Italy: occupational safety culture is spreading

2,710 certificates of conformity to the OHSAS 18001 standard (which regulates the systems managing health and safety at work) were registered in February 2012, i.e. over 50 percent more than the 1,290 registered at the same time in 2011.  The number of certified businesses and institutions is now 6,896 (also over 50 percent more than the 2,712 in February, and nearly 10 times more than in 2007, when there were only 741).  51.9 percent of certified sites are in the north, Lombardy in the lead (1,050 certified businesses), followed by Venetia (723) and Emilia-Romagna (703).  In the center (21.4 percent), Tuscany is ahead of Latium (546 versus 512).  In the south, the winner is Campania with 333 certified sites.  Federico Grazioli, leader of Accredia, the only certification organization in Italy, rejoiced when he released these figures last week.  Pointing out that this increase is a sign that the safety culture is spreading in Italian businesses, he added that a recent Inail survey confirmed this, pointing to a decrease in the frequency and seriousness of accidents in certified businesses: from -6 percent (mining) to -64 percent (textile) for the frequency and from -15 percent (services) to -51 percent (glass industry) for the seriousness of accidents.  Compared with businesses that aren’t certified, certified companies have, in average, a cent lower for the r for the frequency and 34 percent lower for the seriousness.  This is a “positive trend which gives us hope, but there is still a lot to be done” he explained.