Categoria: Organizzazione

A Case of Misplaced Loyalty: the Employer – Worker Relationship – HSE People

It has been said that, in recent years, great progress has been made in the safety of work environments and equipment, as well as in the materials used. We have devised increasingly refined rules on how to organize companies, work environments, work processes and their interrelations, on how to train workers in various activities.

Le buone prassi internazionali della reportistica su salute e sicurezza

Sometimes, this effort was not matched by a similar decrease in accidents and injuries. The weak point seems to be the human factor: every now and then, workers are their own main enemies, because they resist the adoption of good safety practices in the workplace.

The worker, consciously or unconsciously, can engage in behaviours that result in little or no support for good safety practices. One of the most relevant issues in this respect is the relationship with the hierarchy, with the employer.

The worker, at times, develops a feeling of misunderstood loyalty with the employer which, often in small organizations, is perceived as “close”. These are those conditions in which, for example, safety is seen as a productive and economic burden, and the worker lends himself to relieving the employer, in part or in whole, of this burden. Often the company, the organization, is perceived as an extension of the family, and laws, regulations, and inspections, are seen as something that disturbs their tranquillity. For example, there are known cases of workers reluctant to apply for recognition of an occupational disease because of exposure to asbestos, given that they have developed a friendship with their employer for decades. Of course, the process by which safety is treated as a trivial matter, and of little importance, can take place in the good faith of the employer, with the misunderstanding of the informal messages it sends out. If the employer is more inclined to make observations relating to the time taken to work or to complain about the economic weight of running a business, and never reminds his collaborators to comply with safety regulations, it is normal that the latter are more careful to improve their work performance, rather than following the rules for safe execution.

Not to mention the messages that are explicitly issued by the employer or by the entire hierarchical chain: the underestimation of the dangers, the commiserating devaluation of everything concerning safety in the workplace, such as people, PPE, rules, are a tremendous example.

Returning to workers, the older or more experienced ones can sometimes refuse to adopt safe working practices for two reasons: the first is when it comes to the introduction of new activities, equipment or procedures, due to the natural resistance to innovation that characterizes the majority of people. But the problems may also be due to the claim, widespread among the most experienced workers, that their experience or the skills they have achieved can give them better control of operations. This is the reason for several accidents, due to lightness, to the fact that it was decided to follow a shortcut with respect to ordinary practice, to impromptu changes made on equipment and machines.

At the other end of the experience, younger and less experienced workers are prone to lukewarmly accepting safety practices in the company because they are still disoriented, due to their lack of experience in the tasks and in the workplace: they have not yet evaluated the “measure” with which to relate in the company; whether their attitude will be considered acceptable or will they be regarded as troublemakers. The low evaluation they have of themselves is also relevant, especially when they are at the beginning of their career and occupy the humblest jobs: they consider any working condition acceptable, especially in conditions of joblessness, with gratitude because, precisely, they must gain experience.

A relevant aspect of the opposition, open or creeping, of workers to the use of good safety practices is a consequence of a recurring condition in human groups: the herd effect, when the personal critical capacity is completely cancelled while waiting for orders. And since a significant part of the behaviours that can be observed in the workplace can be the consequence of informal messages such as conducts, which workers observe or infer from company management, it becomes essential for this to be aware of the importance of behaving in public consistent with the objectives of the organization’s policy, considering that every occasion is important to give a message.

Cultura della sicurezza e consapevolezza | ISL

Clearly, it is the responsibility of the company management, in planning related to the OHS management, to bear in mind that these factors can have a heavy impact on the result. Whether the goal is the minimum, that is, compliance with the law, the more so if more ambitious goals are set.

Follow this link to read the full article: A Case of Misplaced Loyalty: the Employer – Worker Relationship – HSE People

Gestione del rischio e genesi dell’errore umano nel metodo di Reason – Teknoring

L’atto pericoloso, dice Reason, può essere voluto o non voluto. Gli atti involontari possono essere classificati in sviste, distrazioni o errori, a seconda di come si è generata la deviazione. È una svista quando si scambia un’azione per un’altra, evidentemente per un deficit dell’attenzione. Quante volte siamo usciti di casa prendendo il mazzo di chiavi sbagliate, ad esempio? O abbiamo preso l’attrezzo sbagliato dal bancone, fidandoci della memoria della sua posizione? Si tratta di una dimenticanza, invece, quando, letteralmente, dimentichiamo uno o più passi di un particolare procedimento. O, magari, quando, a metà del lavoro ci rendiamo conto di avere perso di vista l’obiettivo con cui avevamo iniziato.

Leggi l’articolo Gestione del rischio e genesi dell’errore umano nel metodo di Reason su Teknoring

HSE Manager Wolters Kluwer Italia: La cultura della sicurezza | LinkedIn

La cultura della sicurezza è il potente strumento che è necessario per affrontare e risolvere i problemi tecnici e organizzativi, e per garantire il mantenimento delle buone condizioni di lavoro raggiunte.

Leggi il post su HSE Manager Wolters Kluwer Italia: La cultura della sicurezza

Controllare i lavoratori a distanza: crescono le “sentinelle degli smart workers” | HuffPost Italia Life

Sono le “sentinelle dello smart worker”, quelle che controllano – col fucile spianato dall’altra parte dello schermo – che il lavoratore da remoto sia costantemente produttivo. Si tratta delle app per il controllo a distanza dei dipendenti e negli Stati Uniti sono sempre di più: si va da quelle che comunicano ai capi dati sui siti web consultati a quelle che fanno gli screenshot delle schermate. E ora ci si mette anche Microsoft: un nuovo tool, chiamato Productivity Score, annunciato durante la conferenza annuale degli sviluppatori, mostra ai datori di lavoro come i propri dipendenti utilizzano i servizi di Microsoft 365 come Outlook, Teams, SharePoint e OneDrive. Ma può esistere uno smart working senza controllo sulla vita delle persone? Secondo Michel Martone, giurista e accademico, autore del libro “Il lavoro da remoto – Per una riforma dello smart working oltre l’emergenza”, sì: “Il datore di lavoro ha bisogno di controllare – spiega ad HuffPost – ma dovrebbe controllare i risultati del lavoro, non la persona”.

Controllare i lavoratori a distanza: crescono le “sentinelle degli smart workers” | HuffPost Italia Life

Fino a prima della pandemia lo smartworking non era particolarmente diffuso nel nostro paese e, quando lo era, si trattava per lo più di lavoratori con qualifiche medio alte, le cui mansioni erano caratterizzate in qualche modo da elevati gradi di indipendenza. La diffusione di questa modalità lavorativa ha fatto diventare impellente il problema del controllo dell’attività lavorativa.

Ebbene, è il caso di ricordare ai datori di lavoro, prima di intraprendere iniziative avventurose, che in Italia è ancora in vigore l0 Statuto dei lavoratori. In particolare, questo è il contenuto dell’articolo 4 della Legge 20 maggio 1970 numero 300:

1. È vietato l’uso di impianti audiovisivi e di altre apparecchiature per finalità di controllo a distanza dell’attività dei lavoratori.

2. Gli impianti e le apparecchiature di controllo che siano richiesti da esigenze organizzative e produttive ovvero dalla sicurezza del lavoro, ma dai quali derivi anche la possibilità di controllo a distanza dell’attività dei lavoratori, possono essere installati soltanto previo accordo con le rappresentanze sindacali aziendali, oppure, in mancanza di queste, con la commissione interna. In difetto di accordo, su istanza del datore di lavoro, provvede l’Ispettorato del lavoro, dettando, ove occorra, le modalità per l’uso di tali impianti.

Cosa significa in pratica? Significa che apparecchiature per il controllo a distanza dei lavoratori sono ammissibili solo se siano presenti tutti questi requisiti:

  1. sono richiesti da esigenze organizzative o produttive oppure (ovvero) dalla sicurezza del lavoro;
  2. sono stati adottati in accordo con le rappresentanze sindacali, oppure con la commissione interna. Nelle aziende in cui queste organizzazioni non esistono, occorre chiedere il parere dell’Ispettorato del lavoro, che potrà fornire indicazioni.

Cosa voglio dire con questo? Che esiste un problema e che dovrà essere affrontato nel rispetto della legge. Il tutto anche se i nostri attuali governanti hanno mostrato più volte la loro sciatteria nel rapporto con le norme, basti ricordare l’infinita telenovela sul ritiro della concessione ad Autostrade per l’Italia, con il Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri che afferma che “Non possiamo aspettare i tempi della Giustizia”, le FAQ che sono state promosse a criteri interpretativi delle leggi o, più recentemente, i comunicati stampa che hanno sostituito la decretazione d’urgenza, vedi il cosiddetto Decreto Ristori Quater, con un comunicato stampa del 27 novembre che conferma gli slittamenti dei versamenti dell’acconto delle imposte in scadenza lunedì 30, senza che però il relativo decreto sia ancora stato approvato.

Photo by Burst from Pexels

The management of HSE documentation in construction companies – HSE People

Document management is a critical aspect in HSE systems in all kind of companies and especially in construction ones. Even more so, if they follow a management system, certified according to BS OHSAS 18001:2007, the new ISO 45001:2018 or ISO 14001:2015. Construction companies have the peculiarity that often their organization is temporary, linked to the needs of individual projects, and they have a weak supervision of corporate processes. This means that, even the big players, design the documentation management systems of their projects more according to the skills of the individual managers who have the good fortune to recruit, rather than because of well-considered corporate decisions. In the long run, this is proving to be a factor of weakness of these organizations, especially when they find themselves competing in the international market, where other organizations have made radical choices in this regard some years already.

You only live twice: qualification vs working knowledge | HSE People

Which documents

The management of documentation relating to safety and the environment in a construction company can be declined in various aspects; the main one concerns the ordinary management of documents functional to the definition of the company management system, their distribution, storage and withdrawal, in particular, of:

  • policies;
  • manuals;
  • procedures

Then there are the records of the activities defined by company policies and procedures, such as:

  • risk assessment;
  • training;
  • health surveillance;
  • monitoring and measurements in the workplace;
  • accident and injury investigation;
  • internal reporting.

Policies and procedures can concern production, with the provision of instruments to organize and control key activities such as, for example:

  • use, management and maintenance of machines and equipment;
  • work permits;
  • hot works;
  • work at height;
  • work in confined spaces.
  • atmospheric emissions and discharges;
  • waste management;
  • noise;
  • storage and use of hazardous materials.

Letters and communications of various kinds are also to be considered. For contracted activities, it is almost normal practice for the client to ask to be informed about plans and business processes, sometimes going so far as to subordinate the contractor’s operations to his approval of these. Furthermore, in these cases, the sharing of on-site monitoring data, letters and periodic reporting is a common practice.

Organization of the company and organization of the project

A company of this kind organizes its activity by projects, which means that the management of the documentation, its distribution, the collection of records and the reporting must have a first synthesis at this level, but must also be coordinated in more areas, department, territorial and corporate units.

Normally this type of activity is managed through the formal preparation of a set of more or less in-depth information, the actual application of which and the relative administration of records and reports is carried out with different degrees of informality which, it must be said, entail as many degrees of inefficiency. In recent years, however, the development of particular software platforms for sharing information and an increased need for competitiveness of companies, if not the specific requests of particularly professional clients, has led many of these to think about the adoption of PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) platforms, identifying the management of information related to the development of the project as a strategic factor for the success of the project.

A company that intends to equip itself with a tool of this kind, starting from the assumption that it has already implemented a management system, should first of all check the degree of formality with which this is applied: although PLM platforms have dramatically evolved in recent years in terms of simplicity and user-friendliness, their use still involves a certain level of discipline in the company. For an organization that manages its processes widely in an unofficial way, switching to a setting of all processes in this way can be too big a mouthful, which will simply be ignored by operators, who are faced with the need to radically change their way to work, they will continue to behave as they always had.

Therefore, it is better to privilege an introduction step by step, and then the circumstances will help to define the priorities: if it is a conveniently planned improvement measure, you can start from the highest level or strategic processes, and then expand the system to the rest of organization. It may happen that the need to adopt a system of this kind comes from external solicitations: a customer or a partner. In this case it will be necessary to make a virtue of necessity, and our plans will be dictated from the outside.

L’esternalizzazione come modello di business | HSE Manager Wolters Kluwer

A phased approach

In any case, it would be advisable for the introduction of a PLM system, even limited to only some business processes, not to prescind from a broader evaluation and planning. This should serve to avoid the adoption of solutions without the possibility of development, closed in on themselves.

Originally published on HSE People.

HSE Manager Wolters Kluwer Italia: Restiamo sul concreto | LinkedIn

Quando la Direttiva cantieri è stata introdotta in Italia, ci si è dimenticati di dare attuazione al suo sesto considerando, che osserva che le scelte progettuali o una carente pianificazione dei lavori sono la causa di più del 50% degli infortuni sul lavoro nei cantieri in Europa.

Leggi il post su HSE Manager Wolters Kluwer Italia: Restiamo sul concreto | LinkedIn

ISO 45001 and COVID-19 – Part Two – HSE People

When the OHS management system has been designed and implemented for the first time, the activities that have been carried out to meet the requirement have probably been recorded, even if the standard does not deem it necessary. It is time to go back to these notes to evaluate what deviation has occurred in recent months, due to the consequences of COVID-19. In particular, it is possible that the policies, objectives and strategies implemented to achieve them have changed, because undoubtedly a new goal is the organization’s ability to survive the pandemic; this condition, however, will have seriously damaged the ability to pursue one’s objectives, because necessarily the prevention and protection measures that had to be implemented will lead to a reduction in production capacity and a collapse in productivity, at least in the short term.

Riprogettazione degli ambienti di lavoro: la nuova normalità in ufficio

In the following, information management has shown once again to be a critical aspect in the management of our organizations, to identify the methods for controlling the contagion to be implemented in the organization – therefore from the outside inwards – as well as for make workers aware of the new ways in which to carry out their work, and then internal communication. Risk control measures will probably require the introduction of new apparatus or services, and the modification of premises and equipment and the form of work performance, contracts, tenders, supplies, working hours, including shifts, and other working conditions. All this, ça va sans dire, will change, indeed, it has already changed relations with workers, their perceptions and values and the culture of the organization.

Similarly, as regards external factors, the pandemic condition has already profoundly changed the cultural environment and, perhaps, the market, depending on the characteristics of the various companies and at each of the international, national, regional and local levels they develop their business processes. The economic crisis that we are already perceiving is likely to have as a consequence the distortion of the pre-crisis reference market, with the disappearance of old and the coming to the fore of new partners and competitors, as well as the appearance of new professions, figures in charge of management and control of technical and organizational countermeasures against contagion. All of this will lead to significant changes in key factors and trends for the business sector and in relationships with internal stakeholders and their perceptions and values.

It will also be interesting to update the assessment of requirement 4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of workers and other interested parties: probably, depending on the size of the organization, its territorial relevance and the one of the partners, new interested parties could be identified as, for example, local health emergency management and transport services, with new needs and expectations to be met.

ISO 45001 and COVID-19 – Part Two – HSE People

On the basis of these new considerations, it will be necessary to evaluate the possibility of revising the scope of application of the health and safety management system, to introduce new processes such as, for example, the management of home-work transport. This basis will make it possible to redesign the processes of the management system, to adapt it to the new conditions in which the organization will find itself working: upon confirmation or redefinition of the policy statement, the definition of new roles, responsibilities and authorities for the system management and the new requirements for the exercise of leadership in the organization.

Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels. Originally published on HSE People.

Cultura e politica aziendale nella gestione della sicurezza ׀ Igiene & Sicurezza del Lavoro 11/2020

di Flavio Battiston e Luisa Perotti

Vi segnalo questo interessante articolo, il seguito di Yes man, Salute e cultura della sicurezza, dove gli autori affrontano il tema della cultura aziendale, in relazione alla gestione della salute e della sicurezza. Mi sento particolarmente affine alla considerazione dalla quale partono:

Le aziende e più in generale le organizzazioni sono delle comunità con tutte le implicazioni sociologiche, psicologiche ed etiche che accompagnano tale termine. È il luogo in cui si manifestano i bisogni, ma anche il luogo in cui si attiva la rete che ne consente la risoluzione. Ciò che determina lo sviluppo della comunità è la condivisione intesa come possibilità offerta a ciascuno di dare il proprio contributo e di sopperire alle mancanze del singolo che sono anch’esse condivise.

La cultura della tutela della salute e della sicurezza si è evoluta da un approccio fatalistico – quando era scontato che nella vita lavorativa di particolari gruppi di lavoratori occorresse un incidente, per cui gli sforzi erano volti a mitigare gli esiti di questi incidenti, con la nascita delle casse di mutuo soccorso – fino a sviluppare l’approccio contemporaneo, che prende in considerazione le modalità in cui è organizzato il lavoro e i ruoli e le responsabilità che vi sono connessi, inglobando ed estendendo la fase meccanicista, in cui l’incidente era la conseguenza di una anomalia tecnica.

Guardare alle organizzazioni ha reso necessario approfondire il modo in cui queste strutture vengono “popolate”, ovvero le comunità che si creano negli ambienti di lavoro. Questa è l’ultima frontiera da esplorare, e la lettura non superficiale degli standard dei sistemi di gestione ci sta portando in questa direzione.

HSE Manager Wolters Kluwer Italia: Piani di emergenza e contingency plan | LinkedIn

Sarebbe stato bello, in questa contingenza di #COVID19, avere un piano da seguire: avere definito i possibili scenari ed individuato le possibili contromisure, in maniera da non rendere necessario perdere tempo a per mettersi d’accordo, quando i contagiati raddoppiano ogni dieci giorni, ma forse ogni sette o ogni cinque.

Leggi il post su HSE Manager Wolters Kluwer Italia: Piani di emergenza e contingency plan | LinkedIn