The issue of workplace health and safety (H&S) cannot be separated from the awareness of an organisation of risk factors and good management practices. Preventive actions and the instruments used make the public welfare policy effective at a national level. Through management systems organisations posses a tool for incorporating H&S objectives and policies in their management and production activities.
The implementation of a H&S management system, especially if certified, means that the organisation can identify analytically and within its internal staff structure, the responsibilities, procedures, processes and resources for its corporate policies whilst respecting all the applicable standards. The results are surprisingly positive throughout the entire production process.
In collaboration with INAIL (the national occupational H&S entity) and AICQ (the national association for quality) Accredia carried out a survey of organisations with accredited certification to ascertain the reasons for which they chose certification, the effect of certification on their corporate processes and on workplace risk levels. The questions were aimed at understanding their perceptions of the effectiveness of the H&S system and enabling a systemic improvement to their management system.
The results of the survey provide useful indications for planning new actions as well as the dissemination of H&S models so as to continually improve workplace H&S standards.