Research and Science Today No. 2(12)2016 [627420]

Research and Science Today No. 2(12)/2016

78 Economics

MANAGEMENT OF SECURITY AHD HEALTH AT WORK
APPLIED IN SMES

Corina Ana BORCOȘI1

ABSTRACT:
PREVENTION OF WORK ACCIDENTS AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES, ENSURING A SAFE AND HEALTHY
WORKPLACE IS ESSENTIAL NOT ONLY TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF JOBS, WORKING CONDITIONS, BUT
ALSO TO ENSURE COMPETITIVENESS. MAINTAINING A ST ATE OF GOOD HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES
IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY. ENSURING WORKERS' HEALTH THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES PROFESSIONAL
ACTIVITY ALLOWS A PERIOD AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. IMPLEMENTATION OF AN ENTERPRISE
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY, ENHANCE T HE PERFORMANCE BY
INCREASING HEALTH AND SAFETY AND RISK MANAGEMENT AT THE WORKPLACE.

KEYWORDS: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT, WORK ACCIDENTS,
OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES, INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

1. INTRODUCTION
Safety and health at work has be en and is a challenge with an impact on society as a whole.
'' The ultimate goal of work safety and health at work is to protect life, integrity and health of
workers against the risks of accidents and professional diseases that can occur in the workplace
and create working conditions that provide them comfort physically, mentally and social '2.
Concern for safety and health at work appears in the current context, the existence of new
categories of risk – the psychosocial, but also due to developments in th e workplace3.
Thus: demographic, an aging working population, new trends in the labour market,
development of self -employment, the growth of employees in SMEs, aspects of health and safety
specific to women, the development of certain diseases, emergence of risk factors at work, such as
violence in the workplace, including sexual and moral harassment, all of which have led to the
need to implement a management system of safety and health at work, necessary to continuously
improve the safety and health work in enterprises4.

1 Scientific Researcher II, Constantin Brancusi University of Targu Jiu
2 Strategia națională privind securitatea și s ănătatea în muncă pentru perioada 2008 – 2013
3 Strategia națională privind securitatea și sănătatea în muncă pentru perioada 2008 – 2013
4 Strategia națională privind securitatea și sănătatea în muncă pentru perioada 2008 – 2013

November 2016

79 2. THE MANAGEMENT OF HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK
Although it has been significantly reduced the number of accidents and preventive
procedures has been implemented, health and safety at work in the European Union and further
improvements a re still needed because:
 annually, over 4 000 workers lose their lives in accidents, and more than three million
workers are victims of serious accidents at work, requiring more than three days absence
from work;

Global
mortality
25%
34%
21%
15%
5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
due to accident
and professional
diseases
(source OIM )
accidents
cancer
chronic respiratory disease s
cardiovascular diseases
other diseases

Fig. 1. The causes of global mortality
Sursa : Bejan, M., – Sistemul de management al securității și sănătății ocupaționale, Universitatea Tehnică din
Cluj Napoca, Proiect cofinanțat din FONDUL SOCIAL EUROPEAN prin Programul Operațional
Sectorial pentru Dezvoltar ea Resurselor Umane 2007 – 2013, p. 3

 24.2% of employees believe their health is threatened, safety because of the work they
perform;
 25% of employees state that their professional activity negatively affect their health; people
suffering from occupationa l diseases and the costs of sick leave are high5.
Accidents at work and occupational diseases are 25%, in total mortality, as shown in Figure
16.
Most accidents at work and occupational diseases can be prevented; the first step is
identifying hazards a nd assessing risk factors to the job. High risk sectors are areas: construction,
chemical and petroleum industry, health, agriculture. Safety and health at work is a priority for all
businesses in every industry and can be achieved through the implementati on of a management
system for occupational health and safety in accordance with OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health

5 Comunicare a Comisiei că tre Parlamentul European, Consiliu, Comitetul Economic și Social European și Comitetul
Regiunilor referitoare la un cadru strategic al UE privind sănătatea și siguranța la locul de muncă 2014 -2020
6 Bejan, M., – Sistemul de management al securității și săn ătății ocupaționale, Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj Napoca,
Proiect cofinanțat din FONDUL SOCIAL EUROPEAN prin Programul Operațional Sectorial pentru Dezvoltarea
Resurselor Umane 2007 – 2013

Research and Science Today No. 2(12)/2016

80 and Safety Assessment Series) – standard offering guarantees fulfilment of labour security
concerns and requirements of the legislation7.
Benef its of implementing and certification Management of health and safety at work
according with OHSAS 18001 are considered to be8:
 improves the enterprise's motivation in accepting the need to ensure the safety and
health at work;
 reducing the number of accid ents at work and occupational diseases due to
monitoring all activities relevant to health and safety at work;
 reducing material losses as a result of reducing the number of occupational
accidents and accidental shut;
 reduce insurance costs.
Existing stand ard OHSAS 18001 will be replaced by a new international standard ISO
45001 in 2017. ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is in the process of developing
a new standard, ISO 45001 – Management Systems Occupational health and safety – which w ill
help companies to reduce the number of work accidents and occupational diseases by providing a
framework to improve employee safety, reduce risks in the workplace and to create better working
conditions safer. ISO 45001 is intended for use by any compa ny, regardless of its size or field of
activity and can be integrated into other programs of health and safety9.
ISO 45001 is not intended to be a legal document but a management tool that can be used
voluntarily by any company that wishes to eliminate or reduce the risks of accidents at work and
occupational diseases.
Implementing an integrated management system consisting of: quality, environment and
health and safety at work, is the route to a performance management to create a motivating and
safety fram ework for employees.

3. THE MANAGEMENT OF SAFETY AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
APPLIED IN SMES
In the current economic context, it is important for businesses to interconnect quality
management system, environmental management and system safety managemen t and occupational
health. Applied fully -integrated system, the three management systems help companies to produce
goods and services of quality, environmental protection and employee health. Thus we can say
that the company has a sustainable development, contributing at the same time and the sustainable
development of the whole society.
Certification to the integrated system: quality – environment – safety and health at work
adds value to correctly implement the Integrated Management System.
The management of safety and occupational health required (by legislation existing at
national or European level, but not only) in its application, a set of responsibilities for each
hierarchical level, be it the managers of the upper hierarchical level, medium or lower . However
in order to reduce risks in the workplace and avoid work accidents. Implementation
management of security and health involves in particular:
 establishing clear objectives in the field of safety and health at work;
 development of prevention progr ams;
 enterprise risk assessment;

7 http://www.tuv -austria.ro/services.php?article=ohsas -18001
8http://www.tuv -austria.ro/services.php?article=ohsas -18001
9 http://www.iso.org/iso/iso45001

November 2016

81  designing monitoring systems.
Important benefits brought by the implementation in SMEs, and not only, the safety and health
management are:
 increasing efficiency and productivity activities of the enterprise;
 reducing the n umber of work accidents and occupational diseases;
 reduced downtime due to accidents and occupational diseases;
 reducing the cost of fines and social security.
Improving the safety and health at work contribute to the economic development of both the
compa ny and society as a whole.

CONCLUSIONS
Accidents at work and occupational diseases represent a considerable economic burden for
employers, employees and society. For small enterprise in particular accidents at work and
occupational diseases can have a m ajor financial impact.
It is difficult to convince employers about the profitability of improving working
conditions, and yet the implementation of a management of security and health generated benefits
for employees and employers, for the enterprise as a whole and ultimately to society.

Research and Science Today No. 2(12)/2016

82
REFERENCES

1. Bejan, M ., – Sistemul de management al securității și sănătății ocupaționale, Universitatea Tehnică din Cluj
Napoca, Proiect cofinanțat din FONDUL SOCIAL EUROPEAN prin Programul Operațional Sectorial pentru
Dezvoltarea Resurselor Umane 2007 – 2013
2. Comunicare a Com isiei către Parlamentul European, Consiliu, Comitetul Economic și Social European și
Comitetul Regiunilor referitoare la un cadru strategic al UE privind sănătatea și siguranța la locul de muncă
2014 -2020
3. http://www.dekra -certification.com.ro/siguranta -ocupationala -prin-iso-45001/
4. http://imm.protectiamuncii.ro/good_practices.htm
5. Strategia națională privind securitatea și sănătatea în muncă pentru perioada 2008 – 2013
6. http://www.tuv -austria.ro/services.php?article=ohsas -18001
7. http://www.iso.org/iso/iso45001