POLISH STANDARDS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY AS A TOOL FOR IMPLEMENTING REQUIREMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES INTO THE PRACTICE OF ENTERPRISES

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1 POLISH STANDARDS ON HEALTH AND SAFETY AS A TOOL FOR IMPLEMENTING REQUIREMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN DIRECTIVES INTO THE PRACTICE OF ENTERPRISES M. PĘCIŁŁO Central Institute fr Labur Prtectin ul. Czerniakwska 16, -71 Warszawa, Pland 1. Intrductin Mdern ccupatinal safety and health (OSH) management requires implementatin f an effective management system in this area. The basic rules f OSH management are stated in Eurpean directives, especially in the Framewrk Directive 89/391 n the intrductin f measures t encurage imprvements in ccupatinal health and safety f emplyees", which has been fully implemented int Plish law. The directive defines bligatry activities related t OSH management including: ccupatinal risk assessment, infrming and training f emplyees in the field f ccupatinal safety and health, mnitring wrking envirnment and making apprpriate recrds, as well as the necessity f invlving emplyees participatin in activities cncerning safety and health prtectin and the cntinual imprvement f these activities. It is prper t add that the Plish law has been changing significantly due t its adaptatin t requirements f the EU s directives. T help Plish cmpanies in fulfilling the requirements f the directives and f ther natinal regulatins and t help them in implementing OSH management systems, in 1999 the Plish standard PN N 181 Occupatinal Health and Safety Management Systems. Requirements was wrked ut. Additinally tw ther standards: the PN-N-182 standard (guidelines fr ccupatinal risk assessment [3]) and the PN-N-184 standard (guidelines fr designing and implementing OSH management systems [4]) were develped. The standards are intended fr vluntary implementatin. The mdel f an OSH management system adpted in the Plish standards and the results f study n the effectiveness f OSH management systems as a tl fr accident preventin will be discussed. Additinally the main findings f research n Plish entrepreneurs awareness f requirements f Eurpean directives cncerning OSH issues will be presented. 1

2 2. An OSH management system defined in the Plish standards The main bjective f the Plish standards is t prvide fundamental rules fr designing and implementing an effective OSH management system that supprts enterprises in fulfilling legal requirements and in designing safety culture. The Plish standards are based n the rules f management systems that are cmmn t the quality management system laid dwn in the PN-ISO 9 standards and t the envirnment management systems laid dwn in the PN-EN ISO 14 standards. The mdel f the OSH management system applied in the Plish standards is shwn in Figure 1. Cntinual imprvement Management review Management cmmitment and OHS plicy Planning Checking and crrective & preventive actins Implementatin and peratin Figure 1. Mdel f ccupatinal health and safety management system adpted in the Plish standards [2] The PN-N-181 standard specifies basic requirements fr an effective OSH management system. It is ntewrthy that the standards des nt lay dwn abslute requirements fr the ccupatinal health and safety perfrmance, it nly calls fr assuming the cmmitment set ut in the ccupatinal health and safety plicy, namely that the rganizatin will perate in cmpliance with applicable regulatins and agrees n cntinual imprvement. The standard cntains amng thers requirements fr identificatin f hazards existing in the rganizatin and the assessment f related ccupatinal risk. The standard shall nt define the way f taking such actins as identificatin f hazards and ccupatinal risk may vary depending n the type and size f rganizatin, technlgy 2

3 applied by it, size and type f hazards, etc. Such actins may be taken with the help f the guidelines laid dwn in the PN-N-182 standard [3]. Practical slutins and recmmendatins fr designing and implementing particular elements f OSH management system in a cmpany are presented in the PN-N-184 standard [4]. The main elements f an OSH management system defined in the Plish standards are: ccupatinal health and safety plicy, tp management cmmitment, planning including: hazard identificatin and ccupatinal risk assessment legal and ther requirements, bjectives and targets, actin planning, implementatin and peratin including: structure, respnsibility and authrity, resurces, training, awareness, cmpetence and mtivatin, cmmunicatin, ccupatinal health and safety management system dcumentatin, peratinal cntrl f peratins and activities related t significant hazards, preparedness and respnse t ccupatinal accidents and emergencies, checking and crrective & preventive actins including: mnitring, auditing, recrds, nncnfrmity and crrective & preventive actins, management review and cntinual imprvement. The standards have cntributed t the ppularizatin f the rules f ccupatinal safety and health management in Pland and t their implementatin int Plish cmpanies. Nwadays mre than 2 cmpanies have implemented health and safety management systems in accrdance with the Plish standards. Befre develping the PN-N-181 standard Plish enterprises had been designing and implementing OSH management systems by analgy t the PN-EN ISO 141 standard [1]. Many f these cmpanies have already imprved health and safety. 3

4 3. An OSH management system as a tl fr accident preventin T analyse relatins between an OSH management system and the level f ccupatinal safety and health perfrmance specialists in ccupatinal safety and health management systems frm 18 cmpanies f different sizes, perfrming different activities were asked t cmplete a questinnaire. 71 cmpanies respnded. The questinnaire cntained questins cncerning particular elements f the management system (wrked ut n a basis f a detailed analysis f the requirements f the PN- N-181 standard). Additinally, the questinnaire was supplemented with questins abut legal requirements nt cvered by the standard and the questins n the OSH management system perfrmance, especially in relatin t develped ccupatinal safety and health culture in the cmpany (wrked ut n the basis f a checklist fr safety culture research in the cmpany) Fulfilling legal requirements n OSH ensures that the cnfrmity f OSH perfrmance f an rganizatin t the requirements f the PN-N-181 standard amunts t 6%. Elements f management system that are strngly influenced by legal regulatins are: mnitring, preparedness and respnse t ccupatinal accidents and emergencies, recrds and hazard identificatin and ccupatinal risk assessment. T analyze the relatin between OSH management systems and the level f ccupatinal safety and health average ccupatinal accident rates fr grups f cmpanies were calculated (cnsidering the divisin f cmpanies by activities). Management system assessments were cnsidered within the fllwing limits: less than 6%, frm 6% t 8% and mre than 8%. The relatins between ccupatinal accidents and management system assessments in cmpanies perfrming different activities are presented in the figures 2 a c. The results btained shw that ccupatinal accident rates in metallurgical cmpanies which implemented the OSH management system accrding t the standard PN N 181 (assessment 8 %) are tw times less than in cmpanies limiting their effrts t fulfilling the legal requirements (system assessment amunts less than 6%). The accident rates are 3% lwer in the trading and services cmpanies that implemented the OSH management system accrding t the standard PN N 181 than in cmpanies whse cnfrmity t the Plish standard has been assessed as lw. 4

5 4 The ccupatinal accident rates (per emplyees) less than 6% 6-8% mre than 8% The level f cnfrmity OHSM t the standard (%) in metallurgical cmpanies Figure 2a The ccupatinal accident rates accrding t the level f cnfrmity f the OHS management system t the standard PN-N-181 (metallurgical cmpanies) The ccupatinal emplyees) accident rates (per less than 6% 6-8% mre than 8% The level f cnfrmity f OHSM system t the standard (%) in ther manufacturing cmpanies Figure 2b. The ccupatinal accident rates accrding t the level f cnfrmity f the OHS management system t the standard PN-N-181 (ther manufacturing cmpanies) 5

6 The ccupatinal accident rates (per emplyees) less than 6% 6-8% The cnfrmity f OHSM systems t the standard (%) in trading and services cmpanies Figure 2 The ccupatinal accident rates accrding t the level f cnfrmity f the OHS management system t the standard PN-N-181 It is ntewrthy that the experiences in management systems in ther areas (quality management, envirnmental management) have psitive influence n OSH management. Amng the respndent cmpanies, in cmpanies that have implemented quality management system and envirnmental management system cnfrmity f OSH management systems t the requirements f the standard PN-N-181 was higher (figure 3). These findings cnfirm the cmpatibility f the PN-N-181 standard t standards referring t ther management systems. In spite f a high level f the cnfrmity f OSH management system in cmparisn t the standard in sme cmpanies, the ccupatinal accident rates are high. Results f research cnducted in these cmpanies d nt significantly influence the results f research btained fr all cmpanies studied. They can nly indicate inapprpriate OSH management system assessment in the cmpanies where the OSH management system is being implemented. The main reasn fr the majrity f such cases is the fact that the system has been implemented fr a shrt time and peple wh are wrking n implementing are mre cncentrated n preparing frmal prcedures than n ensuring the prper perfrmance f the system. The reasns fr ineffective OSH management system perfrmance can be identified during additinal research r audits, which shuld be cncentrated nt nly n the analysis f dcumentatin but als n the practical perfrmance f prcedures. 6

7 The level f cnfrmity t the standard (%) Quality management system Quality management system and OHSM system and quality envirnmental management system management system Quality management system, envirnmental management system and OHSM system Figure 3. The assessment f cnfrmity OHS management system t requirements f the standard in the cmpanies studied implementing different management systems 4. Awareness f Plish emplyers f Eurpean directives requirements This year Plish entrepreneurs were asked t cmplete a questinnaire cncerning their awareness f implementing requirements f the UE s directives int the Plish law. emplyers answered. The questinnaire cnsisted f questins related t the fllwing directives: the 9/269/EEC directive n minimum criteria f manual handling peratins, the 9/27/EEC directive n wrk with use f display screen equipment (DSE), the 89/656/EEC directive n persnal prtective equipment (PPE), the 89/655/EEC directive n wrk equipment. The findings shw that the emplyers are aware f requirements f the directives (the less knwn The requirements f the directive n wrk equipment are knwn the wrst (by 45% f respndents) and the requirements f the directive n DSE are knwn the best (by 84% ). The respndents were asked if implementing requirements f these directives int the practice f enterprises wuld bring them any benefits. Mst emplyers expect, first f all, reducing number f ccupatinal accidents and diseases and increasing prductivity and quality f gds and services (Figure 4). 7

8 9 enterprises studied (%) /269/EEC 9/27/EEC 89/655/EEC 89/656/EEC Decreased rates f ccupatinal accidents and diseases Increased staff mrale Decreased staff turnver Increased prductivity Increased quality f utput Figure 4. Benefits resulted frm implementing the requirements f the directives int the practice f enterprises enterprises studied (%) /269/EEC 9/27/EEC 89/655/EEC 89/656/EEC csts > benefits csts = benefits benefits > csts I d nt knw Figure 5. Relative f csts and benefits f implementing the requirements f the directives Respndents were als asked t assess the relative f csts f benefits f implementing the requirements f these directives by judging whether the csts wuld utweigh the benefits, the 8

9 benefits wuld utweigh the csts r the csts and benefits wuld break even. Mst emplyers expect that the benefits will utweighed the csts (Figure 5). 4. Cnclusins Implementatin f an effective OSH management system accrding t the requirements f Plish PN-N-181 standard helps enterprise t fulfil requirements f the Eurpean directives and ther natinal regulatins. In particular the effective OSH management system enables t identify and implement int the practice f a cmpany all new regulatins cncerning OSH issues. The research cnfirms that an OSH management system culd be an effective tl fr accident preventin. In particular the research shws that there is a relatin between cnfrmity f the OSH management systems t the Plish standard and OSH perfrmance level in Plish enterprises. Higher assessment f the OSH management system (higher level f cnfrmity t requirements f the standard) means usually lwer ccupatinal accident rates. The research als shws that the frmal implementatin f an OSH management system cannt ensure emplyees safety and health prtectin if it is nt fllwed by activities aimed at implementing the system int practice. It is ntewrthy that implementatin f quality management system and envirnmental management system induces increase f the level f cnfrmity f ccupatinal safety and health management systems t the requirements f the PN N 181 standard. It is als prper t add Plish emplyers are aware f implementing requirements f the EU s directives int the Plish law and they expect that fulfilling them will cntribute t imprve safety and health in their cmpanies thus they will impact psitively n prductivity and cmpetitiveness f enterprises. 5. References [1] Plish Standards Cmmittee PN-EN ISO 141:1998 Envirnmental Management Systems Specificatin with Guidance fr Use [2] Plish Standards Cmmittee, PN N 181:1999 Occupatinal health and safety management systems. Requirements. [3] Plish Standards Cmmittee, PN N 182:2 Occupatinal health and safety management systems. Guidelines fr ccupatinal risk assessment. [4] Plish Standards Cmmittee, PN N 184:21 Occupatinal health and safety management systems. Guidelines. 9