Occupational health and safety for workers has improved significantly over the past thirty years and fatal accidents are, fortunately, rarer events, although we have about three a day. Even reported non-fatal injuries continue to decline. However, probably due to increased awareness, there has been a trend in recent years towards increased stress, depression and anxiety on the part of workers.
These health conditions are beginning to represent an important part of occupational diseases and are also the cause of many of the working days lost during the year in Italy. Precisely for these reasons, organizations must continue to monitor their health and safety management without lowering their guard.
There are many factors that have contributed to the overall decline in reported workplace injuries in Italy:
- The legal obligation to report deaths, injuries and illnesses that occur at work;
- Regulations requiring employers to implement standards relating to health and safety at work;
- Prosecution and financial penalties for organizations that violate regulations;
- The identification of risks to employees while performing their work, through a risk assessment;
- The general awareness that has created a safer environment thanks to management systems that provide organizations with a framework to effectively manage their health and safety responsibilities.
Accidents and casualties are well recorded and monitored, however, new areas of concern have been highlighted that can impact employee health and cost employers time and money due to worker absence and reduced productivity: it is estimated that worker fatigue costs a lot of money to Italy and that shift workers are particularly vulnerable. Night shifts and long shifts with limited breaks can increase the number of accidents and injuries.
Fatigue slows reaction time, reduces coordination and leads, among other things, to underestimation of risk. Mental health problems also cost the Italian economy a lot of money: stress, anxiety and depression lead to the loss of many working days. The common causes that lead to these pathologies are often tight deadlines, too much responsibility and the lack of valid managerial support.
Maintaining an effective workplace health and safety management system provides a framework to help reduce deaths, accidents and ill health for employees and provides them with a safe environment in which to work.
Employers also benefit from reduced absenteeism and improved productivity. Organizations wishing to obtain certification according to a globally recognized health and safety standard can use ISO 45001 certification which helps to reduce workplace injuries and increase production by minimizing downtime.
Having a well-documented management system provides a framework that demonstrates your commitment to the well-being of employees and customers and helps reduce accidents and injuries.
ISO 45001 does not only focus on risks but considers risks and opportunities and is based on processes rather than procedures. For ISO 45001 certified organizations, surveillance visits and regular audits are carried out to ensure that the management system is maintained and continuously evolving to keep pace with the latest risks and regulations.
During the audit, which is carried out by a certification body, one of the areas on which you will be assessed is document control. By documenting and investigating incidents and monitoring injuries, you will be able to identify areas for improvement to prevent injuries and health problems in the future.
You can take steps to train employees, provide protective equipment or clothing, control work processes, and continuously monitor and review feedback on how preventive measures work. The Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) cycle, which is the backbone of many ISO management system standards, has also been adopted to treat health and safety management as an integral part of good management in general.