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EDITORIAL Prevention Today Vol. 5, no. 1/2, 1-9
THE EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN ON RISK ASSESSMENT: A NEW CONCEPT
FOR A SUCCESSFUL MODEL
Maria Castriotta, Francesca Grosso, Adriano Papale
Italian National Institute for Occupational Safety and Prevention (ISPESL), Department of Organization Processes, Rome, Italy
(Key words: European campaign, risk assessment, model)
INTRODUCTION
Set up in 1996 as a decentralised European body to address, within the European Union’s (EU) “first pillar” 1 ,
the need to manage a broad and varied range of issues relating to occupational health and safety (OHS), the
European Agency for Health and Safety at Work, based in Bilbao, Spain, has become the centre of excellence
for the collection, analysis and dissemination of all sector information in Europe and throughout the world.
Considering health and safety not as an additional cost but as an investment in quality, productivity and
competitiveness, represents a cultural reversal and key principle on which the Agency bases its mission to
make workplaces in Europe safer, healthier and more productive.
“In a global economy occupational safety and health issues cross national borders and can only be tackled
successfully through close cooperation between Member States”, explained Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, the
then Director of the Agency, during the ceremony to celebrate the Agency’s tenth anniversary. “The Agency
has set up a unique OHS network in all EU countries and beyond through which we actively promote safer
jobs, healthier people and stronger businesses”.
The President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, added: “Safety and health at work
represents today one of the principal and most developed areas of EU social policy. However, Community
action in this field is not limited to legislation. The Commission has extended its activities, in cooperation with
the Bilbao Agency, to enhance the flow of information, promotion and advice in order to achieve a healthy
working environment, particularly in small- and medium-sized enterprise” 2 .
1
The three legal structures on which the European Union is built are defined as Pillars of the European Union as set out by the Treaty of
Maastricht. The First pillar: the Community dimension comprises the provisions set out in the Treaty establishing the European Community,
European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). As regards the areas of the First pillar,
such as European citizenship, Community policies, economic and monetary union, the so-called "community method" is applied, which
reduces the role of national governments in favour of Community institutions: the Commission, the Council of the Union and the European
Parliament. Available from: http://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/it/contentview.wp?previsiousPage=mg_14_7&contentId=ART32518 (in Italian).
2
European Agency’s press release, 20 March 2006. Available from: http://osha.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/news_article_20060320_10th_
Anniversary/?searchterm=10th%20anniversary%20of%20the%20European%20Agency%20for%20Safety%20and%20Health%20at%20Work
BOW PO/base indexing:
CIS: Safety and health campaigns [CIS: Veku], Hazard evaluation [CIS: Qra], International cooperation [CIS: Vz]
EUOSHA OSH: European Agency for Safety and Health at Work [EUOSHA: 05961C], Risk assessment [EUOSHA:
19641D], Awareness raising [EUOSHA: 10721D]
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Prevention Today January - June 2009
In line with the duties provided for in its own regulations and Community strategic objectives, in 2000 the
Agency presented its programme of European campaigns with the aim to establish direct contact with work
environments and workers. It also launched its first campaign - Turn your back on musculoskeletal disorders!
- dedicated to preventing musculoskeletal disorders. In the following years, all of Europe - first the so-called
EU15 and then the expanded EU - hosted events and initiatives for campaigns that communicated prevention
messages and disseminated good practice through a creative use of the various languages in the campaign
slogans.
In particular, the European Week for Safety and Health at Work, (held on the 43 rd week of the calendar year)
has become the traditional time of the year for promotional activities. Each year, the campaign’s themes -
identified among the priorities requiring particular actions and systematic measures - have allowed the EU
and Member States to draw attention on specific risk factors, such as noise, stress and dangerous substances;
on sectors with high injury rates, such as construction; or, as in 2006, on a vulnerable group of workers: young
people.
Inspired by a network model and the principles of decentralisation and tripartism, the communication strategy
adopted by the Agency comprises five essential objectives: raising public awareness, providing information,
creating resources and promoting access to them, encouraging activities with a high communication impact
on the workplace, and identifying and transferring good practice.
The Agency’s website contains detailed pages on the campaigns, which are assembled each year with
information, material and online tools that are increasingly technologically advanced and geared to the
campaign’s target audiences. In addition these web pages contain updates on European and national events 3 .
Every campaign ends with the traditional Closing Event in Bilbao in which institutional representatives and EU
experts from Member States conduct and participate in various themed seminars, offering a unique opportunity
for sharing experiences and knowledge, as well as subscribing declarations that lead to commitments and
action programmes aimed at addressing particular risks or intervening in highest risk sectors.
The popular Good Practice Awards ceremony, which is held during the Closing Event, continues to be an
important opportunity to share experiences with other enterprises in Europe that also participate in the Good
Practice Competition and that have distinguished themselves in improving conditions in the workplace; by
virtue of the good practices adopted, these enterprises are awarded a symbolic prize.
The results that have emerged from the detailed assessment reports which accompany each campaign have
generally corresponded to the strategic objectives. Even when taking into account the inevitable differences
in experiences and cultures between countries, it has been observed that there is a common direction to
consolidate the factors leading to success, such as networking, seeking new partners, and the important roles
played by social partners and Focal Points. The top recommendation is the choice of so-called horizontal
themes, which target a wide range of users and also attract those involved in previous campaigns. Another
recommendation is to increase information of national interest in the European Agency’s promotional material.
1. THE EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN ON RISK ASSESSMENT AND THE NEW ITALIAN
CONSOLIDATED ACT ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Over time, the European campaigns have become very well-known. In Italy they are coordinated by ISPESLthe
Agency’s Italian Focal Point - in collaboration with the tripartite national network and an ad hoc working
group 4 .
Every year promotional events take place throughout the country, from technical seminars to events aimed at
disseminating the culture of prevention, as well as awareness-raising initiatives promoted by regional bodies,
3
European Agency for Health and Safety at Work. Available from: http://osha.europa.eu
4
Available from: http://www.ispesl.it/ew/
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The European campaign on risk assessment: a new concept for a successful model
companies, organisations and associations in the sector, which play the key role of “multipliers” of the
campaign message at local level.
The recent approval in Italy of the Consolidated Act on occupational health and safety protection (TU) 5 , which
reorganised, revised and harmonised all the relevant national laws in force, in compliance with Community
directives, has inevitably become the predominant backdrop for all campaign activities.
Indeed, the TU also introduced important innovations concerning risk assessment so that it serves as a primary
pillar in the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases in an even more stringent manner.
Above all, the underlying principle is that the focus is no longer on the company, but on the productive activities
and processes; in this light, it is established that in cases of contracting, sub-contracting, supply and
installation of materials and provision contracts, the principal employer promotes cooperation and coordination
with the contractor and drafts a Unified Interference Risk Assessment Document (DUVRI) 6 .
In addition, the assessment must cover all risks, including specifically those linked to work-related stress,
those concerning pregnant workers and those linked to differences in gender, age and nationality.
Finally, the DUVRI must be dated and must contain the following:
a) a report on the assessment of all health and safety risks, which specifies the criteria adopted for the
assessment;
b) indication of the prevention and protection measures implemented and the personal protective equipment
adopted;
c) the programme of measures necessary to improve safety levels over time;
d) identification of the procedures to implement the measures to be taken and the roles of the company
organisation that must apply these procedures;
e) the name of the prevention and protection service manager, the workers (or local) safety representative,
and the occupational physician involved in the risk assessment;
f) the identification of the tasks that expose workers to specific risks, which require recognised professional
know-how, specific experience, adequate training and preparation 7 .
The European campaign for 2008-2009 is thus part of a national relaunch of risk assessment, as well as of
the further improvement of good practices.
5
Italian Legislative Decree no. 81 of 9 April 2008. Safety Consolidation Act, Implementation of Article 1 of Law no. 123 of 3 August 2007
on the protection of health and safety at work - published in the Official Journal of the Italian Republic no. 101, Ordinary Supplement,
30 April 2008. (In Italian)
6
The Documento Unico di Valutazione dei Rischi da Interferenze (Unified Interference Risk Assessment Document -DUVRI) is required
by Art. 26(3) of Italian Legislative Decree 81/2008 on workplace safety. The compulsory Unified Interference Risk Assessment Report
aims at promoting cooperation and coordination between all contractors operating on the same work site in taking the necessary
measures to eliminate the so-called rischi interferenziali (interference risks), i.e., all the possible risks arising from the interference of
work carried out simultaneously by multiple contractors.
7
Italian Legislative Decree no. 81 of 9 April 2008 op.cit., Art. 28(2) in footnote 5.
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Prevention Today January - June 2009
Box 1
The most important national events of the European Week for Safety and Health at Work 2008
As part of the Working Environment Convention, under the aegis and financing of the European Agency,
on 8 October 2008 in Modena, the Italian Focal Point and its national network organised the seminar
Risk assessment in SMEs: methods and tools, which provided the opportunity to highlight the problems
in applying risk assessment in small- and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) and to contribute to the
identification of standardised procedures and models, in light of the new Consolidated Act.
In particular, from 20 to 24 October 2008, Fiumicino’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport hosted the Aeroporti di
Roma (ADR) – ISPESL joint initiative “Journeying through occupational safety”, an innovative and
entertaining way to inform airport personnel about safety in their workplace and to promote a culture of
prevention also among passengers transiting the airport.
ISPESL experts led a programme divided into 4 information sessions focused on specific work risks,
answering questions from interested airport personnel and passengers, using technical tools and handing
out informative material.
In 2008, ISPESL also worked on disseminating the culture of prevention among young people, students,
undergraduates and future workers, by taking part for the first time, together with the Prevention and
Protection Service of University of Rome Tor Vergata, in the student fair Salone dello Studente Campus
Orienta, which took place in Rome from 21 to 23 October 2008.
The aim of the initiative was to actively involve young people and students in the world of occupational
health and safety, to provide answers to their queries and doubts, to acknowledge their rights and learn
their duties, while simultaneously communicating a cultural and scientific message.
The sharing of good practice has always been at the core of the European Agency’s commitment for building
a culture of prevention in Europe. For this reason, as part of each awareness-raising campaign, the Agency
promotes an initiative to collect good practice examples and solutions - on the theme of the campaign - from
various businesses in Member States.
In the past the Agency has highlighted the difficulty in establishing an exact definition for the term “good
practice” also by virtue of the different definitions adopted in various countries.
“Good Practice” information is not easy to define because it is a broad term. It is a wider concept than “best
practice” and covers a large range of information types. It may be simpler to say what good practice is not!
• It is not “research” information.
• It is not “policy” information.
• It is not “general knowledge” for persons who are not exposed to the particular hazard or risk or who do
not operate in the workplace.
The definition of “good practice” varies between Member States due to the different occupational safety and
health systems and legislation, culture, language, and different experiences. In addition, different groups with
different interests and levels of knowledge have different points of view on good practice in the workplace 8 .
The Agency’s working definition is as follows:
Good practice information should provide persons with occupational safety and health duties the information
to allow them to reduce the health and safety risks to workers at enterprise level in the EU.
The information should be of sufficient quality and quantity to produce, following an appropriate assessment
of the hazards and risks present, a permanent and verifiable reduction in the whole potential to cause harm
to all persons affected by the enterprise and ensure that the relevant occupational safety and health legislation
8
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. Guidelines on the collection, evaluation, and dissemination of good practice information on
the Internet, Bilbao, luglio 2000. Available from : http://www.cna.eu/divisione_economica/dpt_ambiente/SicurezzaLavoro/gp_guidelines.pdf
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The European campaign on risk assessment: a new concept for a successful model
is met. The information should be relevant, current, ethical and effective, focusing where possible on preventing
exposure to hazards and risks at source.
Good practice information is implemented most effectively with the strong involvement of all relevant parties
and in particular, those workers and their representatives who will be directly affected by the action taken 9 .
In Italy, a legislative definition of the concept of “good practice” was established for the first time in Legislative
Decree 81/2008, Title I, Article 2(1)(v):
«Good practice»: organisational or procedural solutions, which are compliant with current legislation and
employ good technique; are adopted voluntarily and are aimed at promoting occupational health and safety
by reducing risks and improving working conditions; are developed and collected by the regions, the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Prevention (ISPESL), the National Institute for Insurance against
Occupational Accidents (INAIL) and the joint bodies as set out in article 51; and are approved by the Permanent
Consultative Committee as per Article 6, subject to a technical review by ISPESL, which ensures its broadest
possible dissemination.
Other provisions of Legislative Decree 81/2008 further define good practice and their approval process:
• Article 6(8) - “The Permanent Consultative Committee for occupational health and safety has the task of:
[…] d) approving good practice in occupational health and safety”;
• Article 9(2) - “ISPESL, INAIL and the Italian Institute of Maritime Social Security act within the competences
assigned to them by law, coordinating the following activities in order that they complement each other
and achieve greater synergy: […] i) development, collection and dissemination of good practice as set out
in Article 2(1)(v)”;
• Article 9(6) - “ISPESL, as part of its institutional competences, operates through its central and local
structures, thus ensuring consistency in the interdisciplinary aspects of its prevention action, and carries
out the following activities: […] o) disseminates, subject to a technical review, good practice as set out in
Article 2(1)(v)”;
• Article 35 - At the periodic meeting “[…] the following can be identified: a) codes of conduct and good
practice to prevent risks of injury and occupational diseases”;
• Article 36 - In training, information and preparation, “the employer shall ensure that each worker is provided
with adequate information: […] b) on risks connected to the use of dangerous substances and preparations
on the basis of the safety data sheets provide for in the legislation in force and in compliance with the
rules of good technique”;
• Article 181 - Physical risk assessment - “1. As part of the assessment as set out in Article 28, the employer
shall assesses all the risks arising from exposure to physical agents so as to identify and adopt the
necessary prevention and protection measures with particular reference to the rules of good technique
and good practice”.
In the above provisions therefore, the regulations explicitly indicate that good practice be developed, collected
and disseminated by the Regions, ISPESL, INAIL and by joint bodies. The duty of the Permanent Consultative
Committee is to approve it. It is clear that ISPESL is fully involved in developing and collecting good practice
by carrying out technical reviews and ensuring its widest possible dissemination.
To support the 2008-2009 European campaign the traditional competition was organised, aiming at collecting
examples of good practice, which culminated in awarding the European winners of the Good Practice Awards
during the Safety and Health at Work in Europe in the 21 st Century congress organised in Prague by the Czech
Presidency of the EU on 27 April 2009. Prizes were awarded to companies and organisations that distinguished
themselves for excellence and innovation in promoting an integrated management approach to risk assessment.
As in every year, ISPESL collected examples of good practice in Italy and conducted a technical review through
a tripartite committee: two examples were put forward for the European Awards (Boxes 2 and 3).
The strength of both these examples of good practice is the aspect of communicating risk, a key element in the
9
Ibid.
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Prevention Today January - June 2009
risk assessment process and on which attention is focussed also at European level. The techniques for
communicating risk play a fundamental role because they target the effectiveness of information giving and
prevention messages through adequate management of diversity in the workforce in terms of individuals and roles.
Box 2
The first example of good practice selected was submitted by the Prevention and Protection Service of
the Local Health Authority (AUSL) of Piacenza and promotes an innovative and technological method of
communicating risk, focused on the user and on the possibility of accessing information at several levels,
both qualitative (by risk, location and subject) and quantitative (more or less information on the basis of
the level of organisational responsibility).
The focus on the user includes a feedback system:
• voluntary and conducted independently by the user;
• systematic, in the analysis of access data and in the audits planned by the Occupational Safety
Management System with which the communication system is integrated.
The advantages are both internal and external to the system.
Internal advantages:
• assessment uncertainties are reduced because the assessment process has been standardised and
parameterised with the involvement of the team of assessors;
• the assessment is put into a context: the attribution of meaning relates to the time and place of the
assessment.
External advantages:
• the user has information available (risk “traffic light” system) which is coded according to their
information needs from the viewpoint of the type and quantity of information.
Box 3
The second example of good practice was submitted by the Workplace Prevention, Hygiene and Safety
Department of the Local Health and Social Services Authority (ULSS 22) of Bussolengo in the Veneto
Region, and it represents an effective tool to improve the communication of risk and prevention for
immigrant workers.
To address the issue of learning Italian, the project Promossi in classe (passed in class) for immigrant
workers was developed using the Common European Framework of Reference of the Council of Europe
designed to classify the language skills of foreigners. With the collaboration of six companies in the stone
and food sectors, a group of workers was invited to participate in an interview. In addition to their ability
to read independently, three levels of knowledge of the Italian language emerged from the responses
obtained. The first level of knowledge does not ensure the understanding of safety signs and of the
contents of training courses provided by the company. It is fundamental that workers in this group follow
Italian language courses in order to be able to work safely. The second level of knowledge is that of
workers who need to strengthen their basic Italian skills for successful employment and social integration
in Italy. Whereas the third level of knowledge, enables foreign workers to easily follow professional training
and workplace safety courses. If, on the one hand, knowledge of the language is an empowerment tool
for immigrants, on the other, it is also in the direct interests of the employer, who can thus ascertain the
effectiveness of the information and training provided to employees in compliance with Articles 36 and
37 of Legislative Decree 81/2008.
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The European campaign on risk assessment: a new concept for a successful model
2. THE NETWORK OF PARTNERS AND THE WIN-WIN LOGIC
On 13 June 2008 in Brussels, the Agency launched the ninth edition of the European Campaign - this year on
risk assessment - under a captivating slogan “Healthy Workplaces. Good for you. Good for business”.
As ratified by the European Framework Directive 391 of 1989, risk assessment is the cornerstone of prevention
in the workplace. Hundreds of thousands of companies throughout Europe conduct risk assessments to
protect the health and ensure the safety of their workers, thus reducing costs due to occupational accidents
and diseases and boosting productivity, motivation and competitiveness.
In 2004, a Communication of the European Commission 10 , which examined how the Framework directive and
five of its individual directives have been transposed and implemented, drew the conclusion that there is the
need to improve risk assessment in terms of quality and workers’ participation, in particular in SMEs and in
those sectors where the health and safety acquis still seem particularly lacking.
The Commission’s report identifies the following points to be improved:
• “In the course of superficial, schematic procedures the focus is being put on obvious risks. Long-term
effects (e.g. mental factors) as well as risks that are not easily observed, are being neglected, as for example
those caused by chemical substances.
• There is hardly any consideration of psychosocial risk factors and work organisational factors.
• Risks are not being analysed and evaluated globally. As a consequence, separate measures are being set
in place, but there is no integrative approach for the analysis of the conditions at the workplace.
• Risk assessment is often being considered to be a one-time obligation and lacks continuity.
• The efficiency of the measures is not sufficiently supervised by employers” 11 .
A recent study by the European Agency, which is forthcoming, Workforce diversity and risk assessment:
ensuring everyone is covered, stresses that the risk assessment process is generally affected by the negative
impact of an approach focussed on the so-called standard worker. Workers are not exposed to the same
risks, nor do they perceive the same risk in the same way. Factors linked to gender, work experience, psychophysical
maturity, and country of origin require careful consideration from the outset, i.e., at the point of
preparing the risk assessment document, so that the appropriate prevention measures can then be identified.
The Agency therefore planned the European campaign 2008/2009 by concentrating on the management
approach to risk assessment by communicating concepts of dynamism and simplicity in a five-step process,
which takes the form of a thorough and systematic identification of hazards 12 in the workplace, the elimination
of such hazards where possible, the assessment and control of risks, and the regular monitoring of the
preventative measures adopted. The European Commission has prepared an important guide, Guidance on
risk assessment at work, in order to support Member States and employers and unions in fulfilling the duties
provided for by the Framework Directive for carrying out the risk assessment 13 .
The new model for the campaign runs over a two-year cycle and includes the construction of an official
network of partners participating in the campaign. These two elements are significant innovations that have
contributed to achieve and consolidate the campaign’s success. Further, by looking beyond the central nucleus
of its own networks, seeking out and involving new subjects, and choosing longer periods for planning,
10
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee
and the Committee of Regions on the practical implementation of the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work Directives
89/391 (Framework), 89/654 (Workplaces), 89/655 (Work Equipment), 89/656 (Personal Protective Equipment), 90/269 (Manual
Handling of Loads) and 90/270 (Display Screen Equipment). COM(2004) 62 final. Brussels, 5 February 2004. Available from:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2004:0062:FIN:EN:PDF
11
Ibid.
12
There is an important distinction between hazard (any element or factor which may provoke damage) and risk (possibility/probability
of suffering damage due to hazards).
13
European Commission, Directorate-General V, Employment, Industrial Relations and Social Affairs. Luxembourg: Office for Official
Publications of the European Communities; 1996.
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Prevention Today January - June 2009
preparing, organizing and following-up the campaign, ensures greater effectiveness and increases its impact.
The construction of a network of partners, which operates on a “win-win” basis, was also promoted in Italy in
line with the European model and by investing in the success of the idea of planning. The partners’
commitment in promoting the campaign is matched by the offer of visibility as an official partner and
organisation that is sensitive to occupational health and safety issues.
Supporting the campaign means taking on a European identity within the extended occupational health and
safety community and benefiting from corporate social communication.
Becoming a partner also represents an opportunity not only in terms of information and cultural awareness,
but also to serve as a channel to increase business opportunities and elevate the company’s profile.
On 6 February 2009, the National Day for the Promotion of the Network of Partners - organised by Focal Point
Italy and its national network - was held in the charming historical setting of the Horti Sallustiani in Rome.
Representatives of the institutions, regions, social partners, sector organisations and companies held talks
and committed themselves to the common goal of consolidating an increasingly ethical and cultural model of
occupational health and safety.
The Day did not take the form of a technical seminar on risk assessment, but it was rather an opportunity to
create a support platform for the Campaign, to ask for a formal commitment from all the national stakeholders
and to stimulate the involvement of new partners, in order to implement more widespread initiatives locally
and support activities for companies in risk assessment.
Evoking that communal spirit which in the past enlivened the meetings of Roman emperors in the ancient
Adrianea Hall, the initiative conveyed and enhanced the message of “being together”, in order to construct
an effective and successful campaign.
Among the companies which showed their interest in the partnership project, five officially asked to join it
during the National Day’s proceedings: Air Liquide Welding; OTIS Italia Group; Bovis Lend Lease; ADR
Aeroporti di Roma; Nomentana Hospital.
By completing an online form 14 , it is possible to apply for partnership and set out the planned activities and
strategies to promote the Campaign. Focal Point Italy will then contact the organisations to further discuss
the proposals and then appoint the official partners.
3. THE EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN TOWARDS A MODEL THAT IS INCREASINGLY
PARTICIPATORY AND IN SUPPORT OF SOCIAL DIALOGUE
The current workplace protection policy, by virtue of its complexity and importance of its contents, is without
doubt the result of experiments put forward in the drive for cohesive harmonisation. This process, which is
now complete, has in some ways been measured through traditional regulatory techniques, but it cannot be
considered static and regulated by a predominant bureaucracy. Global competition and the structure of the
world economy have forced innovation and creativity as key factors in achieving social and political progress;
hence the need to network, to join forces and to cooperate with all the players in the health and safety system,
in order to be successful.
The European Agency has inevitably played a crucial role in this plan. Its own international network, and in
particular the tripartite network of Focal Points, have over time contributed not only to consolidate a European
and global wealth of information and resources on occupational health and safety, to exchange and share,
but have also stimulated collective innovations - significantly involving stakeholders - that have taken the form,
in particular, of promotional activities for the European campaigns.
It is also the new EU strategy to invite the Agency, with the support of social partners, “to develop sectoral
awareness-raising campaigns targeted in particular at SMEs, and to promote the management of health and
14
Available from: http://www.ispesl.it/ew/ew2008/partners.asp
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The European campaign on risk assessment: a new concept for a successful model
safety at work in enterprises through the exchange of experience and good practices aimed at specific sectors.
The social partners are invited to draw up initiatives in the context of the sectoral social dialogue […]” 15 .
The European campaign on risk assessment thus represents the challenge to create new synergies and
becomes the favoured channel for initiatives promoting social dialogue, with the broad participation of
European partners.
It is in particular the recently admitted member states who are demanding work organisation models, technical
solutions, technology and ideas from states which are not only more developed and have a more deeplyrooted
know-how, but are also the main investors in the new areas.
The project Under Construction II - Improving Health and Safety in construction SMEs, promoted by the
European Builders Confederation (EBC), the professional organisation that represents craftsmen and SMEs
in the construction sector in Europe, has successfully focused on the objectives of the initiative promoted by
the campaign.
The project, co-financed by the Commission under the budget heading supporting the European Social
Dialogue, was launched in Brussels on 23 February 2009 and aims at improving health and safety in
construction SMEs through the coordinated approach of social partners.
Thirteen partners from eleven countries (10 EU and Turkey) are involved in this project, including SMEs
associations and trade unions.
Within the general objective of supporting the campaign on risk assessment, the project’s contribution consists
in the dissemination of the campaign’s tools and material as well as exchanging good practice. Finally, the
European social dialogue in the sector is developed through cooperation between national and European
social partners. Thus, communicating an engaged approach to occupational health and safety and promoting
a common culture of prevention have become imperatives, but they must include the broad involvement of all
civil society, which knows no geographical boundaries nor cultural barriers, and goes well beyond the
workplace and workers.
As emerges from the Seoul Declaration 16 , which was signed at the last World Congress on Safety and Health
at Work in Korea by leading figures from the main organisations in the sector, occupational health and safety
is a human right as well as an ethical and social responsibility. Cultural reversal, an underlying principle of the
European Agency’s mission, will become a reality only if the individual as a whole will be at the core of future
policy initiatives in the sector, aiming at quality and total wellbeing and guaranteeing the inalienable principles
of dignity and freedom.
“We have to build and maintain a preventive safety and health culture that permeates all society. Such a culture
must be based on the right to a safe and healthy work environment, on the principle of prevention, and on a
systems approach. Safety and health prevention is not a one-off project - it is continuous, systematic work” 17 .
15
Commission of the European Communities, Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM (2007) 62 final. Improving quality and productivity
at work: Community Strategy 2007-2012 on Health and Safety at Work [online]. Brussels: Office for Official Publications of the European
Communities 2007. Availble from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2007:0062:FIN:en:PDF
16
Seoul Declaration on Safety and Health at Work - The Safety and Health Summit. Available from: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/
public/---dgreports/---dcomm/documents/statement/wcms_095910.pdf
17
First interview with Jukka Takala, on the day of appointment as director of the European Agency in September 2006. Available from:
http://osha.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/jukka_takala/
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