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News Release from: European Agency For Safety And Health At Work
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 07 October 2003
Occupational safety and health advice
for SMEs
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has launched a new online guide of occupational safety and health advice for Europe's 19 million small and medium-sized enterprises.
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has launched a new online guide of occupational safety and health advice for Europe's 19 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) According to European research, the fatal accident rate in enterprises with fewer than 50 workers is around double that of larger companies
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 6 Dec 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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And with more than 75 million EU workers employed in the SME sector, preventing work-related accidents and ill health in SMEs is one of the EU's most pressing safety and health issues.
As well as presenting information on the agency's own activities such as its SME funding schemes and information projects, the web feature provides access to a wide range of practical information.
This covers key risks such as accidents, dangerous substances (the focus of this October's European Week for Safety and Health at Work campaign) and work-related stress, as well as important SME employment sectors such as construction and fisheries.
In addition to the web feature, a new CD-ROM provides details of more than 50 innovative accident prevention projects supported by Agency's first SME funding scheme.
Promoting health and safety in Europe's SMEs is published in five languages (English, German, Spanish, French and Italian) and reports on a scheme, which an independent evaluation concluded has benefited more than 500,000 SMEs.
The CD-ROM and web feature will help even more companies learn about the many innovative ideas for the information, training and exchange of good practice in the field.
The new web feature was unveiled last week at an international conference in Rome on occupational safety and health in SMEs jointly organised by the Italian Presidency of the EU and the Agency.
Speaking at the launch, Agency Director, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, commented: "SMEs employ two out of every three workers in the EU, but many have difficulties managing their safety and health obligations due to a lack of knowledge and resources.
The agency's web feature will help bridge this gap by allowing Europe's SMEs to get access to safety and health information, which is up-to-date and practical.
We hope that it will contribute to improved safety and health performance across the sector".
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