Vision Zero in Workplaces

Abstract

AbstractUnsafe and unhealthy working conditions contribute to more than 2.3 million deaths globally each year. Vision Zero (VZ) in workplaces presents the challenge to prevent all serious accidents and work-related sickness and disease. Companies and other organizations play a key role, in the development and implementation of VZ, and are supported by international organizations such as the International Labour Organization and the International Social Security Association (ISSA). VZ in workplaces has a long history and several roots, which explain the variety in its application. It is both conceptually and practically closely associated with the development of a broad prevention culture, focusing on the safety, health, and well-being of the workforce as an integrated part of business. VZ in workplaces has developed quickly since the Seoul Declaration (2008), whereby global occupational safety and health leaders and representatives of national governments expressed their will to create a worldwide culture of prevention. In particular, the ISSA launched a global VZ strategy and campaign in 2017, which now (in 2021) runs in more than 80 countries. VZ policies and strategies for both road traffic and workplaces are overlapping and can strengthen each other, as roads are an important place of work in many jobs. The implementation of VZ in workplaces should be regarded as a commitment strategy, based on genuine commitment of both top leaders and all personnel. It is important that VZ in workplaces is understood as a vision and a long-term ambition, not as a target. Proactive leading indicators are therefore more important for VZ than lagging indicators, such as accident frequencies.