Practical tool and procedure for workplace risk assessment: Evidence from SMEs in Estonia

Abstract

This study focuses on a successful risk assessment procedure in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) where occupational health and safety resources may be less accessible than in larger companies with more labour force, time, knowledge and technology. An original approach is offered for an easy and unambiguous assessment of occupational hazards (physical, chemical and biological) and evidence from 18 industrial SMEs from different branches of industries are presented. In order to evaluate employers’ and employees’ attitudes and perceptions towards health and safety, safety interviews in eight enterprises were conducted. The results showed that in most cases participants’ attitudes in the enterprises towards contributing to safety were overall positive: developing safety procedures and practices, written work procedures and safety instructions, providing personal protective equipment, etc. The study identified important safety deficiencies such as the absence of a safety policy; insufficient safety training and unrealistic daily required work load. The measurement results showed that conditions of the working environment varied between companies as well as between the branches of industries. The main identified hazards which exceeded occupational exposure limits were: wood dust in wood processing industry, chemicals and noise in wood processing and mechanical industry, and lighting in mechanical, plastic and printing industry. The authors’ developed flexible risk assessment tool was successfully implemented in all investigated SMEs and received positive feedback from the enterprises as an applicable and suitable tool for SME’s, where skills and resources are limited.