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Topics widely related to occupational health and safety and labor law. Why is it worth using the knowledge of our specialists? Because, by working with companies from many different industries, they have gained a lot of experience that they are happy to share.

Zastosujemy formę, która będzie najlepsza It all depends, what you prefer. We can arrange a meeting, telephone consultations, teleconferences or for example visual inspection of the workplace and then plan a discussion about our observations.

Appointment of a team – involving qualified people: competent employees, OHS specialists or external experts, employee whose work position is being assessed.

Gathering information needed to conduct risk assessment:

• localization of the job position and duties performed,
• information about the employees: pregnant women, part-time workers, subcontractors, employees working outside the main company premises,
• information about used materials, technological processes, activities performed and time of those activities,
• already identified risks and their sources,
• risks identified by user manuals of devices and machinery used and their potential effects,
• protective measures used,
• accidents and occupational diseases which happened already at assessed job position,
• minimal health and safety standards regulated by guidelines relating to assessed job position.

Analysis of gathered information and identification of hazards occurring at the work position.

Occupational risk assessment related to identified threats.

Identification of actions eliminating or reducing occupational risks – we start with hazards with the highest risk of occurrence.

Documenting the results of occupational risk assessment – law does not regulate how this document should look like. 

Informing employees of the results of risk assessment – when doing so, employer should ensure, all information is properly understood.

There are no specific regulations on how often and in what way occupational risk assessment needs to be updated. However, there are number of situations when occupational risk assessment needs to be verified and renewed (point 1). The frequency of periodic updates should be determined in-house, but it is assumed that once a year is the most optimal.

• It is necessary in order to be able to make legal classification of the accident, determine entitlements of the injured employee (and his family) to compensation.

• Employer is also obliged to identify and apply preventive measures aimed at preventing similar accidents in the future.

Ensuring safe and hygienic working conditions is a basic and one of the most important duties of every employer. Actions aimed at improving work safety in the company after the accident will depend on how the post-accident documents are prepared and analysed.

They are usually built on classic philosophy of continues improvement of quality known as the Deming circle (PDCA).

Basic elements of H&S Management System are:

• Occupational health and safety policy,
• Participation of employees,
• Legal requirements and other obligations,
• General and specific objectives,
• Structure, responsibility and ranking,
• Training, awareness, competence and motivation,
• Internal communication,
• Documentation of the H&S Management System,
• Occupational risk assessment,
• Supervision of subcontractors,
• Corrective and preventive actions,
• Active and proactive monitoring of health and safety,
• Internal audits,
• Management overview.

Everyone!

However, as in any case, a good example should come from above. Committed management is a key to success. It is also worth mentioning that, a modern management system requires to create safe workplace, which translates into continuous assessment and monitoring not only occupational risk, but all the risk related to occupational health and safety. Without building a robust system, based on commitment and awareness of all of the employees in the implementation of key aspects of occupational health and safety, it will not be possible to eliminate accidents at work.

In a way already agreed in the company. It can be in a form of a paper documents made available to each employee or electronically via the company intranet pages.

People conducting audit.

Audit is carried out by specialists – people who are able to assess the solutions implemented in the workplace with regards to health and safety.

Meetings.

During the audit, depending on needs, meeting with owners and employees are held, available documentation is reviewed, individual areas of activity are inspected.

Analysis and reporting.

The data is analysed for compliance with the standards. The auditor prepares a report which indicates potential threats and legal irregularities, provide recommendations that should be implemented to improve the existing state of health and safety.

The scope of the audit, often includes the following:

• Work regulations,
• Health and safety trainings (frequency),
• Occupational risk assessment,
• Working environment conditions,
• First aid system,
• Adaptation of workplaces,
• Adaptation of work processes,
• Employees’ medicals,
• Fire safety,
• Adaptation of sanitary rooms,
• Work accidents register and occupational diseases register,
• Personal protective equipment and its management,
• Results of environmental studies,
• Transport,
• Storage,
• Efficiency of machinery and other equipment,
• Occurrence of harmful, dangerous and difficult factors,
• Protocols from premises inspections.

It allows to check and evaluate current health and safety solutions and their functionality. It is a starting point to make changes.

Each audit evaluates and checks company’s health and safety rules with regards to applicable legal requirements. It lets to establish actual state and detects threats which need to be removed immediately. This certainly helps to prevent many potential work accidents.

It also allows to protect employer from legal and financial consequences that may results from non-compliance with certain standards.

Audit will indicate areas with certain irregularities. Employer should then prepare a plan of preventive and corrective actions based on the recommendations from report.