Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS)
A company's Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS) meets the company's legal obligation under Law 3850/2010 "Ratification of the Code of Laws on the Health and Safety of Workers", Article 43, under which the employer is required to have available a written assessment of the existing risks to safety and health at work, including those concerning groups of workers exposed to particular risks. The existence of this study is therefore mandatory for every company in the private or public sector, regardless of the number of employees and the branch of economic activity. The Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS) of a company or project is a systematic examination of every task carried out, with the aim of identifying the sources of occupational risk.
Beyond being an obligation on the employer, Occupational Risk Assessment is one of the most important tools for the effective management of Occupational Health and Safety.
It includes identifying the risks to the safety and health of personnel, ranking them in order of priority and formulating proposals for reducing them. It encompasses all the actions of gathering information, documenting and recording working conditions, from the stage of a simple description of the production process through to the final stages of identifying harmful factors, including information on the effect of the working environment on human health.
Specifically, the Occupational Risk Assessment Study makes it possible to identify what may cause risks to the safety and health of workers, to establish which measures must be taken and to what extent the risks and their sources can be avoided or eliminated. Where this is not possible, the preventive measures already in place must be recorded, and those that must be taken in addition proposed, in order to control the risks and protect workers.
The Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS) has the following objectives:
- Identification of all potential hazards in the workplace
- Assessment of the severity of those hazards
- Assessment of the consequences should the hazards materialise
- Formulation of the corrective measures needed to eliminate or minimise them
METHODOLOGY
The method to be used for preparing the Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS) comprises the following stages:
- Identification of the sources of risk
- Description / recording of operating procedures.
- Analysis of tasks to identify risk factors.
- Collection of data from the recommendations of the safety engineer (SE) in the SE Recommendations Book certified by the Labour Inspectorate (KEPEK), as well as of the most significant accidents that have occurred in the company over the last two years.
- Interviews with the Manager or Personnel Manager of the company, as well as with the heads of departments.
Verification of exposure risks
On-site observations in the company's workplaces, following the methodology of Job Safety Analysis (JSA). This methodology is based on observing how employees work in real conditions. These observations will be recorded during visits by the study's Safety Engineer.
Recording of the existing safety measures.
Recording of uncontrolled exposure risks.
Assessment of exposure risks: quantitative determination of physical, chemical and biological factors in the workplace.
Verification that safety measures are applied.
Evaluation and results of the risk assessment
Ranking of risks (calculation of hazard level) for the safety and health of workers.
Proposals on ways of eliminating or reducing the risks
What the Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS) includes
The Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS) includes the identification and recording of the risks that exist, as well as those that may arise in the workplace. Examples include the risk of falls, the risk from machinery and equipment, the risk of fire, electric shock or explosion, the risk from exposure to harmful factors (physical, chemical, biological), and the risks arising from the general organisation of each task.
Occupational risk assessment by MTC
MTC's scientific staff have significant experience and specialist expertise in carrying out Occupational Risk Assessments, gained over many years and through providing equivalent services to companies in all branches of economic activity.
The occupational risk study is interdisciplinary in nature, and specialised MTC staff of various disciplines (chemical engineers, mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, doctors, etc.) take part in preparing it, so that all the scientific fields required for the company's activities are fully covered.
Once the Occupational Risk Assessment Study (ORAS) is complete, it is presented to the client's responsible staff.
MTC has developed a special standard methodology for preparing Occupational Risk Assessment Studies (ORAS), which are recognised by the competent authorities because they are sound, complete, detailed and scientifically substantiated.