Run by the European Agency for Health & Safety at Work, the week is part of a two year campaign which aims to promote an integrated management approach to risk assessment. As the cornerstone of the European approach to occupational safety & health risk assessment involves a systematic examination of all aspects of work undertaken to consider what could cause injury or harm, whether the hazards can be eliminated and, if not, what measures can be taken to control the risk.
To aid employers in dealing with risk assessment EEF is currently running a series of seminars nationwide together with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) to use a novel way of helping to dispel many of the myths around assessment of risk and communicate sensible risk management in practice.
Steve Walter, Health & Safety Adviser at EEF said:
“Managing health & safety is part of good business practice and European Health & Safety week provides the ideal opportunity for businesses no matter how large or small to review their procedures.
“In particular, businesses have to manage many risks in order to grow and risk assessment can be a useful business tool if it is carried out properly and delivers a prioritised action plan. However, risk is often exaggerated because of fear of litigation, distorting what is expected under the law and tying businesses up in unnecessary red tape.
In addition to risk assessment, as a leading provider of health & safety advice EEF is also offering companies its practical health, safety & environment guide and courses on managing safety, as well as ‘think about’ guides for employees.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation is the representative voice of manufacturing in the UK. It has a growing membership of almost 6,000 companies of all sizes, employing some 900,000 people from every sector of engineering, manufacturing, engineering construction and technology-based industries. It is a leading provider of advice to companies on all aspects of Health & Safety with over 50 advisers around the UK
Guidance and courses on Health & Safety can be accessed via EEF’s website www.eef.org.uk
More information about the European Campaign can be found at www.hw.osha.europa.eu
EEF is a strategic partner of the Health & Safety Executive