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In April, the supervisory authorities will carry out a nationwide action to check if industrial and waste companies know what hazards can occur in the workplace and how they can prevent it from happening.
“Risk assessment at the workplace pays off. Simply put, it is about obtaining an overview of hazards and problems that may arise and how to avoid them happening, “says Trude Vollheim, Director of Labor Inspection. She points to profitability by avoiding injury, accident and costly loss of operation.
The theme is chosen because risk assessment is the cornerstone of an enterprise’s HSE management. It must provide the basis for taking measures that reduce or eliminate the dangers in the workplace. This applies to both acute events and conditions that can develop over time.
Supervision Action 2018
The Supervision Action 2018 is a collaboration between the Norwegian Labor Inspection, the Environment Directorate, the Norwegian Radiation Protection, the Norwegian Safety Agency (NSO), the Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning (DSB), the local fire department, the local electricity supervision (DLE) and the county governor’s environmental department. During the next three weeks, inspectors will carry out around 450 inspections at businesses across the country.
Can threaten life and health
“Many employers and businesses take responsibility, comply with requirements and work well with health, safety and the environment. Nevertheless, we see that there are many who have to work better to comply with the regulations in this area. Too often we see that businesses do not map hazards, do not consider risk and lack plans to reduce risk. In the worst case, it can be dangerous, says Vollheim.
“To carry out a risk assessment need not be difficult, but it must be adapted to business – both in scope and in detail. The important thing is to think completely about people, materials and the environment.
Must know what can go wrong
Vollheim emphasizes that the process is important in itself because it helps the entire organization gain more knowledge and attention around risk.
“It’s about being systematic and having a conscious relationship with what can be done in various tasks, processes and installations, and what it takes to prevent it from happening,” says the director.
Industry and waste management
The inspections shall mainly take place in the industry and waste management sectors. The starting point is the internal control regulations’ risk assessment requirements, ie the employer’s duty to work systematically to prevent and reduce the consequences of adverse events.
The results of the action will be completed in week 18.
About the supervisors joint action
- By 2018, the fifth time the supervisory authorities (HSE) are conducting a joint, nationwide oversight action. This year’s action takes place in weeks 15, 16 and 17.
- The operation will help businesses see the importance of thinking completely about their own risk, and see that systematic HSE pays off.
- According to the regulations ( Internal Control Regulations Section 5, second paragraph, paragraphs 6 and 7 ), the company must identify hazards and problems. Based on the survey, it will assess risk and develop plans and measures to reduce risk.
- The action describes risk as “the danger that unwanted events represent for people, environment and material values”. This applies to both acute events and conditions that can develop over time.
