Differential Intervention Strategies to Improve the Management of Hazardous Chemicals in Small Enterprises

Olsen, Kirsten; Harris, Leigh-Ann; Laird, Ian; Legg, Stephen; Perry, Melissa J.; Hasle, Peter

doi:10.1080/14774003.2010.11667748

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The support system needs to provide specific tools (not risk assessment tools) that provide concrete/specific solutions that are integrated into business strategies and should be based on a variety of different types of intermediaries that have personal contact to the ownermanagers and understand the business context. Some of the most recent research has started to look more thoroughly at how different intermediaries can be used and what strategies should be applied to engage them (Olsen et al, 2010(Olsen et al, , 2012Sinclair et al, 2013). SMEs are influenced by a range of stakeholders in both their internal and external environments.…”

Section: Safety Intervention Programmes For Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…with suppliers for information (Hasle et al, 2012b;Olsen et al, 2010), limited knowledge of OHS Acts, Regulations and Codes of Practice (Olsen et al, 2010), a tendency to place OHS and injury responsibility with workers (Hasle et al, 2009), a belief that the agents (e.g. chemicals) being worked with are not dangerous (Hasle et al, 2009;Olsen et al, 2010), poor knowledge of health effects -in particular long term health effects (Olsen et al, 2010), hazard controls decided by custom and practice and not by risk assessment, and that economic survival is paramount (Hasle et al, 2012a). SME owners work very long hours and devote time to the most pressing issues.…”

Section: Managing Safety In Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Managing safety in small and medium enterprises

et al. 2015

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a b s t r a c tThis paper presents a conceptual model for increasing acceptable working environments for SMEs. It also acts as an editorial for the special issue of Safety Science on 'Managing safety in small and medium enterprises (SMEs)'. It describes how seven of the ten papers in the special issue originate from an international conference in 2013 on Understanding Small Enterprises. It includes a commentary on the papers in the special issue as well as directing the reader to all of the current state-of-the-science sources known to the authors. The paper provides a background to previous research on safety in SMEs, showing how most current policy and legislation on occupational health and safety (OSH) and the work environment is based on large enterprises and that there is a relative paucity of research on OSH in SMEs. In a summary of current knowledge, it is argued that modern OHS legislation and interventions to help improve work environments need to increasingly take account of the specific characteristics of SMEs. The conceptual model for increasing acceptable working environments for SMEs takes its onset in a legislative standard that is built into intervention programmes and includes three instrument pillars: inspection to enhance compliance, recognition of the standard by the stakeholders in the industry sector and dissemination of information to small enterprises.

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Section: Safety Intervention Programmes For Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Managing Safety In Smesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing safety in small and medium enterprises

et al. 2015

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“…As REACH obligations in many cases are separated by tonnage levels (a rough approximate for company size) and role in the supply chain we would expect different companies to fall into different parts of this continuum. Experience from the implementation of the OHS legislation to date (Walters, 2006;Sørensen et al, 2007;Olsen et al, 2010;Lißner and Zayzon, 2011) further leads us to expect that especially SMEs will lag behind in this continuum. It is thus hardly surprising that our informants report on lacking awareness and understanding among downstream SMEs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Walters, 2006;Sørensen et al, 2007;Olsen et al, 2010;Legg et al, 2015). Improved communication along the supply chain, as well as the more detailed information on safe uses in exposure scenarios could be especially beneficial for these smaller companies.…”

Section: Reach Impact On Occupational Risk Management Of Chemicalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of the chemicals regulation REACH – Exploring the impact on occupational health and safety management among Swedish downstream users

Schenk

Antonsson

2015

Safety Science

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a b s t r a c tIn the present study we have examined how the European chemicals regulation Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) has influenced occupational risk management of chemicals at Swedish downstream user companies. The data were collected through interviews with occupational health and safety professionals, safety representatives and authority employees. The results show that most of the informants had scarce knowledge about REACH and that REACH implementation has not had any major impacts on downstream users' occupational risk management, but the impacts the regulation has had were perceived as positive. For instance, clear substance identification and increased hazard information were appreciated improvements of safety data sheets (SDS). However, with regards to identifying how to safely use a substance or product neither the SDSs nor the attached exposure scenarios were perceived as sufficient. REACH was not perceived as a major driver for substitution but has had some impact on substitution, either by requiring it for certain substances as through the authorisation procedure or facilitating the identification of relevant substances to substitute as more information on hazards has become available. The obstacles to REACH implementation are similar to those of occupational health and safety legislation; lack of awareness, understanding and/or incentives to take action. Especially smaller companies with their limited resources lag behind. Reaching the full potential of REACH requires more work on motivating and supporting downstream users to fulfil their REACH obligations.

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“…Information provision (sharing information and argumentation) Incentives (economic and image promoting) Punishment (demands, controls and sanctions) Figure 1 Schematic simple model of the programme theory chain inspired by Pawson [19] A simple example of 'programme theory' in SBs could be: If a) SB owner-managers are informed about the risk of hearing impairment when noise exposure is 85 dB(A) or above and that it can be prevented by using hearing protection, then b) hearing protectors will be used by employees when noise exceeds 85 dB(A). The question is whether this is actually valid.…”

Section: A Theoretical Framework For the Analysis Of National Programmentioning

confidence: 99%

How to use programme theory to evaluate the effectiveness of schemes designed to improve the work environment in small businesses

Olsen

Legg

Hasle

2012

Work

Self Cite

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Due to the many constraints that small businesses (SBs) face in meeting legislative requirements, occupational health and safety (OHS) regulatory authorities and other OSH actors have developed programmes which can reach out to SBs and motivate and assist them in improving the work environment. A number of conceptual models help to enhance our understanding of OHS interventions in SBs and their effectiveness. However, they have mainly been evaluated on output rather than the process relating to the change theory underlying the intervention, and hence have seldom been rigorously evaluated. Thus little is known about how particular features of SBs can be taken into account when designing and implementing national programmes. This paper shows how realist analysis and programme theory may be used as a framework for evaluating, developing and improving national intervention programmes for the improvement of the work environment and reducing injuries in SBs. It illustrates this for a specific New Zealand intervention: the Workplace Safety Discount scheme and its implementation in the agriculture sector. In practice, realist analysis should be performed during the planning, implementation and management stages so that ongoing findings can be fed back to the participant social actors to help them make appropriate changes to enhance the likelihood of success.

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Differential Intervention Strategies to Improve the Management of Hazardous Chemicals in Small Enterprises

Cited by 14 publications

References 15 publications

Managing safety in small and medium enterprises

Managing safety in small and medium enterprises

Implementation of the chemicals regulation REACH – Exploring the impact on occupational health and safety management among Swedish downstream users

How to use programme theory to evaluate the effectiveness of schemes designed to improve the work environment in small businesses

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