Introduction

In 2004, a communication of the European Commissioniii on the practical implementation of the Framework directive 89/391 and its five first individual directives was issued. The paper underlined the need to spread the task of risk assessment. It also highlighted the need to improve the implementation and the quality of risk assessment.

• The tasks in risk assessment, documentation and supervision are not universally spread, including in Member States with a tradition based on prevention.
• Risk assessment is often considered a ‘one-off’ action and is not sustained.
• Risks are not analysed and evaluated collectively. As a result, separate measures are being put in place, but there is no integrative approach for the analysis of the conditions in the workplace.
• In the course of conducting superficial risk assessments the focus is put on identifying obvious and immediate risks; long-term effects such as those caused by chemicals are being neglected.
• Psychosocial risks and work organisation factors are rarely considered in risk assessment.
  The efficiency of the measures taken is not sufficiently supervised by employers.
  

Campaign objectives

Risk assessment can be a challenge, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, but it need not be so. The objectives of the Risk Assessment campaign are to:

• raise awareness of the legal responsibility and the importance and practical need to assess risks in the workplace. Risk assessment is not an objective in itself, but a powerful tool for identifying the need for preventive measures,
• demystify the process and show, especially to SMEs, that risk assessment is not necessarily complicated, bureaucratic, or a task only for experts,
• promote a five-step approach to risk assessment,
• encourage enterprises to carry out their risk assessment in-house, if there is competent personnel in the workplace,
• highlight the fact that risk assessment is an ongoing process and not just a one-off obligation, 
• underline the fact that quality counts (and that it is important to document, monitor and review the risk assessment), 
• promote participatory risk assessment, the involvement of everyone in the workplace in assessing the risks, and
• promote good practices which are transferable and help make the process easier. 

The ultimate aim, of course, is to help to reduce the number of people who are being hurt or are experiencing ill health as a result of their work, now and in the future.

Campaign strategy

Starting with the Risk Assessment campaign (2008-2009), EU-OSHA is moving to a two-year campaign cycle for the first time. The move is intended to make the campaigns more effective in achieving the objectives of the Community Strategy for Health and Safety at Work 2007-2012.

By extending the European Week Campaign to run over a two-year period, more time for preparation and follow-up is allowed, including the planning of the campaign strategy and the commissioning of new campaign materials and their translation, production and distribution.The success of the campaign depends on the active support and collaboration of a wide range of stakeholders and campaign partners, including EU-OSHA’s focal points, which are usually the national health and safety authorities in the different Member States. Therefore, the new model has an increased focus on network-based campaigning. This also gives more time for follow-up, especially the promotion of good practices, and to develop partnerships.

The campaign is also designed to engage a wide range of businesses and organisations to get the key messages across to their suppliers, contractors and neighbours and to encourage them to participate. Large enterprises in particular have an interest in helping the smaller ones in their supply chains, working together to share experience and expertise.
The campaign has the backing of the EU Presidencies of Slovenia and France in 2008 and Czech Republic and Sweden in 2009, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the European Social Partners

Campaign calendar

2008

13 June

Campaign launch with European Commission and Slovenian EU Presidency in Brussels 

20– 26 October

European Week for Safety and Health at Work (Calendar Week 43)

3– 4 November

FITS (Forum International Travail Santé) with French EU Presidency

November/December

Evaluation of national good practice nominees submitted to EU level

2009

Februar/March

Conference and Good Practice Awards with Czech EU Presidency

Februar - September

Topic based activities; local and sector focus

19-25 October

European Week for Safety and Health at Work (Calendar Week 43)

October/November

Conference with Swedish EU Presidency

November

Closing event of the campaign

After the announcement of the Good Practice Award winners, their examples will be promoted throughout 2009.

Campaign material

All campaign material is available in 22 EU languages and can be downloaded free of charge from the campaign website.

These materials include:

• posters and leaflets
• factsheets
• powerpoint presentations
• good practice case studies
• quizzes
• animations featuring the popular cartoon character Napo
• tips on how to organise and manage activities during the European Week
• Partners and Events sections
• links to resources on related sites

and much more…

The site also gives access to risk assessment tools by sector and hazard, to help with the practical aspects of carrying out risk assessments.

All this material is available for free for organisations to use, and to distribute among their stakeholders and partners.

During the campaign there will be press conferences and other media activities to help publicise the importance of risk assessment.

How to get involved?

EU-OSHA’s aim is to encourage individuals and organisations of all sizes to get involved in the campaign, and to organise their own events and activities during the European Weeks or at any other moment during the campaign.

Anyone can take part:

• employers – public and private sector – including SMEs managers, supervisors and workers
• trade unions and safety representatives
• safety and health institutions
• OSH professionals and practitioners
• Regional and local OSH prevention and insurance services.

They can get involved by organising:

• safety demonstrations, displays and exhibitions
• training events, seminars and workshops
• poster competitions and quizzes
• advertising and promotion campaigns
• partnerships between enterprises and education and training centres
• ‘good neighbour’ schemes between large and small employers, suggestion schemes
• hazard spotting
• inspection days.

For more information on events and how to get involved, get in touch with the focal point in your country.

For organisations planning their own events for the European Week, our website provides examples of good practice, as well as forums for sharing ideas, giving feedback, and finding out what other people are doing.

Certificate of Participation and Partner Offer

EU-OSHA wants to establish partnerships that benefit all parties and has put in place a number of channels and actions to give visibility to campaign partners and promote their contributions and campaign activities. 

• You help us to raise awareness of risk assessment and give visibility to the Healthy Workplaces campaign. 
• We give you visibility as a campaign partner and as an organisation dedicated to occupational safety and health.

There are two levels of involvement and recognition:

• Certificate of Participation for active involvement in one of the national or European activities. 
• The Partner Offer goes further and provides an opportunity to benefit from an extensive range of promotion and to raise your profile in the OSH community and beyond through the high visibility of the Healthy Workplaces campaign. It is reserved for those engaging substantially in the campaign and multiplying their efforts through their network members (through the organisation of their own events, conferences or competitions; campaign promotion on website; distribution of campaign materials etc). 

For more information on these offers, check the "Partner" section on the campaign website.