Regulating Workplace Safety: Systems and Sanctions

Safety and Reliability, 1993

Safety Science, 2020

Certified occupational health and safety management systems (COHSMS) after Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 is now widely applied and the application thereof can be expected to grow considerably, with the publication of the new International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 45001. During the last decade a growing body of research has provided results on many aspects of such management systems, though an overview of the results has so far been lacking. We address this gap in the research with a realist review of the mechanisms of OHS management systems. After a thorough literature search 18 papers with empirical studies qualified for the review. We used a realist synthesis procedure to analyze for program theories and secondly to analyze for context-mechanism-outcome (CMO) configurations. The analysis of the OHSAS 18001 standard shows three program theories: operational, institutional and compliance. Five CMO configurations confirm the program theories: integration, learning, motivation, translation and attention. The configurations emphasize that certain combinations of context and mechanisms are necessary for the successful application of OHS management systems. Therefore, we describe specific paths to the successful implementation of COHSMS as well as the internal contextual elements that must be in place in order to follow them. Our research can thus be used by organizations as the basis for thorough internal evaluations before commencing a certification scheme. More research is needed for a more fine-grained understanding of how to secure a successful outcome and for the function of the new ISO 45001.

Legislation within the European Union (EU) is driven by directives. Member States are bound to comply with EU directives within a specified time frame. UK legislation has a clear requirement for employers to manage safety and health through the development of valid and effective risk assessments and associated risk control measures. In the USA safety management systems are identified as one of the key elements necessary to meet the goals of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1970. OSHA's strategy is to pursue the following four strands; Voluntary Protection Programs (safety management system), consultation survey, full-service area offices, and effective enforcement. And while trans-global terminology may differ, the message and the spirit of enforcement remains the same. And yet the evolution of safety created a situation where it became event driven and reactive. This paper discusses how operational analysis and control turned safety back into the process it was intended to be and examines how it developed in the 15 years since it was first introduced in 1996.

Systemic Practice and Action Research, 2002

received This paper establishes a theoretical basis for the implementation of governance systems in Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). This arose when a complex government organization reviewed the usage of its OHS computer system. This review precipitated several cycles of Action Research (AR). The AR allowed the recognition that the organization needed to define its OHS strategy, clarify its commitment to OHS, and examine its OHS systems in order to provide an effective OHS management and corporate governance system. As part of the review, a Viable Systems Diagnosis was done on the OHS function. It was recognized that Stafford Beer provided valuable insights into the information needs and communication flows of OHS information throughout this complex organization. Action research appears to be a particularly useful method for examining and implementing OHS management systems. KEY WORDS: action research in OHS; OHS management systems; OHS corporate governance; viable systems diagnosis. Pub: Kindly provide the article acceptance information.

Economics and Culture

Research purpose. The aim of the research is to demonstrate the impacts of an absence of organizational policies and strategies in the field of work security on enterprise competitiveness. The movement of loads in the warehouses of industrial and distribution companies is critical in optimizing the times of availability of products to market. This is an activity that, in the field of management, appears to be simple and not very complex, duly framed by national and international laws. However, when poorly managed, it can express significant costs that affect competitiveness and even significantly affect the operational functioning of companies. Knowing that the safety of cargo handling by different equipment presupposes rules and safety policies at different levels, the present study aims to demonstrate the economic impacts based on a real situation in one of the largest handling equipment companies in Portugal. Design / Methodology / Approach. Given the nature and objectives of the...

2020

The aims of the Centre are to: • conduct and facilitate high quality empirical and policy-focused research into OHS regulation, consistent with the National OHS Strategy; • facilitate and promote groups of collaborating researchers to conduct empirical and policy-focused research into OHS regulation in each of the States and Territories; • facilitate the integration of research into OHS regulation with research findings in other areas of regulation; • produce regular reports on national and international developments in OHS regulation; • develop the research skills of young OHS researchers; and • assist in the development of the skills and capacities of staff of the NOHSC Office. In order to achieve these aims the Centre undertakes research, supports a consortium of OHS regulation researchers in Australia, assists in the development of skills and capacities of staff of NOHSC staff and collaborates in research programs with other Australian and international researchers and research ...

Law and Contemporary Problems, 1986

EXPOSURE TO COTrON DUST at 1-4 (1983) (report prepared for the OSHA). 10. See id. at 3-1 to 4-42. 11. See, for example, the analysis of the proposed rulemaking for grain handling facilities, 49 Fed. Reg. 996, 1004-07 (1984). 12. W. ViscusI, supra note 3, at 124.

Safety Science, 2011

Governments make increasing use of private certification and testing infrastructures as an alternative for traditional regulatory arrangements in several areas including occupational safety and health (OSH). This research, commissioned by the Dutch Inspectorate for Work and Income (IWI), concerns an analysis of risk control of four certification and testing regimes (CTRs) in the Netherlands, three mandatory regimes and one non-mandatory regime. The aim was to create a better understanding of problems that may arise in the risk control through such regimes and to identify critical processes and factors that can affect the risk control process.