Advances in Participatory Occupational Health Aimed at Good Practices in Small Enterprises and the Informal Sector

Abstract

Participatory programmes for occupational risk reduction are gaining importance particularly in small workplaces in both industrially developing and developed countries. To discuss the types of effective support, participatory steps commonly seen in our "work improvement-Asia" network are reviewed. The review covered training programmes for small enterprises, farmers, home workers and trade union members. Participatory steps commonly focusing on low-cost good practices locally achieved have led to concrete improvements in multiple technical areas including materials handling, workstation ergonomics, physical environment and work organization. These steps take advantage of positive features of small workplaces in two distinct ways. First, local key persons are ready to accept local good practices conveyed through personal, informal approaches. Second, workers and farmers are capable of understanding technical problems affecting routine work and taking flexible actions leading to solving them. This process is facilitated by the use of locally adjusted training tools such as local good examples, action checklists and group work methods. It is suggested that participatory occupational health programmes can work in small workplaces when they utilize low-cost good practices in a flexible manner. Networking of these positive experiences is essential.

Development of an instrument to analyze the occupational risk acceptance

“…This driver covers a broad range of possibilities. Examples of collaboration are the sharing of information [27,28], but also in the sharing of human and economic resources, more and more promoted in fields like the eco-efficiency [39]. Associations and networks of companies are another kind of intermediaries, which play an essential role for SMEs, as previously stated.…”

“…Tait and Walker [26] analyse OSH award schemes and they conclude that the participation in these schemes is clearly of help to medium and large organizations in managing OSH; important mediating factors are the higher motivation of employees, the improved business activities, and the enhanced image and reputation of the company. Kogi [27] discusses the types of effective support for participatory programs for OSH risk reduction and he observes how the described processes are facilitated by the use of locally adjusted training tools such as local good examples, action checklists, and group work methods. Cagno et al [28] suggest to develop a software with a web-based interface capable of supporting SMEs in their safety management activities through the exchange of safety-related data and information and of certain management parameters of the enterprise.…”

“…These ones foster interventions by increasing the awareness and the knowledge of the personnel, which is so more motivated to intervene or to correctly behave. [ 19,20,27] …”

“…Reference Main driver(s) [22] Safety incentive programmes X [26] Externally organized health and safety award schemes X X [25] Sharing best practices X [29] Support of consultants X Legislation X [24] Networks of companies X X [27] Communication tools X [19] Marketing tools and effective communication strategies X [21] Low-cost X X X X X X X X [23] Rewards and incentives from the company X [2] Occupational health services X Insurance companies X Labour unions X Accountants and public authorities X X [20] Constructive dialogue between shop-floor and line management X Table 6: Effect of the phase on the absolute (i.e., Abs Freq (H+L)) and relative frequency (i.e., Rel Freq (H/H+L)) of drivers. For each phase, the first column reports the absolute frequency of the drivers and an asterisk indicates that the driver is detected mainly (>45%) in that particular phase.…”

Low-Cost Improvements for Reducing Multifaceted Work-Related Risks and Preventing Stress at Work

“…This progress is in line with the wide application of locally effective strategies based on macro ergonomics principles for improving the quality of work life with a focus on the interaction of technical, cultural and psychosocial factors with overall system performance [5,6]. One of the notable merits of participatory methods is their direct contribution to realizing locally adjusted forms of good practices despite various constraints [5][6][7].…”