Thirty-three interactive online risk assessment tools covering different economic activities have been developed by the Executive Agency “General Labour Inspectorate” (GIL) to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the country. With these tools, employers can carry out a quality risk assessment themselves, at their own expense. The tools can also be used for training and coaching. They are available on the website of the project under which they have been developed, “Prevention for Safety and Health at Work”, funded by the Human Resources Development Operational Programme, co-financed by the European Union through the European Social Fund.
The economic activities for which practical risk assessment tools have been developed have been selected following a study on working conditions in Bulgaria carried out under the same project. It shows that these are some of the riskiest activities in terms of labour law enforcement. Currently, the project “Optimisation and Innovation in the EA General Labor Inspectorate”, also funded under the Human Resources Development Operational Programme, has recruited assistant inspectors who can demonstrate the functionality of the tools to employers on site.
The practical risk assessment tools have been developed in the framework of the National Strategy on Safety and Health at Work and the National Programme on Safety and Health at Work 2014. They are based on the pan-European interactive online risk assessment tool (OiRA) developed by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA). Seven other OiRA tools have now been developed in Bulgarian.
The creation of the tools is in line with the recommendations of the EU Strategic Framework for Improving Health and Safety at Work in Europe. A specific Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions stresses that in order to facilitate compliance with occupational safety and health legislation, in particular for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, ‘it is essential to improve the quality of guidance and provide practical tools to facilitate compliance with OSH legislation. The needs of micro and small enterprises will be taken into account when implementing actions at EU and national level, including appropriate adaptation of tools such as OiRA.”
In its resolution on effective labour inspections as a strategy for improving working conditions in Europe, the European Parliament considers that proper protection of workers is impossible without risk assessment. The European Parliament considers it important to help small and medium-sized enterprises to put in place their own risk prevention policies; it highlights the positive role of simple, free and targeted initiatives such as the interactive online risk assessment tool developed by EU-OSHA.
To learn more about OiRA (Online Interactive Risk Assessment) you can visit the following e-mail addresses:
Infographic – Risk assessment with OiRA in four steps
Video – OiRA Online Interactive Risk Assessment in Four Steps
For further information:
Teodora Georgieva teodora.georgieva(at)online.bg
Denitsa Marinova denitsa.marinova(at)online.bg
02/9733000
Enterprise Europe Network – Bulgaria, ARC
Consulting, Applied Research and Communications Fund
