Vision zero: from accident prevention to the promotion of health, safety and well-being at work

There is growing attention in industry for the Vision Zero strategy, which in terms of work-related health and safety is often labelled as Zero Accident Vision or Zero Harm. The consequences of a genuine commitment to Vision Zero for addressing health, safety and well-being and their synergies are discussed. The Vision Zero for work-related health, safety and well-being is based on the assumption that all accidents, harm and work-related diseases are preventable. Vision Zero for health, safety and well-being is then the ambition and commitment to create and ensure safe and healthy work and to prevent all accidents, harm and work-related diseases in order to achieve excellence in health, safety and well-being. Implementation of Vision Zero is a process – rather than a target, and healthy organizations make use of a wide range of options to facilitate this process. There is sufficient evidence that fatigue, stress and work organization factors are important determinants of safety behaviour and safety performance. Even with a focus on preventing accidents these additional factors should also be addressed. A relevant challenge is the integration of the Vision Zero into broader business policy and practice. There is a continued need more empirical research in this area

OSH management in small and micro enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are widely acknowledged as the backbone of the European economy. According to EUROSTAT statistics [1], [2], 29.6% of the EU employees work in micro enterprises (<10 employees), while 20.6 % are employed in small firms (<50 employees). Indeed, half of the European workforce is working in small and micro enterprises (with great variations between sectors). It is therefore very important that small and micro enterprises manage occupational safety and health (OSH) adequately. This implies serious challenges. In this paper the characteristics of OSH Management in small and micro enterprises is central to the discussion. Attention is paid to the specific characteristics of small and micro enterprises, as they cut across sector and industry; the OSH performance for this broad group of firms; the consequences for OSH management strategies; and the importance and possibilities of OSH supporting structures

De nul ongevallen visie: een nieuw perspectief voor het verbeteren van veiligheid: opiniërend

Het verbeteren van de veiligheid in complexe industriële systemen en de preventie van ernsitige ongevallen is een moeilijke opgave voor bedrijven. Om die te verwerkelijken hebben onderzoekers een aantal concepten en methoden ontwikkeld

Ontwikkelingen in de bedrijfsinterne mïlïeuzorg: arbo en milieu

De regering heeft in de notitie ‘bedrijfsinterne milieuzorg’ haar beleid ten aanzien van de milieuzorg in bedrijven beschreven. De invoering van een milieuzorgsysteem wordt voor veel bedrijven vrijwillig, maar niet vrijblijvend

Arbeidsomstandigheden en milieu, een tweeling?

Problemen op het terrain van arbeidsom&shy;standigheden en milieu hangen in veel gevallen oorzakelijk samen. Inzicht in die samenhang is waardevol met het oog op een juiste probleem herkenning, probleembeoordeling en probleembeheersing. Het kan bijdragen aan de besluitvorming van het arbo- of milieumanagement. Het kan tevens helpen bij het vinden van de juiste deskundige om het probleem op te lossen

Corporate social responsibility and safety and health at work

This paper about European situation and perspectives on corporate social responsibility and safety and health at work was presented at Jornada Tecnica: Conditiones de Trabajo y Responsabilidad Social. This congress was organised by the Instituto Nacional de Seguridad e Higiene en el Trabajo (INHST) & Forum Barcelona 2004, held 5 May 2004 in Barcelona. This presentation is based on a project carried in 2003 out for the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Bilbao, as one of the activities of its Topic Centre Research. In the research project an overview was made of (intern)national initiatives to promote CSR, and also eleven company cases are presented as inspiring examples from six different EU countries (not from Spain). Company cases and initiatives are analysed, and conclusions are formulated. Finally, a set of specific recommendations for the three most important stakeholder groups at company level is given: for managers, employees and safety and health professionals