Occupational Safety and
Health
Healthy 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.
2. Scale of the problem
Why is safety and health important?
• Good for business, workers and for society as a whole
• 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 estimate)
• € 490 billion cost to the EU economy
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3. Scale of the problem
Most occupational accidents and illnesses are preventable
• 1999–2007 the EU15 improved workplace safety (fatalities down from
5,275 to 3,782 and non-fatal accidents down by 900,000)
• 2007–2012 Community strategy targets a further 25% reduction
• This campaign aims to build on this success
BUT
• We need to continue making prevention efforts, because
hard-won gains can easily be lost if we „relax‟
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4. Benefits of good safety and health
• Reduced risks and costs
− less sick leave and staff turnover
− fewer accidents
− lower insurance costs
• Rise in productivity
• Reduced threat of legal action
• Better reputation among customers, suppliers and investors
www.healthy-workplaces.eu
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5. Prevention is better than cure
Prevention is the cornerstone of Europe’s approach to managing
risks
• Reduced risks
• Evaluating risks
• Combating risks at source
• Giving appropriate instructions to workers
• Adapting workplace design and equipment to workers
• Adapting to technical progress
• Putting in place a coherent overall prevention policy
• Prioritising protective measures for the whole workforce over those for
individuals
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6. The role of the management
Underlying management for enhancing safety and health
• Effective and strong leadership
• Active worker involvement
• Ongoing assessment and review
• Leadership goes hand in hand with participation
• Without good leadership, participation will not succeed
• Management is responsible for the prerequisite to establish partnership
and participation
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7. First management principle: Leadership and safety and
health (1)
Effective and strong leadership in safety and health is vital. This
means that management:
• Commits itself to OSH as a core value of the organisation
• Has an accurate picture of the organisation‟s risk profile
• Leads by example and demonstrates integrity
• Clearly defines and monitors roles and responsibilities
• Prioritises OSH in the company‟s sustainability strategy and throughout
the supply chain
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8. Leadership and safety and health (2)
Practical examples of OSH leadership include:
• Visiting workstations to consult staff about health and safety (workers
may not only identify problems but may provide solutions too)
• Taking personal responsibility and showing that you care
• Leading by example
• Making available, as far as possible, money and time
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9. Good practice example (1)
Oil refinery, Belgium
• The Total oil refinery in Antwerp brought in the contractors SPIE
Belgium
• This resulted in a clash of business and safety cultures that had to be
sorted out
• The companies resolved key organisational differences and then
focused on employee behaviour on the shop floor
• Corporate cultures were aligned by means of intense, though largely
informal, consultation
www.healthy-workplaces.eu
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10. Good practice example (2)
• The improvement resulted in zero accidents once Total and SPIE had
agreed on “best practices”
Success factors
• Participation and skill of senior management
• Open communication
• Active involvement of employees
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11. Second management principle: Active worker
involvement (1)
• The employer is responsible for managing work-related risks, but EU
law says that employers must consult their workers about health and
safety
• Some employers go beyond this legal obligation to create a real twoway communication process in which workers take part in health and
safety decision-making
www.healthy-workplaces.eu
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12. Active worker involvement (2)
• This creates a culture where relationships between employers and
workers are based on collaboration, trust and joint problem-solving
BUT
• Direct worker participation should not be seen as an alternative to a
system of workers‟ representatives
• They can both be used effectively, in line with national frameworks and
the specific characteristics of the workplace
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13. Active worker involvement (3)
Employee input is especially valuable during:
• Risk analysis
• Developing policies and interventions
• Providing pertinent observations during training and implementation
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14. Active worker involvement (4)
Benefits of active worker involvement include:
• Lower accident rates
• Cost-effective solutions
• A happier and more productive workforce
• Greater awareness and control of workplace risks
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15. Third management principle: Ongoing assessment and
review (1)
• Monitoring and reporting are vital tools for enhancing workplace safety
and health
• They can provide the company board with specific (e.g. incident-led)
and routine reports on OSH performance
• This can be useful in raising issues, highlighting problems and
ultimately enhancing safety and health
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16. Third management principle: Ongoing assessment and
review (2)
A good assessment and review system should include:
• Procedures to report major health and safety failures to board
members and company owners as soon as possible
• Systems to capture and report data such as accident and sickness
rates
• Arrangements to incorporate worker views and experiences
• We help create safer and healthier workplaces for everyone‟s benefit –
but we cannot do this by ourselves
www.healthy-workplaces.eu
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17. 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
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18. 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
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19. 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
www.healthy-workplaces.eu
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20. 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
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21. 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
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22. 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
www.healthy-workplaces.eu
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23. 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
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Editor's Notes
Every year more than 5,500 people lose their lives due to workplace accidents (1)159,000 die as a result of work-related illnesses (2)€ 490 billion cost to the EU economy (3)Sources1Health and safety at work in Europe (1999–2007) - A statistical portrait, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2010, 97pp.2 International Labour Organization 2005: Figure is an estimation for EU-27(http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/moscow/areas/safety/docs/worldcongressreporteng.pdf)3 Assuming a loss of 4 % of GDP due to poor working conditions(http://osha.europa.eu/en/press/articles/Present-new-and-emerging-risks-IOHA).
1999–2007 the EU15 improved workplace safety (fatalities down from 5,275 to 3,782 and non-fatal accidents down by 900,000)SourceHealth and safety at work in Europe (1999–2007) - A statistical portrait, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2010, 97pp.
Best Practice Example: oil refinery, Belgium The Total oil refinery in Antwerp brought in the contractors SPIE Belgium.A clash of business and safety cultures that had to be realigned if accident and sickness rates were to be significantly reduced. After intensive efforts, the companies resolved key organisational differences and then focused on employee behaviour on the shop floor.Employees were encouraged to work responsibly and autonomously by training them to, for example, carry out a risk assessment before beginning a new task.The alignment of corporate cultures was achieved by means of intense, though largely informal, consultation. These improvements resulted in zero accidents once the two companies had agreed on ‘best practices’.
Best Practice Example: oil refinery, Belgium (cont’d)Success factorsAligning the two safety cultures was only possible because of open communication, good leadership, the active involvement of the employees.The participation of senior management demonstrated to employees the importance given to all health and safety issues within the company. Key actions within this process werenewsletters and information management;safety walks;toolbox meetings (short presentations to the workforce on a particular aspect of health and safety); and extensive training courses.