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WORK & HEALTH SAFETY SERVICES

 
   Due to a number of laws and regulation applicable in many countries since years, employers are subject to a list of obligations, from the moment in which an employment or self employment contract is becoming applicable.

In some countries laws have a higher level of complexity and detail, usually according to the number of years passed from the national laws approval, and might be also following the guidelines of other countries or of the European Union.

In order to obtain more information concerning the origin of the above legislation and rules, the main reference web sites are the following :

For more web sites concerning obligations in the single countries, please see our ‘links’ page
www.htlcnetwork.com/links.asp.

In this scenario HTLC Network has created a service which can both supply a service in a single country or coordinate services for more countries, with a specific knowledge and overview which allows to keep under control the key service points, the priority of the more relevant activities, the reduction of risk, and the control and optimization of the cost structure, allowing the customer to have one single interlocutor

We use the general guideline to find a balanced compromise between the cost that employers can afford and the rights of the employees to work & health safety, avoiding in priority if possible the highest penalties, and reaching gradually the point of perfect compliance with the local regulations.

In some cases employers become more sensible to a systemic approach to work & health safety, and are ready to start with a further step which is the OHSAS 18001 certification (Occupational Health & Safety Assessment Series - April 1999), which is really describing the features of a work & health safety system, which implemented by the employer and certified from an independent and recognized certification authority, will allow the company to be recognized on the market or private and public companies at the highest level of compliance on the matter, and always more often this is becoming a principle for selection of suppliers inside and outside the European Union.

The assistance to obtain this certification is also one of the services supplied from HTLC Network, which will grant a tutor and a proper training to all the responsible company staff involved, during all the process, in addition and integration with the basic administrative services, if required.

Please, link to http://www.htlcnetwork.com/StartupFAQ.asp in order to download our service agreement proposals and related fees.

The obligations are often translated into a list of administrative and technical fulfilments, which are often seen as a time waste and a non cost efficient approach from employers.

In reality there are wide opportunities behind this point of view which might transform, a list of obligations in an opportunity for a strategic plan of medium term growth of the company, working on :

  • internal communication
  • information and training to employees
  • work organization and work procedures update and implementation
  • internal cost planning and audit.

There are many detailed analysis proving that the hidden cost of work accidents is much higher than the cost of a well planned system of prevention and protection of the work risk.

Related hidden costs could in fact be :

  • sudden absence of the employee from work and decrease of productivity
  • risk of missing production deadlines/ delays cost - penalties
  • risk of possible claims from other employees in case of lack of related safety procedures/ strike
  • time for discussions with labour unions
  • risk of recovery of the cost from insurances against employer in case of lack of respect of procedures
  • worsening of company work climate, dissatisfaction for company policies and decrease of productivity
  • partial salary and social contribution costs anyway due from employer to employee also during work accident leave
  • recruitment costs of a temporary employee to be hired in replacement
  • management time for planning a solution
  • administrative time for managing the accident administrative procedures/ notices to third parties
  • consulting support costs/ insurance administrative costs
  • possible considerable increase of insurance work accident costs, related to number of happened accidents.

A non exhausting list of the basic fulfilments which all the legislation identified through the links above will by sure include is the following :

Interested subjects:
Employers (legal representatives), managers, internal or external responsible of work safety, specific staff in charge of first aid and fire prevention services, employee’s representatives, employees and self employees.
Risks Evaluation Document:
It is the main instrument of the employer for evaluating the risks present in the company (in order to highlight all of the possible dangers linked to the different activities); it is an informative and descriptive document, with, attached, all of the probationary documents and certifications related to the electrical, fire-extinguishing, air conditioning, refrigerating systems, planimetries, health plan of the company doctor, work fitness certificate of the employees complaint with each specific job.
Emergency plan and test:
It is the document which detects the procedures and the management of emergencies, evacuation, first aid, fire-extinguishing, etc.; a proper test of use of all the equipment with all the personnel needs to be done, with adequate documentation.
Prevention and Protection Service:
Organization, appointment, election of the involved subjects and connected procedures and official documents storage.
Accident & other registers maintenance:
Probationary official documents with the aim to keep an historical track in case of inspection of the work accidents story in the company.
Work location:
check and adaptation of the work environments for the correct use (ex. lighting, hygiene, emergency signals, fire extinguishing tools). For work environment is intended also the extended meaning of building, establishment or company area where the employee has access or transit, therefore the documentation to be collected will have to refer, for example, even to: electrical certification of grounding of the building, maintenance contracts of the elevators and certifications of periodical checks, fire prevention “go-ahead” of the fire fighters, internal electrical systems certification, installer companies qualification certification etc.)
Info rmation and training
the employer should insure an adequate information on risks present in the company on those specific to which are exposed the employees in relation to the activity carried out and provides for it by organizing the related training, (ex. courses for the correct use of the computer and monitor, vehicles safe driving courses, electrical risks, logistics).
Manual handling of the loads:
they are all of those operations that involve a manual transportation of the loads. The employer should detect, mechanize, and, where possible, adopt adequate measures in order to minimize the risk.
I.T. remote access to work :
Form of organization and carrying out of the work that makes use of technologies of information in a contract or a work relationship in which the work activity which could be carried out in the company’s rooms, and instead it is always carried out outside the rooms of the same .

The employer is the responsible of the safety and health of the employee. The employer is obliged to inform the workers of the health risks inherent to a prolonged exposure to the monitor.

Pc and monitor users:
they are those who use gear equipped with pc and monitor in an orderly or habitual way for over twenty hours weekly. The risks inherent to this activity are psychic stress, visual and posture outwear. For the pc users is prescribed a medical visit on hiring and successively periodical checks (usually every 2 or 5 years).
Outsourcing contracts:
Whatever Third Party that, through outsourcing contracts, should have access to company areas, will have to receive from the employer adequate written information on specific risks existent and the (written) availability of visioning all of the documentation inherent to the interested areas. Copy of the outsourcing contracts also have to be kept in attachment to the risk evaluation document during inspection.
Periodical reporting:
It is essential to keep the written minutes of the compulsory periodical meetings of employee’s representatives , responsible of the work safety prevention, employer and company doctor, in order to document the actual absolution of the information, training, consultation and decision procedures in case of inspection.



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