Welcome to the

mandatory OHS
training course
Arbejdsmiljgruppen

Presentation

The course
Programme
Teacher
Participants

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Practical assignment
The purpose is:
To make a connection between the content of the
course and the tasks of the HS group
To ensure that the education has practical relevance
To implement methods and tools learned on the course

Your expectations regarding

the training course.

Talk with your neighbour

about your expectations

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Good and bad working

environment
What is your definition of working environment?
What is a good working environment what
characterises it?
What is a bad working environment?
15 minuttes in groups and a discussion afterwards

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Legislation

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Introduction - background
Worker protection since 1873 - the Danish Working Environment Authority (WEA) was formed.
The first Act included a number of special rules on work performed by children and young persons in
factories and workshops.
Factory act 1913: Rules on guarding machinery. The Act aimed at prevention of accidents and
diseases as a result of factory work.
In 1954: the legislation was extended to include general workers protection.
In 1975, the working environment rules were consolidated into a single Act.
The Danish Working Environment Act: applies to all work on the ground and, in particular, work
performed for an employer.
Extended safety and health concept which means that all factors causing accidents and sickness
must be prevented
The currentWorking Environment Act was passed in 2010.

Working environment act

In Denmark the working environment is regulated
by the Working Environment Act.
The Act includes general provisions on the working
environment.
It is binding on citizens and any violation of the rules is
therefore subject to sanctions.

Purpose of the Act

- Create a safe and healthy working environment in
accordance with societys technological and social
developments.
- to create the basis for enterprises to solve problems
themselves related to safety and health issues with
guidance from the social partners and WEA inspections.

Aims
The Act aims at:
- Preventing accidents and diseases at the workplace
- Protecting children and young persons on the labour
market

The main areas of the

legislation
The main areas covered by the legislation include:
performing the work; workplace design; technical
equipment; substances and materials; rest periods and
young persons under the age of 18.
The act is supplemented by Executive Orders which
further describe how the purpose of the act can be
achieved.

WEA - guidelines
WEA Guidelines
WEA Guidelinesdescribe how the regulations laid down
in Danish working environment legislation are to be
interpreted.
The Danish Working Environment Authority will take no
further action in situations where an enterprise, for
example, has acted in accordance with the relevant
WEA Guidelines.
WEA guidelines describes best practices
The target group is the companies especially the
Health and Safety-organisation

Executive orders - Directives

European Health and Safety Directives are implemented in Danish
legislation. You find versions in all languages on this webpage:
European Agency for safety and Health
The Work Environment Authority also have English versions of some of
the executive orders andguidelines.

The social partners

Denmark has a long tradition for co-operation between public
authorities and the social partners on solving working environment
problems.
The social partners have significant influence on:
The working environment Legislation (the national part)
The national priorities in the field of working environment
Information to the enterprises (sector guidelines e.g.)

The Ministry of Employment

The Ministry of Employmentis the responsible authority
with regard to the governmental regulation of the
working environment in the Danish workplaces. The legal
framework for regulation of working environment is
based on theWorking Environment Actof 1977. In here,
one will find a comprehensive set of rules describing how
to comply with the Act.

Danish Working Environment

Authority
The Danish Working Environment Authoritytasks:
To supervise and control that companies comply with the
Working Environment Act.
To carry out inspections of companies.
To draw up rules.
To provide information on health and safety at work.
In 2011, the Danish WEA employs 732 people.

The National Research Centre

for WE
The National Research Centre for the Working Environme
nt
carries out:
Strategic, scientific research concerning the working
environment
Coordinate research in the field of WE
The centre has 184 people employed.

The Working Environment

Information Centre
The Working Environment Information Centrecollects and
communicates information on working environment. That
is, the centre provides data from companies, projects and
research. In September 2012, the centre had 23
employees.

The Prevention Fund

The Prevention Fundwas established in 2006 and given 3
billion DKKR to reduce attrition in the working life and
improve occupational health and safety in the workplace.
On request by the Minister of Employment, the fund has
been altered and now also focuses on helping
unemployed people along with seniors back to work. As
of 2013, the fund will change its name into the Fund for
Prevention and Retention.

The Working Environment

Research Fund
The Working Environment Research Funds goal is to
strengthen the OSH research in Denmark through a
research strategy and through distributing funds. The
fund supports research in and development of the
working environment in order to prevent and limit the
exclusion of people from the labour market due to
attrition, work related injuries, etc. In 2012, the fund had
a budget of 52.5 million DKKR.

The Danish Working

Environment Council
The Danish Working Environment Councilconsists of
representatives from the social partners and works as a
forum in which they can work together to create a safe
and healthy working environment and discuss how this is
done. The council follows the development within the
OSH field and continuously advise the Minister of
Employment.

The Sector Counsils of Working

Environment
The Sector Councils of Working Environmentprovides
companies within one or several sectors with information
and guide these companies concerning working
environment issues within a specific sector. Trade unions
and employers associations within the different sectors
constitute the councils. In total, there are 11 councils,
which in 2012 received a grant of 40.9 million DKKR.

The Working Environment

Appeals Board
The Working Environment Appeals Boardis a
managing authority that deals with complaints on
decisions taken by the Danish Working
Environment Authority under the Working
Environment Act and the laws on smoke-free
environments.The social partners are represented
on the Board, which is led by a lawyer.

Occupational health clinics

Occupational health clinics are located in the Danish hospitals.
The clinics check whether or not the working environment in a
workplace is the cause of disease and study working
environment in general. Any employee in an organisation can
contact an occupational health clinic herself or the internal OSH
organisation, her physician, or the trade union can send her to a
clinic. There are 9 occupational health clinics in Denmark.
Occupational health and safety consultants can be found in
companies offering counselling, in internal divisions occupied
with working environment in public as well as private companies,
and as independent consultants.

The Health and

Safety
Organisation

Background
The safety organisation has been known in DK since 1930
In the working act from 1977 the safety organisation
covers the whole labour market
In the 90s more integration of HR and safety
organisations
Possible to have integration of HR the Safety organisation
In 2010 we had new regulation. Safety organisation
changed to health and safety organisation.

The Health and

Safety Organisation
New Danish rules in 2010 more freedom for the
companies to organise the Health and safety work.
Still an important part of the law (legislation)
Special rules for construction sector because of many
accidents.
Shorter training for HSR and supervisors.

Health and Safety Organisation

1-9 employees
In companies with 1-9 employees health and safety
issues should be dealt with by regular direct contact
and dialogue between the employer, the employees
and the supervisors, if any.

Employee Employee
Supervisor
Supervisor
Employee

29

Health and Safety Organisation

10-34 employees one health and safety
group
In companies with 10-34 employees, health and safety
activities should be organised in a health and safety
organisation with at least one HSG. It deals with dayto-day tasks and broader strategic issues.
Participants: HSR + supervisor+employer
Health and Safety
Organisation
HSR
Supervisor
HSR
Supervisor
Chairman: Employer
30

35 or more employees two

levels
In enterprises with 35 or more employees, the employer
shall establish a two-level health and safety organization:
1. One level with one or more health and safety groups
2. One level with one or more health and safety
committees

Health and Safety Organisation

Companies with 35 or more employees
Safety
Committee

Chairman: Employer
2 supervisors
2 HSR

HSR
Group

Supervis
or

1 supervisor
1 HSR

Group

1
supervisor
1 HSR

Supervis
or
Group

1
supervisor
1 HSR

HSR

Group

1
supervisor
1 HSR

32

When 5 employees you need a HSO in construction

sector

In work fully or partially performed at temporary or

alternating places of work outside the permanent place
of work of the enterprise, including building and civil
engineering work, the health and safety activities shall
be organised in a health and safety organisation when
the employer has five or more employees at the
external place of work and the work goes on for a period
of at least two weeks.

Supervisor
Supervisor is appointed by the employer
Is part of the management and does not represent the
employees.

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Election of HS-representatives
The HS-representative is elected for two years by the
employees
The health and safety representative enjoys the same
protection against dismissal or any other impairment of
his or her conditions as union representatives within the
same or a similar field.
The health and safety representative must not be
placed in an inferior position due to the activities
related to his or her duties.
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Tasks of Health and Safety

group
Responsible for activities to protect the employees and to prevent risks.
Planning health and safety activities
Preparing the workplace assessment
Checking that working conditions are completely adequate in relation health and
safety.
Checking training and instructions of the employees are given.
Participating in the investigation of accidents, poisoning incidents and harm to human
health as well as near accidents, etc. and reporting them
Stimulating employees to behave in a way that ensures their own and others health
and safety.
Acting as a contact between the employees and the health and safety committee.
Presenting to the health and safety committee, health and safety problems that the
health and safety group cannot solve, or general problems for the entire enterprise.
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Tasks of the Committee

Planning, managing and coordinating the enterprises cooperation on health and safety. Carrying out
the annual health and safety talks.
Checking health and safety activities and ensuring that the health and safety groups are kept abreast
with these activities and are offered guidance. Planning and preparing the enterprises workplace
assessment.
Establishing the size of the health and safety organization
Advising the employer on solutions to health and safety issues
Ensuring that the cause of accidents, poisoning incidents and harm to human health as well as near
accidents, etc. are investigated.
Once a year the health and safety committee shall prepare a complete list of accidents, poisoning
incidents and harm to human health in the enterprise.
Keeping abreast of legislation on the protection of employees against health and safety risks.
Establishing principles for adequate and necessary training and instruction, adapted working conditions
at the enterprise and the needs of the employees, as well as ensuring that compliance with these
instructions is checked regularly.
Advising the employer about the skills development plan
Ensuring that an organisation chart of the health and safety organisation is prepared including
information about members and ensuring thatArbejdsmiljgruppen
employees know about the chart.

Annual discussion on health and

safety
The employer shall conduct an annual discussion on health and
safety with the members of the health and safety organization.
Plan the content of the health and safety activities of the
enterprise for the forthcoming year.
Determine how this cooperation shall take place, including forms
of cooperation and how often meetings shall be conducted,
Assess whether the enterprise has achieved the goals set for the
previous year.
Define goals for cooperation in the forthcoming year.
The employer shall be able to provide written documentation to
the Danish Working Environment Authority that the annual
discussion on health and safety has taken place.
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Training for members of HSO

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39

Responsibilities of the
employer/supervisors/e
mployees

Employers responsibilities
The employer must ensure that:
Labour is properly organised
The employees have been given instructions and understand how to
perform the task at hand
The workspace has been designed to match the job in question and any
necessary technical aids are present and well maintained
Any chemicals or materials used are handled with minimal risks and in a
sound way
You have access to and understanding of user manuals
Management are cooperating with employees
Work environment conditions are continually supervised
Regulations with regards to rest periods are upheld

Supervisors responsibilities
A supervisor:
Is obliged to assist in assuring that the working
conditions are entirely responsible in terms of health
and safety.
Is obliged to attempt to prevent hazards which may
occur in the event of errors or shortcomings.
Must immediately notify the employer of any working
environment problems if it is not possible to resolve
them immediately.

Employees responsibilities
Employees:
are responsible of taking care, as far as possible, of their own and
colleagues safety and health in accordance with their employers
training and instructions.
must make correct use of machinery, apparatus, tools, dangerous
substances and transport equipment
must make correct use of the personal protective equipment supplied
must not disconnect, change or remove arbitrarily safety devices
fitted, for example, to machinery, apparatus, tools, plant and
buildings
who become aware of defects or omissions in connection with safety,
are obliged to report these to the HS representative, the supervisor or
the employer.

Employers responsibility in
construction sector
Council Directive 92/57/EEC sets minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction
site. It highlights the coordination required by the various parties before and during construction:
clients/project supervisors have to appoint one or more safety and health coordinators
clients/project supervisors have to ensure that a safety and health plan is prepared before the construction
phase starts
clients/project supervisors have to take safety and health into account when designing the project
during the construction phase coordinators have to ensure that risks are adequately managed and that the
health and safety plan is taken into account
cooperation between employers in matters of safety and health has to be implemented and procedures
monitored.
Otherdirectivesare also relevant to the construction sector.
Directives set minimum health and safety standards and are transposed into law in all Member States. National
legislation may require higher standards, so check with your enforcing authority.

Group task
1. How can you work with health and safety in your company?
2. Who can you collaborate with?
3. What are the main problems - and how can you use the HS
groups
and the the HS-committee to solve them?
4. Are there specific HS problems - where you need assistance from
advisors?
5. How will you inform your collegues about your new function as
HSR or supervisor in the HS-organisation?

Labour Inspection
The enforcement of the law

Visits
2013: WEA visits 31,368 enterprises. Number of legal
notices:
29,418. 487 notices on the smoking legislation.
Most reactions: Accidents (9141) and the lack
Of Health and safety Organisation (8677).
There are also reactions in the area of psychological
hazards and lift of heavy burdens.

Three areas
The inspection focuses especially on three areas:
Serious accidents
Heavy lifting, monotonous and repetitive work
Psychosocial working
The sectors and enterprises with the most and greatest problems
among the prioritised areas have the highest priority.

Violation of the law

If a company is found to be in violation of the law, the
company is given an enforcement notification with a
deadline.
The Labour Inspection has made a set of guidelines
which describe in detail how the regulatory framework
within the legislature is to be upheld.

Role of preventive measures

The WEA is responsible for providing advice to enterprises
The WEA has set up the smiley scheme for grading
workplaces following an inspection.
Enterprises with a particularly safe and healthy working
environment can obtain a health and safety certificate.
There is also a system of officially approved authorised
consultants. Inspectors frequently require an enterprise
to use the services of such a consultant to address a
specific workplace problem.

Smileys
Red smileys are given to companies with a multitude of problems who have
also been given an enforcement notification.
Yellow smileys are given when the Labour Inspection has given the
company an enforcement notification with a deadline to solve a work
environment related problem.
Green smileys are given to companies who does not violate the work
environment regulations.
Crown smileys are given to companies with a work environment certificate.
This means that the company has made an extraordinary effort to ensure a
good work environment.
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Risk-based inspection
Since 2005 WEA has screened the working environment of every
Danish companies and therefore has a good picture of how the work
environment looks in different industries and individual firms.
The WEA now focuses on companies where it expects major problems
in the working environment. By 2020 the WEA expects to visit:
All companies that have at least two full-time employees
Approximately half of the companies that have between one and
two full-time employed.
In order to select the companies which have the greatest risk of
working environment problems, the WEA has developed a
prioritization tool called an index model.

Detailed Inspection
Detailed Inspections are carried out to monitor:
a specific and limited health and safety problem at a
company e.g. to check whether the company has
complied with a notice.
where the WEA suspects a serious health problem in the
company
where there has been a serious accident
when the WEA carries out special initiatives in specific
industries or within selected safety problems.

Risk Inspections
Risk Inspections are based on theSevesodirective,
which aims to prevent major accidents where there are
hazardous chemical substances, and to limit their
impact on people and the environment. Risk Inspections
are carried out by the WEA in collaboration with other
authorities.

Inspection of foreign companies

The WEA has the responsibility of ensuring that foreign
companies comply with Danish working environment
legislation.
It is also the WEAs task to verify that foreign companies
have notified the Register for Foreign Service Providers
and that the notification is complete and correct. Such
inspections are carried out in the same way as in Danish
companies, and the same enforcement measures apply.

Special supervision of the construction industry

The WEA undertakes special supervision actions in the
construction industry, which run parallel to the regular
monitoring of the industry. The actions are nationwide,
unannounced and focus on specific risks and dangers.

Sanctions
Prohibition: Serious danger. Work is stopped immediately .
Immediate Injunction: An immediate injunction means that the error must be rectified immediately.
Time-bound Injunctionmeans that the company can continue production, but that it must find a
permanent solution to the problem before a specified deadline.
Investigation injunctionscan be issued to a company when the WEA has a reasonable suspicion that
working conditions are not safe.
A decision on mental healthmeans that the DWEA has found problems with the mental health
environment in a company.
A consultancy injunctionis an injunction given to a company requiring the use of an approved safety
consultant to help solve one or more of its safety problems.
Decision without injunction. If a company remedies a violation after a WEA inspection, but before the
injunction is sent to the company, the WEA cannot issue an injunction. In this situation, the company
will instead receive a decision that the WEA detected a violation during the inspection. The company
will at the same time be informed that no further action is necessary to remedy the violation.
Administrative fines. The WEA can impose administrative fines in cases of a serious material breach
of clear and generally well-known areas of the Working Environment Act.
Police report. A company may be reported to the police if there is a serious breach of the Working
Environment Act or if it does not comply with an injunction issued by the WEA.

On line AT
WEA has an on line service that gives you access to all
information about your company regarding e.g. about
legal notices

Contact WEA
Telephone:
70 12 12 88
E-mail
E-post at@at.dk
Information about rules
www.at.dk
Serious accidents:
70 12 12 88.
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Visit from the labour inspector

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Inspector introduces himself

The inspector introduces himself, shows
identification and asks for the management
available. The inspector will also ask for a worker
safety representative.
If they are not available, the inspector may
continue with a limited inspection or arrange a
follow-up visit later that day or the following day.

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Guided walkabout
The inspector will ask to speak to the worker
occupational health and safety (OHS) representative
at your workplace, and request they accompany
them on a tour of the workplace.

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Meet and greet

The inspector will walk through the workplace with
your OHS representative, and stop to talk to
workers and supervisors.
Inspectors have the authority to speak to anyone,
test and handle machinery, take photographs, and
review any documentation in the workplace.

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What are they looking for?

Inspectors look at everything from housekeeping and
personal protective equipment to training and certification.
The inspector may focus on a specific health and safety
issue, such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), and ask
how youve been working to improve ergonomics and
safety in your workplace.
Special attention:
The inspector will special attention to the ministrys
strategic priority hazards: MSDs, falls, and psychosocial risk
factors so you should , too!
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Basic occupational health and safety checklist

The inspector will check:
Printed policies and documentation:
Work place assessment in writing! Action plan. All risk
factors must be covered.
Health and safety organization has it been involved, is it
active?
Annual discussion on health and safety document in writing
Smoking policy very important
Safety sheets for all dangerous chemical substances
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Physical work environment

Accident risk factors: cords. Book cases. Floor,
wet, holes, stairs, carpets.
Ergonomics well-being: desk, chairs, lift of heavy
burdens, light
Indoor climate: ventilation does it work? Heatcold

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Psychological work environment

Risk factors:
Large workload and time pressure
Bullying and sexual harassment
High emotional demands
Poor collegial and managerial support and feedback
High demands on attention and concentration
Conflicts at work
Violence and threats
Shift work and work at unsocial hours
Reward and recognition
Conflicting or unclear requirements at work
Poor influence on own work
Predictability at restructuring and significant changes
Lack of development
Stress
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Group task
How can you get prepared for visits from WEA?
Are there specific areas you have to improve in order to
get a green smiley?
Do you have any areas with a yellow smiley? Or a red
smiley?

Lift of heavy burdens

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Evaluate your lifts

DWEA has developed an app. To evaluate your lift.

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Causes of backpain

Stressful living and work activities

Poor body mechanics when lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying things
Repetitive lifting of awkward items, equipment, boxes, etc.
Twisting while lifting
Bending while lifting
Reaching while lifting
Lifting an object that is too heavy or unwieldy for one person to handle safely
Fatigue
Poor footing such as on a slippery floor or uneven ground
Lifting with a forceful movement
Maintaining bent or stooped posture for prolonged periods, fatiguing muscles
Staying in one position for too long with no stretch breaks, allowing muscles to become stiff
Poor layout of work area
Poor posture when sitting
Poor physical condition - losing the strength and endurance to perform physical tasks without strain
Vibration from a motor such as in a lift truck, a delivery truck, or from using a jackhammer for long periods resu

Manual handling. Group work

Discuss the challenges of manual handling in your
workplace.
Do you have any manual lifts of heavy burdens in the
red area?
What steps have been taken to prevent them?
Do you have any lifts in the yellow area? Have they
been analyzed?

Workplace
Assessment

Workplace assessment (APV)

All companies with employees must create a workplace
assessment
At least revised every three years
Must be in writing and accessible to employees and
WEA
Ensures that health and safety work is systematic
Helps to prevent accidents
Management and employees must work together in the
entire process

Workplace Assessment
Identification and
mapping
what problems do we
have?
Evaluation
Evaluation of the effect

Description
How serious are the
problems?
What are the causes?

Prioritising and actionplan

What should be solved first?
When?
How?
Who?

Sickleave
Are there factors in the work
environment that cause
sickleave?

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Identification and Mapping

A workplace assessment must assess:
Physical effects (e.g. noise, dust, lifts, repetitive work, cold
and draghts)
Chemical effects (e.g. sealants)
Biological effects (e.g. risk of infection)
Ergonomic effects (e.g. working positions and heavy lifting)
Psycholigical effects (e.g. time pressure, bullying,
repetetive work)
The risk of accidents (e.g. working at heights)

Mapping
You can use different methods:
Questionnaires
Employee satisfaction survey
Safety meetings (HSO)
Departmental meeting
Inspection rounds
Dialogue
Analysis and statistics related to accidents/near misses/sick leave
The ideal method is a combination - an open dialogue

Risk assessment
Probability
How likely is it that someone could get hurt?

Severity
How severe will the damage be?

Risk assessment probability

The first step in systematic risk assessment is to assess the likelihood of an
undesirable situation i.e. the probability that the working condition will lead to a situation which is
undesirable.
Remember that often several different things need to occur simultaneously before
the undesirable situation actually exists.
EVALUATION
Schedule - assessment of the probability
The presence of an undesirable situation

How likely?

Less than once a year

UNLIKELY

Less than once a month

POSSIBLE

Less than once a week, but more than once a month.

LIKELY

More than once a week

Very LIKELY

79

Risk assessment - severity

Insignificant injuries

Examples

abrasions
bruising
headache
Skin irritations
Irritation of the
eyes or respiratory
tracts
Transient
discomfort (a few
days )

Lighter, " reversible "

injuries

wounds
burns
concussion
Skin diseases
Small injuries
sprains
transient
injuries/injuries
that are not
permanent
Incapacity for
several weeks

Major " irreversible "

injuries

Amputations
Major fractures
Poisoning
Serious viral
diseases

Catastrophic injuries

electric shock
work-related
cancer
severe poisoning
fatal injuries
deadly diseases

More injuries
together: Deafness /
blindness Asthma /
respiratory injuries
Serious permanent
injuries
Life-shortening
injuries
Unable to work for
several months
80

Model for systematic risk analysis

The last step in the systematic risk assessment consists in assessing the "overall risk "
when both probability and consequence of the undesirable situation are taken into
account .
Find the row that corresponds to the estimated probability ( from step I).
Go down from the top of the column that corresponds to the estimated consequence
(from step II ).
The box, where the column and the row "cut " each other, indicates the risk level.

Unlikely

Possible

Catastrophic
injuries

Insignificant
damage / nuisance

Minor injuries

Major injuries

Insignificant

Insignificant

Moderate

Moderate

Acceptable

Moderate

Serious

Insignificant

Likely

Acceptable

Moderate

Serious

Not acceptable

Very likely

Moderate

Serious

Not acceptable

Not acceptable

81

What actions should be taken?

Risk level

Action

Insignificant
No action is required .
Acceptable

Moderate

No additional precautions.
Improvements may be considered.
Control of working conditions will continue to be maintained.
moderate
There must initiated action to reduce the level of risk .
Once the application to be determined.
If the moderate level of risk associated with life-shortening or
lethal consequences should the probability
that the dangerous situation occurs will be defined more precisely.

Serious

The work must not be started until the risk level is

reduced. Implementation of actions must be immediate .

Not acceptable

The work may not commence or proceed until risk

level is reduced.
If the risk can not be reduced , the work shall be prohibited.

82

Rest

Work shall be organized so that the employee has a rest period of at least 11 hours out of a 24 hour period

Prevention
Have clear procedures and responsibilities for health and safety been set and does everyone know their
own and others responsibilities?
Do you know what you have to do to comply with health and safety legislation? If not, have you
appointed a competent person who can provide advice?
Have you identified the main risks to health and safety and taken action to eliminate or reduce them?
Are your arrangements for the maintenance of work equipment adequate?
Have you provided your workers with any necessary personal protective equipment for risks that
cannot be avoided by other means? Have you trained them in its use?
Have you provided information to the workers on the risks, and trained them in safe working and
emergency procedures?
Do you consult your workers about health and safety issues, including changes to policy, work
procedures, equipment?
Do your workers know how to report unsafe conditions and accidents?
Do you take prompt action to investigate accidents, near misses and reported problems?
Do you regularly inspect the workplace, and check that workers are following safe working procedures?
Do you have a system for reviewing your health and safety policy and working procedures?

Accidents and accident

prevention

What is a work-related accident?

What is an occupational disease?

Accidents and occupational

disesases
An accident is a sudden and unexpected event that
occurs in the course of work, resulting in personal injury.
An occupational disease is a result of an exposure to
risk factors arising from work activity.
What is work injury ?
A work injury is a result of either accidents or
occupational diseases.

15 most common accidents:

Fall and stumbling in the same level
Falling to a lower level
Manual handling of Goods
Manual handling of other people
Conveying
Traffic accidents
Use of hand tools
Machinery and plant
Slipping and falling objects
Fire and explosion risks
Violence accidents
Contact with electricity
Lack of oxygen
Extreme chemical or biological hazards
Extreme temperature effects
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Reporting of accidents
The employer has a duty to report a work-related
accident resulting in a day's sick leave or more .
Notification must be made within nine days to The
Working Environment Authority - EASY (electronic
notification system).
A task for HR or the health and safety organisation

Occupational diseases
Anyone can report, but doctors and dentists must
report, actual and suspected occupational diseases
Notification via EASY when the occupational disease is
found .

Near misses
Near misses are incidents that have a potential for harm
but result in no injury, e.g. a contractor's tool falling
from a height and narrowly missing a person.
Research shows that an injury accident is often
preceded by several near misses, which are not
reportable to the WEA.
Health and safety committees, when monitoring
accidents, should take near misses into account.

Why investigate accidents?

Reasons to investigate a workplace accident include:
most importantly, to find out the cause of accidents and
to prevent similar accidents in the future
to fulfill any legal requirements
to determine the cost of an accident
to determine compliance with applicable safety
regulations
to process workers' compensation claims

Find the root causes

The important point is that even in the most seemingly straightforward
accidents, seldom, if ever, is there only a single cause. For
example, an "investigation" which concludes that an accident was due
to worker carelessness, and goes no further, fails to seek answers to
several important questions such as:
Was the worker distracted? If yes, why was the worker distracted?
Was a work procedure being followed? If not, why not?
Were safety devices in order? If not, why not?
Was the worker trained? If not, why not?
An inquiry that answers these and related questions will probably
reveal conditions that are more open to correction than attempts to
prevent "carelessness".

Factors in accidents

Task
Here the actual work procedure being used at the time of the
accident is explored. Members of the accident investigation team
will look for answers to questions such as:
Was a safe work procedure used?
Had conditions changed to make the normal procedure unsafe?
Were the appropriate tools and materials available?
Were they used?
Were safety devices working properly?
Was lockout used when necessary?
For most of these questions, an important follow-up question is "If
not, why not?"

Material
To seek out possible causes resulting from the equipment and materials used,
investigators might ask:
Was there an equipment failure?
What caused it to fail?
Was the machinery poorly designed?
Were hazardous substances involved?
Were they clearly identified?
Was a less hazardous alternative substance possible and available?
Was the raw material substandard in some way?
Should personal protective equipment (PPE) have been used?
Was the PPE used?
Were users of PPE properly trained?

Environment
The physical environment, and especially sudden changes to that
environment, are factors that need to be identified. The situation
at the time of the accident is what is important, not what the
"usual" conditions were. For example, accident investigators may
want to know:
What were the weather conditions?
Was poor housekeeping a problem?
Was it too hot or too cold?
Was noise a problem?
Was there adequate light?
Were toxic or hazardous gases, dusts, or fumes present?

Personnel
The physical and mental condition of those individuals directly involved
in the event must be explored. The purpose for investigating the
accident isnotto establish blame against someone but the inquiry will
not be complete unless personal factors are considered. Some factors
will remain essentially constant while others may vary from day to day:
Were workers experienced in the work being done?
Had they been adequately trained?
Could they manage to do the work physically?
What was the status of their health?
Were they tired?
Were they under stress (work or personal)?

Management
Management holds the legal responsibility for the safety of the workplace and therefore the
role of supervisors and higher management and the role or presence of management
systems must always be considered in an accident investigation. Failures of management
systems are often found to be direct or indirect factors in accidents. Ask questions such as:
Were safety rules communicated to and understood by all employees?
Were written procedures and orientation available?
Were they being enforced?
Was there adequate supervision?
Were workers trained to do the work?
Had hazards been previously identified?
Had procedures been developed to overcome them?
Were unsafe conditions corrected?
Was regular maintenance of equipment carried out?
Were regular safety inspections carried out?

FACTS collected
Injured workers(s)
The most important immediate tasks--rescue operations, medical treatment of
the injured, and prevention of further injuries--have priority and others must
not interfere with these activities. When these matters are under control, the
investigators can start their work.
Physical Evidence
Eyewitness Accounts
Interviewing
Background Information (Report, minutes from safety meetings, incidents in
the past, near misses)

Write down step by step

When your analysis is complete, write down a step-bystep account of what happened (your conclusions)
working back from the moment of the accident, listing
all possible causes at each step. This is not extra work:
it is a draft for part of the final report. Each conclusion
should be checked to see if:
it is supported by evidence
the evidence is direct (physical or documentary) or
based on eyewitness accounts, or
the evidence is based on assumption.

Investigation report
http://education.qld.gov.au/health/pdfs/healthsafety/inv
estigation-template.pdf

Health and safety incident

investigation report
Group work

Analyse an accident that one of the group members

know of
Use the template to analyse the investigations and
outline your recommendations.
Try to find all the root causes and use them as part of
the recommendations

Health promotion
Step 1: Fx Fruit Scheme, participation in DHL relay race , smoking and alcohol
policies .
Step 2: Offer exercise outside of working hours, smoking stop courses.
Step 3: Exercise during working hours , various health policies The effort is
organized in the HS organisation , employees' needs and wants are analyzed ,
and a key person is responsible for the effort.
Step 4 : Includes an organized effort . The company has put time and money for
a project manager or coordinator. The offers are marketed to the employees.
Step 5: The employees' wishes and needs are addressed . The effort is
coordinated . We recruited a project manager or health consultant and allocated
money to external consultants and relevant activities. Health promotion is part
of the company strategy and marketed professionally.
Source: National Board of Health

The Psychological Working Environment

What are Psychosocial Risk

(PSR) Factors?
Psychosocial risk factors are elements that impact
employees psychological responses to work and work
conditions, potentially causing psychological health
problems.
Psychosocial risk factors include the way work is carried
out (deadlines, workload, work methods) and the
context we work in (relationships and interactions with
managers, colleagues, clients or customers)

Psychological risk factors

Large workload and time pressure
Bullying and sexual harassment
High emotional demands
Poor collegial and managerial support and feedback
High demands on attention and concentration
Conflicts at work
Violence and threats
Shift work and work at unsocial hours
Reward and recognition
Conflicting or unclear requirements at work
Poor influence on own work
Predictability at restructuring and significant changes
Lack of development
Stress
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These areas are part of the legislation

need for prevention
1. Quantitative demands (workload, pace of work)
2. Emotional demands
3. Work related violence
4. Traumatic experiences
5. Night- and shiftwork
6. Bullying and sexual harassment

6 key elements for a good

working environement
The National Research Centre for the Working Environment in
Denmark has identified 6 key elements of major importance for
the PWE:
Influence/control (on own work and working conditions)
Meaningful work (own contribution to joint performance)
Reward (wages, carreer, appreciation/recognition)
Predictability (relevant information about plans and changes)
Social support (from managers and colleagues, feedback)
Demand (workload, pace of work).

Contingency plan
In jobs where there is a risk of traumatic events such as
violence, robbery and accidents, a contingency plan must
be prepared.

Stress at work and home

.

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Stress symptoms

How to tackle work related

stress

Stress policy
Identify all workplace stressors and conduct risk
assessments to eliminate stress or control the risks from
stress.
Provide training for all managers and supervisory staff
in good management practices.
Provide confidential counselling for staff affected by
stress caused by either work or external factors.
Adequate resources to enable managers to implement
the companys agreed stress management strategy

Management
Conduct and implement recommendations of risks assessments within their
jurisdiction.
Ensure good communication between management and staff, particularly where
there are organisational and procedural changes.
Ensure staff are fully trained to discharge their duties.
Ensure staff are provided with meaningful developmental opportunities.
Monitor workloads to ensure that people are not overloaded.
Monitor working hours and overtime to ensure that staff are not overworking.
Monitor holidays to ensure that staff are taking their full entitlement.
Attend training as requested in good management practice and health and safety.
Ensure that bullying and harassment is not tolerated within their jurisdiction.
Be vigilant and offer additional support to a member of staff who is experiencing
stress outside work e.g. bereavement or separation.

OHS staf
Provide specialist advice and awareness training on stress.
Train and support managers in implementing stress risk
assessments.
Support individuals who have been off sick with stress and advise
them and their management on a planned return to work.
Refer to workplace counsellors or specialist agencies as required.
Monitor and review the effectiveness of measures to reduce stress.
Inform the employer and the health and safety committee of any
changes and
Developments in the field of stress at work.

HR in stresshandling
Give guidance to managers on stress policy.
Help monitor the effectiveness of measures to address
stress by collating sickness absence statistics.
Advise managers and individuals on training
requirements.
Provide continuing support to managers and individuals
in a changing environment
and encourage referral to occupational workplace
counsellors, where appropriate

Involvement of HSO in
stresshandling
HSO must be consulted on any changes to work practices or work
design that could precipitate stress.
HSO should participate in workplace surveys.
HSO must be involved in the risk assessment process.
HSO should be allowed access to collective and anonymous data
from HR.
HSO should be provided with paid time away from normal duties to
join training relating to workplace stress.
HSO should conduct in joint inspections of the workplace at least
every 3 months to ensure that environmental stressors are
properly controlled.

Workplace bullying
What is workplace bullying?
Bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed
towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk
to their health and safety."

Types of bullying
Bullying can be psychological violence and/or physical violence, and can
include:
Persistent and repeatedly aggressive behaviour
Physical abuse
Repeated verbal abuse, including yelling, screaming, personal comments, offensive
language, sarcasm
Vindictive, offensive, cruel or malicious behaviour
Unreasonable removal of status and authority
Repeatedly having impossible deadlines, workload or pressure
Being given meaningless tasks
Persistent nit-picking and unjustified criticism
Constantly being singled out or targeted for practical jokes or gossip
Deliberately being ostracised, isolated or ignored.

Risk factors how are they

prevented
Group Work

Discuss the risk factors:

How many of these do you have in your workplace and
what steps is/or should be taken?
Is the psychological area something you talk about from
time to time? Or is it an area of silence?
Is it possible to raise the awareness about PWE and do
you think it is a task for the HS-organisation.

Practical
Assignment

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The practical assignment

The participants must complete a practical task (assignment) in
the company where they are employed in order to get a Course
Certificate.
It must make a connection between the course content and the
individual's work in the Health and Safety Organisation.
The time used to complete the assignment is outside the 22 hours
devoted to training.
You can work alone with the task or you can work together with
your colleague.

Topic?
Find a topic that your workplace need to work
with. The choice is yours. These are only
examples:
Workplace assessment
Bullying
Stress
HSO
Heavy lifting
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The structure of the

assignment

What is the purpose and topic of the assignment?

Why have you chosen it?
How have you been working with it?
What have your findings been? Where have you
been searching for information and help?
What are the rules for the area?
What is the outcome of the assignment for you and
your workplace?
How can you continue the work ?
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Need help?
If you need help you can mail to:
Karin Hjorth: karinhjorth@gmail.com
Poul Bang Nielsen: info@arbejdsmiljoegruppen.dk

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