How to reduce workplace accidents : accident prevention programmes in the Member States of the European Union / European Agency for Safety and health at Work

This report includes many indications that accident prevention programmes can have substantial positive outcomes such as lower frequency and severity ratesof work accidents and positive cost-benefit ratios. Although the type and levelof intervention varies substantially, it seems that close contacts with the target group increases the impact of the intervention. The report also stresses the importance of using monitoring systems, preventing risks at source, and the advantages of social dialogue, partnership and workers' involvement.The cases included in this report relate to interventions to reduce the numberof accidents at both national and regional level and at sector and enterprise level. In addition, this report includes a number of descriptions of specific instruments or tools that can be applied in general to prevention programmes. This report contains a set of 22 good practices from 15 European Member States that have had positive effects in reducing occupational accidents. Improving workers’ safety conditions is the main objective but there are many possible routes to reach this objective. This report includes a wide range of possible approaches and means that have been implemented to reach this target. The actions are classified according to four levels. (Πηγή: Υπηρεσία Εκδόσεων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης)