Prevention through design: The effect of European Directives on construction workplace accidents

Workplace accidents still occur with distressing frequency, particularly in construction. Industrialized countries have become increasingly aware of this situation and have adopted policies to attempt to deal with this issue. Such policies have led to the development of new laws and regulations with a view to improving workplace conditions.This paper first analyzes policies regarding accident prevention in the European Union, as initially stipulated in the European Framework Directive 89/391/EEC, and more specifically in Directive 92/57/EEC, on the implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites, concentrating on prevention through design. Whilst designers previously had some responsibilities for reducing risk under common law provisions in many countries, this directive was the first explicit legislation to enforce particular duties upon them. The adaptation of the provisions in this directive to the national legislation of EU member countries is also studied.The second section of the paper analyzes the incidence rate of workplace accidents in the construction sector in each country from the year when these regulations came into force until the present time. Based on the evolution of these accident rates, the paper postulates the extent to which European policies have contributed to accident prevention in construction. It is now more than a decade since this legislation has been in force which provides a suitable period for a reflective analysis on it is impact.     

Measurement of machinery safety level: European framework for product control: Particular case: Spanish framework for market surveillance

Current brief aims to introduce the concept of safety in European industrial sectors, particularly in mechanics and machinery industry. It also highlights the importance to ensure an even level of machinery safety along the European Union, setting up the appropriate frame and procedures to keep it under control. An overview over market surveillance activities for machinery (regulations, main actors and their roles) first at Community level, and secondly an approach to one of the Member States is also introduced.     

The functioning and status of the EC's major accident reporting system on industrial accidents

This paper describes the functioning and current status of the European Commission's Major Accident Reporting System (MARS), dedicated to collect in a consistent way data on major industrial accidents involving dangerous substances from the Member States of the European Union under the requirements of the `Seveso Directives', to analyse and statistically process them, and to distribute all non-confidential accidents data and analysis results to the Member States. This modern information exchange and analysis tool is made up of two connected parts: one for each local unit (i.e. for the Competent Authority of each Member State), and one central part for the European Commission. The local as well as the central parts of this network can serve both as data logging systems and, on different levels of complexity, as data analysis tools. The central database allows complex pattern analysis, identifying and analysing the succession of disruptive factors leading to an accident. On this basis, “lessons learned” can be formulated for the industry or regulatory bodies for further accident prevention. Results of various overall analyses of the contents of MARS are given. The availability of MARS data and analysis results is described.     

EU initiative on the control of major accident hazards arising from pipelines

The European Council and the Parliament recognised that pipeline accidents had occurred in Europe and worldwide, which clearly indicated the `major accident hazard' potential of pipelines. The present paper presents an overview of the Community Policy on the control of major accident hazards arising from pipelines, summarises the Commission review/assessment of existing legislation on pipelines within the Member States and outlines the principles on which a possible EU initiative should be based. The review has shown that many Member States do not have comprehensive `major accident hazard' legislation in place for pipelines and therefore an EU initiative would complete existing industrial risk management legislation, based on the `precautionary principle'.     

CEN Standards for Testing and Certifying Personal Protective Equipment—Status Quo and Deficiencies: Examples

By establishing the internal market, the European Union intended to create an area in which safety and health at work are guaranteed. For this purpose, a series of directives was passed.

The EC Directive 89/686/EEC “Approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to personal protective equipment” is of particular interest to the manufacturers of personal protective equipment (PPE). On the European level, harmonized standards, that put these basic health and safety requirements into more concrete terms have to be available. The European Standardizing Committee (CEN) is charged with the elaboration of European standards.

A total of 176 standards relating to personal protective equipment have to be setup; 57 of them are available at present. All CEN members are obliged to transpose them without modification into national standards. Formerly existing national standards have to be withdrawn.

Existing European standards sometimes show deficiencies regarding the specification of requirements according to Directive 89/686/EEC: the standardization of PPE for special fields of application and insufficient harmonization of provisions for different PPE serving the same protective purpose. Test methods are not always described precisely enough.     

Employee representation and occupational health and safety: the significance of Europe

This paper considers the implementation and operation of provisions for employee representation in health and safety in a number of member states of the European Union. It describes the results of two studies undertaken in seven European countries, including the UK, between 1989 and 1993. These studies compared legislative provisions for employee representation in health and safety in different countries and analysed the information available on the implementation and operation of these provisions. With regard to the coverage and implementation of legislation, the research found a similar pattern in all of the countries studied, with Britain distinguished by a number of features, most notably the very specific rights on this subject given to trade unions. However, analysis of information on operation of the provisions in all of the countries studied pointed to the strong association between trade union workplace organization and support as a powerful influence and determinant of the effectiveness of employee representation in health and safety. Taking this finding into account, the paper discusses the present and future situation in Britain with special reference to the implications of the provisions on employee representation found in the CEC Framework Directive 89/391.     

Risk assessment in support to land-use planning in Europe: Towards more consistent decisions?

Recognising the importance of establishing appropriate separation distances between hazardous installations and vulnerable residential areas for mitigating the effects of industrial accidents, the European legislation for the control of major accident hazards - the so-called Seveso II Directive - calls for procedures ensuring that technical advice is taken systematically into account for land-use planning (LUP) purposes. Due to historical, administrative, cultural and other reasons, these European Union’s Member States which have consolidated procedures for addressing this issue, have employed different approaches, methods and criteria, with a potential for great divergence in the resulting land-use planning decisions. In order to address this situation and to increase consistency and ‘defendability’ of land-use planning decisions in the EU, a European Working Group has been established and is operating under the coordination of the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). This Group, consisting of experts from the EU Member States, the industry and the academia, is trying to understand the different approaches and their implications to LUP decision-making, to develop guidelines in support to these decisions and to examine data sources and tools for consistent application of risk assessment in support to LUP. This paper presents the activities of the Group, reviews the situation with respect to LUP in Europe and discusses whether a direction towards more consistent LUP decisions is being followed in Europe.     

Workers' involvement--a missing component in the implementation of occupational safety and health management systems in enterprises.

Effective implementation of occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation based on European Union directives requires promotion of OSH management systems (OSH MS). To this end, voluntary Polish standards (PN-N-18000) have been adopted, setting forth OSH MS specifications and guidelines. However, the number of enterprises implementing OSH MS has increased slowly, falling short of expectations, which call for a new national policy on OSH MS promotion. To develop a national policy in this area, a survey was conducted in 40 enterprises with OSH MS in place. The survey was aimed at identifying motivational factors underlying OSH MS implementation decisions. Specifically, workers' and their representatives' involvement in OSH MS implementation was investigated. The results showed that the level of workers' involvement was relatively low, which may result in a low effectiveness of those systems. The same result also applies to the involvement of workers' representatives and that of trade unions.     

Workers’ Involvement—A Missing Component in the Implementation of Occupational Safety and Health Management Systems in Enterprises

Effective implementation of occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation based on European Union directives requires promotion of OSH management systems ( OSH MS). To this end, voluntary Polish standards (PN-N-18000) have been adopted, setting forth OSH MS specifications and guidelines. However, the number of enterprises implementing OSH MS has increased slowly, falling short of expectations, which call for a new national policy on OSH MS promotion. To develop a national policy in this area, a survey was conducted in 40 enterprises with OSH MS in place. The survey was aimed at identifying motivational factors underlying OSH MS implementation decisions. Specifically, workers’ and their representatives’ involvement in OSH MS implementation was investigated. The results showed that the level of workers ‘ involvement was relatively low, which may result in a low effectiveness of those systems. The same result also applies to the involvement of workers’ representatives and that of trade unions.     

Main differences on European regulations in the frame of the Seveso Directive

Since the first Seveso Directive was issued 25 years ago, each Member State of the European Union developed own regulations to enforce its application. The lack of a common approach generated differences between Member States, or even between regions within a Member State, which in practical terms caused that establishments falling under the field of application of the Seveso Directive face a different level of requirements. This situation causes significantly different impact on social, technical and financial aspects.Factors like industrial background, accidental history, actual land use, social attitude towards risk, economical and political structures play an important role in how the decisions about hazardous activities are perceived and handled.Answering the question: “Is there a right methodology for the assessment of the risk of major accidents?” may be sterile or impossible. Many tools are appropriate and the main concern is to use them properly. Technically, the causes and consequences of, e.g., a fire in a port in Spain on the Mediterranean Sea or in the port of Basel (Switzerland) in the Rhine River could be assessed using the same methods and criteria, but this is not usually the case.This paper shows, with practical examples, the differences existing while applying different regulations in the field of prevention of major accidents and the potential effects that these differences may generate regarding the definition and management of emergency plans outside establishments.If the existing unequal situation is not faced, the comparative disagreements between Member States will prevail. Therefore, the application of the Seveso Directive will generate a different impact on the society, operators and regulators, and may become a factor which may cause a risk transfer between Member States. Efforts should be addressed to harmonize criteria in this subject.     

Towards a European energy risks monitor to consistently map safety and security risks of different energy infrastructures

After mapping of current European Union regulations on the management of accident risks related to natural hazards and different industrial activities, this paper discusses insights from past and current European Commission initiatives on harmonisation of assessment and management of safety risks. The problem of safety comparison and risk/benefit communication is of critical importance for sustainable decision making. For the specific case of the energy sector, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) and DG TREN (Directorate General for Transport and Energy) have recently started two connected initiatives, called energy risks monitor (ERMON) and safety and security of energy infrastructures in a comparative view (SEIF-CV). While ERMON deals with the development of a methodology and corresponding web-based information system to cross-compare in a consistent way safety, risk and reliability performances of different energy systems (fossil, nuclear, renewables) across their specific fuel cycle chains, SEIF-CV creates a corresponding network of stakeholders in the energy sector as well as the necessary review and user panels for ERMON. Objectives and status of ERMON and SEIF-CV are described.     

Analyzing the safety impact of longer and heavier vehicles circulating in the European market

Introduction: The European Union (EU) has developed different strategies to internalize the costs of excessive motor traffic in the road freight transport sector. One of these is a relaxation of restrictions on the size and load capacity of trucks that circulate between member States and a proposal has been made for Longer and Heavier Vehicles (LHVs) to be allowed to circulate across borders. LHVs are the so-called “megatrucks” (i.e., trucks with a length of 25 meters and a weight of 60 tonnes). Megatrucks have allowed to circulate for decades in some European countries such as Norway, Finland, and Sweden, world leaders in traffic accident prevention, although the impact that cross-border traffic would have on road safety is still unknown. Methods: This article provides an econometric analysis of the potential impact on road safety of allowing the circulation of “megatrucks” throughout the EU. Results: The findings show that countries that currently allow megatrucks to circulate present lower traffic accident and fatality levels, on average. Conclusions: The circulation of this type of vehicle is only advisable in countries where there is a certain degree of maturity and demonstrated achievements in the field of road safety. Practical applications: European countries that have allowed megatruck circulation obtaining better road safety outcomes in terms of accidents, although the accident lethality rate seems to be higher. Consequently, introducing megatruck circulation requires a prior proper preparation and examination.     

Quantitative risk assessment of the Italian gas distribution network

European Critical Infrastructures include physical resources, services, information technology facilities, networks and infrastructure assets, which, if disrupted or destroyed would have a serious impact on the health, safety, security, economic or social well-being of the Member States.The gas distribution network is a critical infrastructure and its failure can cause damage to structures and injury to people.The aim of this paper is to analyze and then assess the risk of the Italian high pressure natural gas distribution network.The paper describes an application of a methodology for quantitative risk assessment.Failure frequencies considered in risk calculation were found in the European Gas pipeline Incident data Group (EGIG) database, whereas consequences were computed as a function of pipe diameter and operating pressure for each section of the network. The results of this quantitative risk assessment is the determination of local and social risks for the Italian North East Area.     

中国与欧盟的航空安全信息分类法比较

为探讨中国和欧盟政府间进行航空安全信息交换的可行性,从中国和欧盟各自航空安全信息系统的信息结构和报告内容出发,对中国和欧盟的航空安全信息分类法进行比较。结果表明,两个分类法的信息结构是相同的,不同之处在于主题差异、部分差异和属性差异。笔者认为,虽然存在3种差异,但两个分类法都是基于国际民航组织航空安全信息分类法设计的,信息报告内容具有很大的相似性,因此,从信息内容上看,中欧进行航空安全信息交换是可行的。同时,对如何改进我国航空安全信息分类法提出了建议。     

Learning lessons from tunnel accidents – Recommendations in support of the implementation of Article 15 on Reporting of the EU Directive 2004/54/EC

Tunnels in the trans-European road network (TEN) facilitate the transport of persons and goods on European roads. Following a series of major tunnel accidents European Union Directive 2004/54/EC was adopted to support the achievement of uniform and high tunnel safety levels. With future accident prevention and mitigation in mind and in support of the effective implementation of Article 15 on Reporting of the Directive we outline a procedure for learning lessons and discuss every step in the process with specific regard for its implications on Article 15. This includes accident investigation, reporting, data collection and analysis, learning lessons and their implementation. The realization that validated information on tunnel accidents is not easily available or accessible, or suffers from a lack of detail or accuracy fed into the development of a data-collection template. By its very nature the template development also guided the formulation of key recommendations for accident investigation and reporting as the main information source. In addition, key recommendations on data analysis, learning lessons and implementation were also made to assist the actors responsible for reporting or sharing information under the EU Directive.     

中日合作项目国内外危险化学品安全管理初步研究

按照中日合作项目《加强中国安全生产科学技术能力计划》,分析了日本、美国、加拿大、德国、欧盟和联合国等国际危险化学品安全管理现状,总结提出了实施风险评价、申报登记、风险控制、信息警示和员工培训等国际危险化学品安全管理方式及其特点。同时,结合中国危险化学品安全管理现状,提出了系统化建设危险化学品安全生产法规标准体系、制定作业场所危险化学品卫生要求、修订《危险化学品安全管理条例》等进一步建立健全中国危险化学品安全管理的对策和建议。这对完善中国危险化学品安全管理具有重要的参考意义。     

国外油气管道安全管理经验及启示

近年来,我国油气管道发展迅猛,管道数量激增;上世纪70!80年代修建的管道逐渐进入老龄化,管道事故呈上升趋势。文章对美国、加拿大和欧盟国家油气管道的发展现状和事故情况进行了介绍,重点对以美国为代表的国外油气管道安全管理先进经验进行了分析,并针对当前我国油气管道安全管理的形势和问题,提出了一些建议。     

消费品风险评价的伤害情景与三维矩阵集成方法

通过对比分析美国、欧盟及中国的消费品质量安全风险监管和评估现状,得出我国在消费品法律及标准、伤害监测与事故信息平台及公开、消费品风险辨识及评价程序等方面有待深化研究;基于2012年欧美等国家、地区对我国出口消费品的通报数据的统计分析,识别了主要消费品的隐患及危害类型,给出了伤害情景与三维矩阵集成的消费品风险评价方法,为消费品安全评价提供了新方法、新途径,并以婴儿车为例,进行了应用分析,检验了该方法的可行性。     

发达国家农业安全管理现状分析及对我国的启示

我国正处于农业快速发展的新时期,需要借鉴发达国家经验,提高农业安全监管能力,促进农业生产安全水平提升。本文对美国、澳大利亚、英国、日本等各国近20年农业产业职业安全健康水平进行分析,从立法、监管范围、监管机制、教育培训等方面梳理其职业安全健康工作,同时剖析其农业安全管理经验和存在的主要问题,以此从法规标准、监管体制、基础建设、教育培训等方面提出优化提升我国农业安全生产工作的意见建议。     

充气式游乐设施标准比较研究

为了促进充气式游乐设施行业的安全发展,制定充气式游乐设施标准,文章梳理了我国充气式游乐设施标准的现状与特点。选择美国、欧盟、澳大利亚和我国的充气式游乐设施标准的技术内容作为比较研究的对象,进行逐一分析比较。在此基础上,对充气式游乐标准的制订工作提出了建议。