Definition of Risk Prevention

All work activities involve, to a greater or lesser extent, certain potential health risks. Thus, a nurse it can be punctured using a syringe, a carpenter can be injured when handling wood with a saw, and a bus driver can be in a traffic accident. To minimize possible accidents or damage to health, they are put into functioning measures of prevention, which receive the generic name of risk prevention.

The concept of occupational risks is applicable to any potential risk: the conditions of safety, in relation to the environment in which an activity takes place, in relation to the presence of chemical or biological pollutants or to refer to the mental or physical demands of the work.

Risk prevention plans

In most countries there is a legislation by which companies are obliged to comply with preventive standards to avoid accidents or to minimize diseases associated with each work sector. The legislation represents a general framework that must subsequently be specified in a specific plan drawn up by each company.

Prevention plans do not absolutely guarantee that occupational risks disappear completely, but they do minimize their impact.

Risk prevention involves the implementation of a series of measures to improve the conditions of work applying safety measures, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, training or ergonomics.

For a prevention plan to be effective, the company that is obliged to comply with it must make it known to all its workers without distinction. The employer has the obligation to keep the certificates that certify compliance with the plan in preventive matters.

Key aspects in risk prevention plans

Preventive activity must be understood in three dimensions:

1) as a legal requirement that must be met,

2) as a set of measures so that workers carry out their daily activities in the best possible conditions and

3) as a strategy which serves to reduce business costs (for example, when a worker falls ill due to a work-related accident that could have been prevented, there is damage to the company).

Preventive policies have to be organized in a systematic way to integrate prevention at all levels of a company.

The starting point of any plan is the evaluation initial risk. On the other hand, it is necessary to review the actions carried out in the workplace. For this process to be effective, it is convenient to have an objective external control that evaluates the quality of the prevention system.

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