European Healthy WorkplacesCampaign 2010/11 on Safe Maintenance

Terry TaylorBucharest23 Sept, 2010

http://hw.osha.europa.eu

It is estimated that around 15-20% (depending country) of all accidents and 10-15% of all fatal accidents are related to maintenance operations. Maintenance is fourth on the list of top 10 working processes accounting for the highest number of fatal accidents over 2003- 05.Accidents tend to happen during repair, maintenance, cleaning, adjusting, etc.An analysis of a French work accidents database shows that in 2002maintenance employees were the second most frequent victims of accidents related to subcontracting, just behind construction workers.Spanish National Survey of Working Conditions (2007) indicateshigher exposure of maintenance workers to noise and to hand armand whole body vibrations compared to other workers. They are alsomore exposed to dangerous substances, vapours and fumes.Around 25% of all electrical injury accidents are caused by portableelectrical equipment. Faulty leads to equipment cause around 2000fires each year. A major cause of such accidents and fires is the failureto carry out inspections and maintenance (HSE).

Facts and Figures (Source: EUROSTAT)

The EU-OSHA 2010-11 Healthy Workplace Campaign is on Safe Maintenance because:A goal of the 2007 Community strategy is a 25% reduction in accidents. Safe maintenance is associated with accident prevention particularly in high-risk sectors and SMEs.The European Commission identified maintenance workers as “workers who may be at increased risk” in their guidance on risk assessment at work.The campaign on maintenance complements the 2008-09 campaign on risk assessment, as it seeks to get employers to consider the risks before carrying out the activity, plan and control the work, and then to check it afterwards.MSDs are a major risk for workers carrying out maintenance and material from the 2007 campaign is very relevant.

Introduction to maintenanceMaintenance affects every area of safety and health:

Many accidents happen during maintenance work;Lack of maintenance can cause accidents;Poor maintenance can cause accidents;Poor maintenance can cause occupational diseases.

There is a need to:Raise awareness of the importance of maintenance; Foster a structured approach to maintenance;Promote maintenance management to ensure it is co-ordinated, scheduled and performed correctly.

What is maintenance?“Working on something to keep it in a working and safe state and preserving it from failure or decline”The “something” includes workplaces, work equipment, or transport (e.g. ships). It is not exclusive.

Maintenance activities include:

Inspection TestingMeasurementReplacementAdjustmentRepair and upkeepFault detectionReplacement of partsServicing

Hazards and risks during maintenance include:

Risk of MSDsRisk of asbestos exposureRisk of dermatitisAccident risks (e.g. inadvertent start-up)Risk of asphyxiation in confined spacesRisk of exposure to chemical agents (e.g. solvent cleaners)Risk of exposure to biological hazardsRisk of exposure to dusts

Campaign objectivesRaise awareness of the importance of maintenance for workers’ safety and health; Raise awareness of the risks associated with maintenance, and of the need to carry it out safely;Raise awareness of employers’ legal and other responsibilities to carry out safe maintenance, and of the business case for doing so;Promote a simple, structured approach to OSH management in maintenance, based on an appropriate risk assessment (the ‘five basic rules’).

Campaign messagesMaintenance is carried out in every workplaceMaintenance can be done by anyone Getting maintenance wrong can be fatalGetting maintenance wrong can be very costly for businessesSMEs may be particularly at risk………

…………so it is particularly important to provide a framework for managing maintenance operations using………Five basic rules for safe management of maintenance

The five basic rules for safe maintenance:1. Planning;

2. Making the work area safe;

3. Using appropriate equipment;

4. Working as planned;

5. Making final checks.

Focus of campaignThe prevention of accidents during maintenance operations. The prevention of harm to health through for example:

Exposure to asbestos Exposure to biohazards such as Legionella Exposure to dangerous substances (chemicals, nanoparticles, etc)

Multiple subcontracting of maintenance work makes OSH management and risk knowledge sharing difficult, and the end contractor may be a precarious workerHazards can be “built-in” through carrying out maintenance under heavy time pressures

Sectors approachMaintenance is a challenge in all industry sectors. The campaign is focusing on the sectors:

ConstructionAgricultureHealth careManufacturing (e.g. food, engineering)Transport

This is not an exclusive list, and other good maintenance practices have been identified from a broad range of sectors.

Diversity issues to be considered include:

Older workers may be at increased risk as they may carry out maintenance operations more regularly, andYoung workers due to lack of experienceIncrease in “Multiskilling” in work organisation where production line personnel may carry out maintenance operations.Changing contracting arrangements may also affect the at-risk population

Material is available free at the EU-OSHA websitehttp://osha.europa.eu/en/campaigns/hw2010/

Campaign MaterialLeaflets, flyers Posters Banner Logo & Slogan E-SignatureCampaign guide Slideshow presentations

Technical material factsheets e-facts reports

A EUROPEAN CAMPAIGN ON SAFE MAINTENANCE

HEALTHY WORKPLACESGOOD FOR YOU. GOOD FOR BUSINESS

http://hw.osha.europa.eu

Thank you for your attention!