1. OiRA – Main drivers / obstacles to the development of OiRA1

2. Main drivers (for the Agency intermediaries)

3. 1. OiRA - New generation of RA tools
Main features
Easy access, easy to use, free, …
Role of OiRA/interactive tools: “empower”, foster the autonomy of micro and small companies when it comes to RA (self-assessment)
Advantages of OiRA/interactive tools:
Diffusion/dissemination facilitated through Internet
Evolutionary content (“easy-immediate” update)
Didactic/methodological dimension (RA method: from Risk Identification to documenting the RA)
Access to other sources of information/documentation (through the links)
Access to online help tools (didactic/pedagogic tools to be developed)
Possibility to monitor the development and use of such tools

4. 1. OiRA - New generation of RA tools
There is a more and more common perception that such tools …
Are the future
Need to be developed by governments/ministries/public institutions and offered for free
The EU OSH strategy and most of the national ones mention (more or less explicitly) the need to develop such practical/simple tools to facilitate the RA process among micro and small companies.

5. 2. “OiRA tools generator”: free, flexible, “tested”
The development of such a Web application is expensive and needs time
The conditions under which the OiRA tools generator is put at the disposal of our intermediaries are good/easily bearable (no major commitments in terms of resources, continuity, etc.)
OiRA tool has been tested in the Netherlands (RI&E) and in many other countries

6. 3. Maintenance / (basic) development carried out by the Agency
OiRA tools “hosted” and “maintained” in our servers
The Agency assumes the development of new functionalities or improve the existing ones.
Only functionalities with an added value for the OiRA community

7. 4. (in some cases) Offer a new service / product to the companies
Our OiRA partners did not offer these kinds of tools to their members/target audience
Motivations:
Employers’ organisations: better meet the needs of their members
Ministries/Labour Inspectorate:
implement the national strategies,
facilitate RA by putting OiRA at the disposal of the micro and smalls companies.
Trade Unions: be more present among micro and small companies

8. 5. Help companies to fulfil their legal obligation ESENER-2 – Major reasons for addressing health and safety (% estab., EU-28)
Results: weighted by estprop
Base: all establishments in the EU-28.

9. 6. Cooperation at EU level welcome and needed
Common perception / general agreement about the need to cooperate at EU level in the development of such tools
Economy of scale (especially in this period of crisis)
Added value of the OiRA community
Possibility to establish new contacts/collaborations

10. Barriers (for the Agency intermediaries)

11. 1. Lack of awareness - ESENER

12. Reasons why workplace risk assessments are not carried out regularly, by size (% estab., EU-28)
Results: weighted by estprop
Base: establishments in the EU-28 that do not carry out risk assessments regularly.

13. Major difficulties in addressing health and safety (% establishments, EU-28)
Results: weighted by estprop
Base: all establishments in the EU-28.

14. 2. RA mystified
(Too complicated
only for experts)

15. ESENER-2 – Workplace risk assessments carried out regularly, by country (% estab.)
Base: all establishments.

16. External preventive services
In some MS OiRA is/could be perceived as a threat by the external preventive services/OSH experts
Arguments to overcome this perception/opinion:
OiRA is intended for companies with – 50 workers (generally speaking they do not contract external preventive services)
When the preventive measures to be implemented are described (in the tool) end-users are asked to specify the competences required (inviting the hiring of external preventive services if the competences required do not exist in house).
The tools foster the use of the internal preventive resources and its complementarity with the external ones.

17. Challenges to overcome (for the Agency intermediaries)

18. 1. Adopt a sectoral approach
Risk prevention is not the main goal/concern for micro and small businesses
Micro and Small companies in general are not open to preventive messages concerning risks in general (outside their sectoral / occupational context).
Messages need to be simple, pragmatic and applicable to the reality of the specific sectors

19. 2. Need to “reach” a big number of companies – need to establish partnerships
To reach micro and small companies it requires coordinated actions among different actors/preventive bodies
Need to establish partnerships with these actors / preventive bodies in order to disseminate / diffuse / promote the tools

20. 3. Develop a support/help desk scheme to micro and small companies
Collective support to a big number/group of companies
Individual support (carried out by the employers organisations, helpline, ..).

21. 4. Empower micro and small companies
Encourage micro and small companies to manage OSH in house and in an autonomous way
Promote a preventive system maximising the resources in house
Promote “complementarity” with the external services
Increase risk awareness (and risk prevention in general)

22. 5. Set up “incentives” schemes
The dutch example.
Small companies using the RI&E do not need to pay an OSH expert to certify-validate the risk assessment.