Investing in workplace safety pays off 15.05.2008
Five years ago the Netherlands’ Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment launched its ‘Programma Versterking Arbeidsveiligheid’ or Improving Occupational Safety Programme, aimed at reducing workplace accidents. The programme ended in April 2008. Investing in workplace safety pays off, the results have demonstrated.
More aware employee conduct and modifying the company culture resulted in the number of workplace accidents dropping by some 10 per cent over the five years. Beer brewer Bavaria even got its workers to photograph hazardous situations. Workplace accidents were cut by half. Management training concentrating on safety issues enabled waste managers AVR-Van Gansewinkel to chalk up 40 per cent fewer workplace accidents. These are two examples from the 22 safety improvement campaigns carried out by 15 major companies in the industrial, metal and construction sectors among others. The campaigns produced a top ten with tips for better safety in the workplace.
Not only does a workplace accident produce great distress for the individual employee, but it can also lead to reduced production, damage to the company image and other high costs for the employer. For a fatal accident the costs can rise as high as 70,000 euros, research has shown. Avoiding workplace accidents can save a company considerable money. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment has thus developed a tool enabling companies to calculate the period over which an investment in workplace safety pays for itself. This ‘return calculation’ can be found (in Dutch) at: www.arbeidsveiligheid.arboportaal.nl.
Alongside new initiatives, the Improving Occupational Safety Programme yielded a large number of facts and figures. The greatest risks for fatalities, it appears, include working on a roof and on movable platforms. The underlying cause is a lack of attention to working safely.
It’s not always easy to gain an insight into the way safety risks can be lessened within the budget allocated for this. The Ministry’s new risk model provides entrepreneurs with tailored advice about the most efficient and effective protection measures for a specific investment. It is a global first. Entrepreneurs wanting to apply the model still have to wait a little. The user-friendly version is set to appear in 2009.
Source http://www.arboportaal.nl
