A profile of GL producers in the field of safety and health at workplaces in Italy: results of a sample survey

The recent European regulation (EEC Framework Directive 89/391) regarding safety and health at work and its transposition in the Italian legislation (L.D. 626/94 and L.D. 242/96) attaches great importance to the role of information. For the first time, employers are obliged to carry out the risk assessment pertaining to the specific workplace and to inform all their employees; the latter, in their turn, have not only to be informed, but to play an active role in informing themselves in order to become aware of the potential risks and to take every possible measure to avoid accidents. The new legislation has consequently had the effect of stimulating the production of a great quantity of specialised documentation, which presents the well known characteristics of grey literature documents and which very rarely reach the diffusion channels of conventional literature. Furthermore, this documentation is produced by institutions and associations, which are entitled to operate in this field at different levels of responsibility and which have specific roles and range of intervention. This paper presents the results of the first phase of a two-year project, which aims to develop a database gathering grey literature documents in the field. In this first phase a sample survey has been carried out using a questionnaire to identify grey literature producers, types of documents, modality of production, diffusion and bibliographic treatments. The structured questionnaire has been distributed to approximately 900 potential GL producers, selected on the basis of their competence and relevance so as to represent the main subjects which interact in this field: research (university and research bodies), control (national and local health care departments), consultancy (associations dedicated to this field, trade unions). This also gives the opportunity to analyse the documents produced which are characterised by the intersections of both technical-scientific and administrative- institutional aspects and which may stimulate further discussion on the definition of Grey Literature documents. Thus, the results of the questionnaire allow us to outline different profiles of Grey Literature producers, which in turn make it possible to develop an information system capable of facilitating the already existing information flows as well as creating new ones.Includes : Conference preprint, Pratt student commentaryXAInternationa

La cultura della prevenzione nel progetto, nei prodotti e nella gestione dell'ambiente di vita e di lavoro

Dipartimento Documentazione, Informazione e Formazione; Corso di ergonomia, seminario di studi e approfondimentoConsiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Assessment and improvement of a corporate research information system

Background: In 2003 the Italian National Institute for Occupational Prevention and Safety (ISPESL) developed a Research Information System in the field of Occupational Safety and Health (RisOSH) through a project in collaboration with the Italian National Research Council (CNR). RisOSH became operational in 2004 and it is now embedded in the Institute webpage dedicated to Research Activities (http://www.ispesl.it/ricercheOSH/ext/). Its double-fold interface supplies information on conditions and modalities to participate in project calls, permits the electronic input of research results, and allows users to search for ongoing and finalized projects. It also constitutes an access point for internal users, through a reserved area, to directly contribute to the collection and validation of data within the project lifecycle. Objectives: After about two years of maintenance and updating of RisOSH, some activities are being planned to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the system, as well as of the internal communication flow, which is the basis of a comprehensive and consistent information content. In particular, the aim of the paper is to test how to increase the number and quality of project results collection, and to find out the best practice for the direct involvement of researchers in a qualitative data input. Methods: A scheduled plan of contacts is taking place within the Institute scientific community, using the tools provided by RisOSH, such as the register of names and addresses linked to the different research departments, to make researchers more aware of the system usefulness and involve them in providing lacking information or in integrating or amending the available ones. Results: RisOSH currently contains more than 500 descriptions of research projects funded by ISPESL and carried out in collaboration with different organisations. About one third of the projects contains the description of the results, while the remaining ones are either in progress or lacking information about final results. The evaluation will be based on a comparison between the data gathered before and after the activities which are being carried out in the present study. The resulting quality assessment will contribute to identify the system technological and organisational strengths that make RisOSH transferable and interoperable with new information systems planned within the Institute.Includes: Conference preprint, Powerpoint presentation, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentaryXAInternationa

The integration of GL documents with a research information system on occupation safety and health

The paper presents the results of a joint project between the Italian National Institute of Safety and Health at Work and the Italian National Research Council. It illustrates the choices and main features in the development of the RIS-OSH system (Research Information System on Occupational Safety and Health). This system has been developed giving particular attention to the organisational improvement of the production, collection, preservation and diffusion of institutionally generated information, emphasising the importance of the quality control of the information produced during the project lifecycle. The paper gives the description of the workflow, which outlines the interaction between the various actors involved in the process of supplying and diffusing results. Finally the integration of the RIS-OSH system with the GL database and the global system architecture are described.Includes: Conference preprint, Abstract and Biographical notes, Pratt student commentaryXAInternationa

Sicurezza nei cantieri edili. Cadute dall'alto

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7 , Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

La radiazione solare ultravioletta: un rischio per i lavoratori all'aperto. Guida per datori di lavoro e lavoratori

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7, Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal