Occupational Safety Climate in the Swedish Equine Sector.

The Swedish equine sector is considered a high-risk work environment, with relatively high injury rates and high severity of injuries. General safety research has identified a correlation between the safety performance and safety culture, but little is known about the intricacies of the safety culture in the Swedish equine sector, especially concerning managers' and employees' perceptions of their work environment. The safety climate assessment is recognised as an effective tool for identifying potential problems in the workplace, thus enhancing safety behaviour and decreasing the frequency and severity of injuries. The aim was to evaluate the safety climate at riding schools and trotting stables through the Nordic Safety Climate Questionnaire (NOSACQ-50) diagnostic tool, and to get a better understanding of the workers' perceptions regarding safety and safety management at their workplace through complementary interviews. The results showed that the safety climate was generally positive and that employees were aware of the risks relating to their work. Riding schools commonly had routines in place for risk assessment and work environment management, but such routines were often lacking at trotting stables, indicating inadequate prioritisation of safety by the management. The main area that should be targeted to improve safety in the sector is employees' prioritisation and non-acceptance of risks. Proactive instead of reactive safety management should be promoted, where safety is an integral part of daily work and all employees are encouraged to identify factors contributing to occupational injuries and develop strategies for injury prevention.

Work environment investments: Critical elements for success in optimizing occupational health and safety effects.

BACKGROUND: A considerable amount of money is invested annually in workplaces to promote creative, comfortable and safe work environments. The processes and effects of these investments are however not sufficiently studied. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this article is to examine work environment investment processes and identify organizational critical elements for optimizing investment in terms of occupational health and safety effects for employees. METHODS: Twelve case studies were conducted in different sectors. The data was collected through interviews, by studying available documents, and, in several cases, observations and measurement of hazards by means of the PIMEX-method. RESULTS: The empirical results yielded seven different critical elements for work environment investment processes. The critical elements identified were: identifying the need, risk assessment, involvement of staff, consultation with OHS expertise, procurement and delivery, implementation and training of workers, and evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: The critical elements have wide similarities with steps outlined in Swedish Work Environment Management processes, and ideas described in the Plan-Do-Act-Check model. If organizations follow this process, they are provided with improved possibilities for maximizing invested money for a safer working environment.

Work environment investments: outcomes from three cases.

Work environment investments are important in order to create a healthy and safe workplace. This article presents findings from a seven-step interventions process aimed at examining and following-up work environment investments in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular focus on air contaminants. Three different cases were analyzed and included in the study: (a) an educational center for welding; (b) a paint station in furniture manufacturing; (c) a joinery in furniture manufacturing. The results show that the work environment investments were highly appreciated by the employees and managers, but at the same time the investment could be optimized through markedly decreased exposure levels for the worker. Factors such as follow-ups of the investment, education and training in how to use the equipment, worker involvement in the process and leadership engagement are important in order to optimize work environment investments.

Short-term variation in occupational exposure to air contaminants.

Many industrial workers are exposed to air contaminants. A significant proportion of this exposure is found to occur as short peaks, a fact that has received limited attention in the literature. The present study focuses on short-term variation in air contaminant exposure measured at the level of seconds, linking exposure peaks to typical work situations in selected Swedish industries. The video exposure monitoring method was used to characterize this variation. Ten different videos were analyzed, from recordings varying in length between 15 and 34 minutes. Cumulative exposure for sampling intervals ranked from high to low, relative to the total exposure was calculated as a function of time. Measures of exposure variation included geometric standard deviation and maximum exposure divided by arithmetic mean. The results show that the characteristics of the variation differ between industrial situations. Samples from the stone, wood, and pharmaceutical industries generated the highest variation, implying that exposure peaks of short duration explain a large proportion of the total exposure. It can be concluded that video monitoring of exposure, combined with calculation of exposure variation as percentage of time accounting for given percentages of exposure, can help to reduce exposure to air contaminants in industrial situations by introducing more targeted control measures.

Role of Headmasters, Teachers, and Supervisors in Knowledge Transfer about Occupational Health and Safety to Pupils in Vocational Education.

BACKGROUND: Young people are at an increased risk for illness in working life. The authorities stipulate certain goals for training in occupational health and safety (OHS) in vocational schools. A previous study concluded that pupils in vocational education had limited knowledge in the prevention of health risks at work. The aim of the current study, therefore, was to study how OHS training is organized in school and in workplace-based learning (WPL). METHODS: The study design featured a qualitative approach, which included interviews with 12 headmasters, 20 teachers, and 20 supervisors at companies in which the pupils had their WPL. The study was conducted at 10 upper secondary schools, located in Central Sweden, that were graduating pupils in four vocational programs. RESULTS: The interviews with headmasters, teachers, and supervisors indicate a staggered picture of how pupils are prepared for safe work. The headmasters generally give teachers the responsibility for how goals should be reached. Teaching is very much based on risk factors that are present in the workshops and on teachers' own experiences and knowledge. The teaching during WPL also lacks the systematic training in OHS as well as in the traditional classroom environment. CONCLUSION: Teachers and supervisors did not plan the training in OHS in accordance with the provisions of systematic work environment management. Instead, the teachers based the training on their own experiences. Most of the supervisors did not receive information from the schools as to what should be included when introducing OHS issues in WPL.

Knowledge and Experiences of Risks among Pupils in Vocational Education.

BACKGROUND: Young male and female workers are over-represented in statistics concerning negative outcomes of poor work environment and risky work. Young workers often have low awareness of risk, a lack of safety training, and inadequate introduction to the work. The aim of this study was to identify the knowledge and experiences of pupils of vocational schools concerning potential work environment risks in their future work. METHODS: The study design was a dual one, and included a questionnaire and focus group interviews. The study group consisted of 239 pupils from 10 upper secondary schools, who were graduating pupils in four vocational programs: the Industrial Technology Programme, the Restaurant Management and Food Programme, the Transport Programme, and the Handicraft Programme (in which students specialize in wood products). The upper secondary schools were located in the central region of Sweden. RESULTS: The pupils had limited knowledge that employers must, by law, conduct risk analyses and prevent risks. Many felt that they themselves are mainly responsible for performing their tasks safely. Pupils in all programs mentioned acute risk as the greatest risk at work. The theoretical education about safety at work was provided in the 1(st) year of the 3-year vocational programs. CONCLUSION: A systematic approach to pupils' training in work environment, which is a basis for a safe and healthy workplace, is lacking. The study findings indicate that pupils are offered knowledge far from that intended by laws and by state-of-the-art occupational health risk research.

Swedish entrepreneurs' use of occupational health services.

Small-scale enterprises are less often covered by occupational health services and have insufficient awareness about health and risks in the work environment. This study investigated how Swedish entrepreneurs in small-scale enterprises use occupational health services. The study used a questionnaire sent in two waves, 5 years apart. At baseline, 496 entrepreneurs responded, and 251 participated 5 years later. The questionnaire included items about affiliation with and use of occupational health services, physical and psychosocial work environments, work environment management, sources of work environment information, and membership in professional networks. Only 3% of entrepreneurs without employees and 19% of entrepreneurs with employees were affiliated with an occupational health service. Entrepreneurs affiliated with occupational health services were more active in work environment management and gathering information about the work environment. The occupational health services most used were health examinations, health care, and ergonomic risk assessments. Affiliation with occupational health services was 6% at both measurements, 4% at baseline, and 10% 5 years later.

Assessing motivation for work environment improvements: internal consistency, reliability and factorial structure.

PROBLEM: Workers' motivation to actively take part in improvements to the work environment is assumed to be important for the efficiency of investments for that purpose. That gives rise to the need for a tool to measure this motivation. METHOD: A questionnaire to measure motivation for improvements to the work environment has been designed. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the domains of the questionnaire have been measured, and the factorial structure has been explored, from the answers of 113 employees. RESULTS: The internal consistency is high (0.94), as well as the correlation for the total score (0.84). Three factors are identified accounting for 61.6% of the total variance. DISCUSSION: The questionnaire can be a useful tool in improving intervention methods. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The expectation is that the tool can be useful, particularly with the aim of improving efficiency of companies' investments for work environment improvements.

Systematic Work Environment Management: experiences from implementation in Swedish small-scale enterprises.

Small-scale enterprises face difficulties in fulfilling the regulations for organising Systematic Work Environment Management. This study compared three groups of small-scale manufacturing enterprises with and without support for implementing the provision. Two implementation methods, supervised and network method, were used. The third group worked according to their own ideas. Twenty-three enterprises participated. The effects of the implementation were evaluated after one year by semi-structured dialogue with the manager and safety representative. Each enterprise was classified on compliance with ten demands concerning the provision. The work environment was estimated by the WEST-method. Impact of the implementation on daily work was also studied. At the follow-up, the enterprises in the supervised method reported slightly more improvements in the fulfilment of the demands in the provision than the enterprises in the network method and the enterprises working on their own did. The effect of the project reached the employees faster in the enterprises with the supervised method. In general, the work environment improved to some extent in all enterprises. Extensive support to small-scale enterprises in terms of advise and networking aimed to fulfil the regulations of Systematic Work Environment Management had limited effect - especially considering the cost of applying these methods.