• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.263-267
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• 2015

Significant changes in the past year have taken place in the world of work that are bringing new challenges with regard to employee safety and health. These changes have led to emerging psychosocial risks (PSRs) at work. The risks are primarily linked to how work is designed, organized, and managed, and to the economic and social frame of work. These factors have increased the level of work-related stress and can lead to serious deterioration in mental and physical health. In tackling PSRs, the European labor inspectorates can have an important role by enforcing preventive and/or corrective interventions in the content and context of work. However, to improve working conditions, unilateral interventions in the context and content of work are insufficient and require adopting a common strategy to tackle PSRs, based on a holistic approach. The implementation of a common strategy by the European Labor Inspectorate for tackling PSRs is restricted by the lack of a common legislative frame with regard to PSR evaluation and management, the different levels of labor inspectors' training, and the different levels of employees' and employers' health and safety culture.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.172-179
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• 2019

Background: Workers exposed to hazards without adequate protections are at greater risk of injury and illness. Supervisor activities have also been associated with injury risk. We examined the interplay between supervisor safety support and occupational health and safety (OHS) vulnerability on workplace injury and illness. Methods: A survey was administered to 2,390 workers employed for more than 15 hrs/week in workplaces with at least five employees who had a direct supervisor. We examined the combined effects of hazard exposure with inadequate protection (OHS vulnerability) and supervisor support on workplace injury and illness, using additive interactions in log-binomial regression models. Results: OHS vulnerability and lack of supervisor support independently increased the likelihood of physical injuries at work. Crude and adjusted models showed that the risk of physical injury was at least 3.5 times higher among those experiencing both OHS vulnerability and a lack of supervisor support than individuals without OHS vulnerability and with a supportive direct supervisor. Workers who experienced vulnerability were at less risk if they had a supervisor who was supportive. Conclusion: In workplaces where workers experience one or more types of OHS vulnerability, having a supportive supervisor may play an important role in reducing the risk of injury and protecting workers.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.241-242
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• 2012

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.322-326
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• 2017

In 1992, the quality control program was introduced in Republic of Korea to improve the reliability of the work environment monitoring, which was introduced in the 1980s. The commission entrusted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute has conducted the program for industrial hygiene laboratories including designated monitoring institutions and spontaneously participating agencies. The number of institutions that participated in the program has increased from 30 to 161. The initial conformance ratio in the participants was 43% (organic solvents) and 52% (metals). Thereafter, the conformance ratio increased rapidly and it has remained in a stable state at more than 89% since 1996. As subject materials, 13 kinds of organic solvents and 7 kinds of metals were used. To improve the capability of measurement and analysis of private institutions, educational courses were conducted annually. An assessment at the actual sites of participants was additionally introduced into the program in 2013. Thus, the program turned into a system that administrates the overall process of participants. For the future, the scope of target materials will be extended through additional items. Thus, the reliability of the results of the work environment monitoring is expected to increase accordingly.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.53-62
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• 2014

According to the statistics of occupational injuries in 2013, the work platforms were main objects causing fall injuries in construction sites. But many scaffold and platform workers use and install the work platforms and the fixed and mobile scaffolding without considering about safety and health standards. We had done a nationwide survey about how the platform workers obey safety and health standards. As the result of this survey, in order to ensure the safety of the work platforms, we founded that the platform workers must obey the safety and health standards when using and installing the work platforms. To improve the safety and health conscious of the workers, it needs to educate a worker on safety and health standards for work platforms. Also, to effectively prevent constructin injuries for the work platforms, it is rextricted for workers to use only safety certified work platforms. And, before installing and using work platforms, it needs to make a work plan for work platforms and obey it.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.372-375
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• 2022

In the globalized field of safety, health, and well-being, the need to build multi-stakeholder alliances to find solutions to complex challenges is growing. This requires common ground for collaboration, as well as concepts and tools to grasp and manage the areas of interest. Over recent years, Vision Zero has awakened interest and it continues to evolve into many forms of approaches and initiatives, which provide a strategic direction and practical tools for supporting the development of safety, health, and well-being at work. Consequently, there is a need to build a shared understanding of 'zero'. This article reflects the potential of Vision Zero as a bridging concept and an approach for building multi-stakeholder collaboration. Thus, we present a multi-perspective framework of Vision Zero to support further dialoge and collaboration in joint undertakings.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.388-397
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• 2018

Background: The study analyzes penalties imposed on organizations for breaching safety and health regulations. The research questions are as follows: what are the commonly breached safety and health regulations? How proportional are penalties imposed on organizations for breaching health and safety regulations in the United Kingdom? Methods: The study employed sequential explanatory mixed research strategies for better understanding of health and safety penalties imposed on organizations. Actual health and safety convictions and penalties data for 10 years (2006 to 2016) were obtained through the United Kingdom Health and Safety Executive (HSE) public register for convictions. Overall, 2,217 health and safety cases were analyzed amounting to total fines of £37,179,916, in addition to other wide-ranging penalties. For thorough understanding, eight interviews were conducted with industry practitioners, lawyers, and HSE officials as part of the study qualitative data. Results: Findings show that the Health and Safety at Work (HSW) Act accounted for 46% of all HSE prosecution cases in the last decade. This is nearly half of the total safety and health at work prosecutions. Moreover, there is widespread desire for organizations to comply with the HSW Act, but route fines are seen as burdensome and inimical to business growth. Conclusion: A key deduction from the study reveal significant disproportionality concerning penalties imposed on organizations for breaching safety and health regulations. On aggregate, small companies tend to pay more for health and safety offenses in a ratio of 1:2 compared to large companies. The study also reveals that the HSW Act accounted for nearly half of the total safety and health at work prosecutions in the last decade.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.305-305
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• 2012

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2019

Background: Promoting healthy lifestyles at work should complement workplace safety programs. This study systematically investigates current states of occupational health and safety (OHS) policy as well as practice in the European Union (EU). Methods: OHS policies of EU member states were categorized as either prevention or health promotion provisions using a manifest content analysis. Policy rankings were then created for each prevention and promotion. Rankings compared eight indicators from the European Survey of Enterprises on New and Emerging Risks-2 data on prevention and promotion practices for each member state using Chi-square and probit regression analyses. Results: Overall, 73.1% of EU establishments take preventive measures against direct physical harm, and about 35.4% take measures to prevent psychosocial risks. Merely 29.5% have measures to promote health. Weak and inconsistent links between OHS policy and practice indicators were identified. Conclusion: National OHS policies evidently concentrate on prevention while compliance with health and safety practices is relatively low. Psychosocial risks are often addressed in national policy but not implemented by institutions. Current risk assessment methods are outdated and often lack psychosocial indicators. Health promotion at work is rare in policy and practice, and its interpretation remains preventive. Member states need to adopt policies that actively improve health and well-being at the workplace.

• Journal of the Korean Professional Engineers Association
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.53-56
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• 2008

Having met in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 29 June 2008 on occasion of the 18th World Congress on Safety and Health at Work, jointly organized by the International Labour Office (ILO), the International Social Security Association (ISSA) and the Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (KOSHA), with the participation of senior professionals, employers' and workers' representatives, social security representative, policy-makers and administrators. Recognizing the importance of cooperation among international organizations and institutions. Welcoming progress achieved through international and national efforts to improve safety and health at work.