The scope of Title IV 81/2008
The Consolidated Law on Health and Safety in the Workplace (also referred to using the Italian Acronyms T.U. or d.lgs. 81/2008) provides a clear framework for safety in the workplace, making it possible to implement effective prevention and protection measures at all levels and across all sectors, establishing a comprehensive safety management system.
Its aims are:
- to standardise and merge all previous legislation into a single text on health and safety in the workplace in order to give companies a clearer overall picture;
- to identify a safety management system that improves health and safety in the workplace by means of procedures and protocols.
All actions that are implemented in the name of workplace health and safety must work towards the ultimate target of a zero-accident rate.
D.lgs. 81/2008: the introduction of a systemic approach
Legislative Decree 81/2008 transformed the field with the adoption of a systemic approach to managing health and safety in the workplace.
The approach to safety at work has evolved: from a strategy based on protection in the 1950s to a strategy based on prevention in the 1990s, leading to the systemic approach that was achieved in 2008. Now, thanks to the structure provided by the safety organisation chart, the whole company contributes to maintaining the levels of prevention identified in the Risk Assessment Document (“DVR”), a document which reaches far beyond compliance with regulatory obligations, it provides is an effective tool enabling genuine management of the workplace health and safety system. This is coupled with procedures and targets that are tailored to the specific requirements of each company.
Key points for the application of d.lgs. 81/2008 within companies
For the legislation to be correctly applied, the following steps need to be taken:
Define roles
- • The Employer
- • any Delegate(s) to whom the Employer transfers certain duties
- • any Sub-delegate(s)
- • The Safety Manager
- • The Safety Supervisor
- • The Head of the Prevention and Protection Service (“RSPP”)
- • The Workers’ Safety Representative (“RLS”)
- • The Occupational Physician
- • The Workers
Specify the duties and responsibilities for each role
Increase awareness through training. The concept of prevention introduced by the former Italian Legislative Decree, n. 626, becomes more prominent. Continuous training is envisaged: workers are no longer treated as passive individuals to be protected, they become actors who are informed, involved and aware; they have an obligation to protect themselves and those who work with them.
Establish a safety management system, which is implemented through the Risk Assessment Document (“DVR”).