Risk management is the process of identifying, analysing, accepting, mitigating or transferring uncertainty in investment decisions. Fund managers apply risk management by analysing and attempting to quantify the potential loss of an investment and then acting accordingly.

The creation of artificial skin is an innovative technological development that has the potential to revolutionize the education and learning process. It is a tool with a new and exciting approach that makes it possible to create realistic and authentic products that imitate the feel of human skin. This is particularly important in health education where students need to have a deep understanding of the functioning of the human body.

This project is an initiative of the health benefits division, with a view to ensuring the comprehensive health care of Social Security Institute of Guatemala (Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social – IGSS) employees.

The project aims to remove the stigma surrounding mental health and to address the main psychosocial risks among IGSS employees through the provision of ongoing training on topics related to mental health and psychosocial stress factors. It provides spaces for reflection and analysis on experiences and interpersonal relationships in the workplace.

Members of the Social Security Institute of Guatemala (Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social – IGSS) who are entitled to benefits under the Sickness, Maternity and Accident Programme (Programa de Enfermedad, Maternidad y Accidentes) and on leave from work due to COVID-19 receive a subsidy payment to substitute the salary they would otherwise receive, proportional to the measures outlined in the corresponding regulations.

In Chile, over 300,000 people currently work as deliverers for digital platforms, known as deliverys or riders. This new way of working poses new challenges related to the protection of this group of workers, as they generally operate in precarious conditions and the level of occupational risk they are exposed to is quite high.

The competition is aimed at rewarding the best initiatives and professional practices in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH) among students in vocational and technical training. This initiative of the Social Security Fund (Caisse de sécurité sociale – CSS) of Senegal is reserved for students and aimed at raising the awareness of future workers and employers, while also creating a dynamic of reflection and sharing in the field of OSH.

The works are evaluated by a jury according to criteria based on:

Safe and healthy work environments (Entornos laborales seguros y saludables – ELSSA) is a free, voluntary and non-punitive programme from the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social – IMSS) that aims to foster three-way coordination and participation between companies, workers and the IMSS. It looks to implement strategies and actions to improve the health, safety and wellbeing of workers in workplaces, while at the same time promoting productivity and quality.

Uruguay’s Social Insurance Bank (Banco de Previsión Social – BPS) manages the National System of Labour Certification, (Sistema Nacional de Certificación Laboral – SNCL), which centralizes the register of medical leave certificates for active workers for social security purposes.

In view of the pandemic and the closure of social security agencies, with the consequent stoppage of face-to-face assistance, mainly affecting medical expertise, the Federal Court of Accounts ordered the Ministry of Social Security (Ministério da Previdência – MTP), of Brazil to carry out the expertise through tele-medicine.

The Healthy Finances Programme of Costa Rica’s Pension and Retirement Board of the National Teachers' Union (Junta de Pensiones y Jubilaciones del Magisterio Nacional – JUPEMA) is an initiative that allows participating members to improve their knowledge on how to comprehensively handle their finances, addressing each of the different dimensions of human behaviour.  This programme offers emotional and financial tools that positively impact members’ quality of life.

Crises and extreme events may strain the capacity to communicate records of medical leave to subsidiary cash benefit units. The pandemic has demonstrated the need to systematize procedures that have traditionally been carried out manually, which would provide significant benefits by making processes faster and more efficient, avoid the need for users to visit administrative offices, thereby avoiding expenditure, risks and outbreaks, and reduce spending on institutional resources.

The Single Digital Record (Acta Digital Única – ADU) of Argentina’s Superintendency of Occupational Risks (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo – SRT) is a public instrument for ensuring that inspections comply with standards on the prevention of occupational risks in employer establishments. These inspections are carried out by over 100 SRT inspectors and 470 inspectors from the Local Labour Administrators (Administradoras de Trabajo Local – ATL) from the provincial jurisdictions.

Well-being is at the heart of Colombia’s COMPENSAR - Family Allowances Fund (COMPENSAR - Caja de Compensación Familiar). This has been a process of evolution, complemented by Amartya Sen’s theory that “you can understand a person’s well-being by analysing the quality of their life, which can be considered as a set of interrelated “functionings”, consisting of states and actions”.

The project, “Care plan management for psychological illnesses following accidents” (Steuerung des Heilverfahrens bei psychischen Erkrankungen nach Unfällen), involves three components: the extension of case management to cover psychological disorders, the development of an e-learning seminar to train case workers, and the development and evaluation of a diagnostic algorithm. This comprehensive approach aims to bring about an overall improvement in the quality of care for patients who develop psychological disorders following a work accident.

Disseminating information on the Occupational Risk System and interacting with relevant stakeholders are two key functions of Argentina’s Superintendency of Occupational Risks (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo – SRT).

Argentina’s Superintendency of Occupational Risks (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo – SRT) offers training on occupational risk prevention and the functioning of the Occupational Risk System. This training is available for workers, employers, public and private bodies, trade unions and trade associations and all levels of educational establishments, as well as any other social actor that needs this service.

German Federal Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund – DRV) is using the potential of digitalization and is simplifying procedures for customers. The development of a customer web portal for preventive health care enables the DRV to provide customers with easy access to the relevant services. This is a first step towards achieving our strategic goal of creating a digital, personalized customer portal for the DRV.

The Working Family Payment (WFP) scheme operated by the Department of Social Protection (DSP) of Ireland provides an income support payment to families in work. The scheme supports low-income families, some in part-time employment, to remain in work through the provision of supplementary income, based on family size (the number of dependants).

How can seasonal workers protect their safety and health at work, identify potential health or accident risks and be aware of the first aid measures that must be adopted should the need arise? Seasonal workers can find specific information on these issues, relevant to the needs arising at their place of work, using the new health and safety web app from the Social Insurance for Agriculture, Forestry and Horticulture (Sozialversicherung für Landwirtschaft, Forsten und Gartenbau – SVLFG).

Over the years, the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – INAIL) has expanded the protection of workers, guaranteeing economic and health benefits and social-health and supplementary services as forms of support aimed at recovery, psycho-physical rehabilitation and reintegration into social and working life.

The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), a long-standing member of the International Social Security Association (ISSA), co-developed a Vision Zero training programme to teach the principles and benefits of Vision Zero as a preventative strategy and to empower learners with the tools they need to implement it. This newly created programme consisted of a Train the Trainer course, to assure the standards of trainer delivery, and a newly developed Vision Zero training course based on the principles of Vision Zero and the seven golden rules.

The pace of development of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on social and economic life took everyone by surprise. Lockdown of entire sectors of the economy and restrictions in everyday functions caused serious disruptions of economic processes and had a significant impact on the condition of many enterprises and the labour market situation. To minimise the negative impact of the pandemic on the economy, the government introduced the aid programme known as the Anti-Crisis Shield (ACS).

Back Protection and Rehabilitation Programme (BPRP) is a dynamic and proactive solution to control and manage the commonest musculoskeletal disorders at the workplace, which is backache or low back pain. The main objective is to reduce the incidence and impact of back pain, prevent worsening of disability, reduce the disability period, and finally retain skilled workers affected in the workforce.

The Republic of Korea’s workers’ compensation supports the return to work of injured workers, as a social safety net protecting national human resources. The Korea Workers’ Compensation and Welfare Service (COMWEL) is an organization operating “Customized Integrated Services (CIS)” that establishes a rehabilitation plan for injured workers since 2011, while implementing systematic rehabilitation services according to the established plan, helping the successful rehabilitation of workers.

In 2020 the coronavirus pandemic presented stakeholders in the field of safety and health at work with new challenges that required close coordination. In order to implement the SARS-CoV-2-occupational safety and health standard published on 16 April 2020, the official accident insurance institutions quickly backed up the general occupational safety and health measures with sectoral specifications. These specify the requirements for operational infection protection for each industry or activity within organizations and institutions in Germany.

The pandemic that recently hit the entire world has changed our ways of working, generating a significant negative impact on people’s health in both the world of work and everyday life. Added to this are the economic difficulties that countries are currently experiencing worldwide.

The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF, hereafter the Fund) of Botswana’s mandate is to promote road safety and compensate those affected by road traffic accidents in the form of benefits (medical and rehabilitation costs, funeral costs, loss on income, loss of support and other necessary social support services). The total benefits payable by the Fund are limited by 1 million Botswanan pulas (BWP).

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, the Food and Hospitality Trades Cooperative (Berufsgenossenschaft Nahrungsmittel und Gastgewerbe – BGN) has been working with the International Section of the ISSA on Machine and System Safety to develop a comprehensive prevention-, research- and communication-based approach to support its members in the hospitality, bakery, butchery and food industries to provide healthy and safe workplaces.

In accordance with the health emergency decreed by the government and with state policies, our mutual fund, the Catholic Workers’ Circle of the Uruguay Mutual Fund (Círculo Católico de Obreros del Uruguay Mutualista), has since mid-March, been implementing a strategic plan to combat and control the COVID-19 pandemic.

Certain actions have been carried out to minimise the risk to the institution’s workers.

The project “Implementing the “Active Breaks” programme in the Human Talent Management Unit at the San Juan de Dios Hospital” of Costa Rica is being presented to the International Social Security Association (ISSA), as the results obtained have shown that the integral health of staff is key to their performance and fosters an ideal state of well-being, given that the correct balance was struck between physical, emotional, biological, work and social factors.

During the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, in Italy as in other countries, the government has promoted work from home. The National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – INAIL) Technical Consultancy for risk assessment and prevention (CONTARP) wrote an information document on the risks workers could be exposed in different working scenarios (open air working, working on public transport or in closed public or private places) that provided recommendations and prevention measures.

Belgium’s National Employment Office (Office national de l’emploi – ONEM) has been facing an unprecedented situation during the coronavirus crisis. On 16 March 2020, some 92 per cent of its workforce found themselves teleworking full time. As the ONEM continued to fulfil its social mission, maintaining the well-being of its staff became a priority.

For this reason, a number of initiatives were launched in March 2020:

In order to help the employees of the National Family Allowances Fund (Caisse nationale des allocations familiales – CNAF) cope with the various problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, measures were quickly put in place at the start of the health crisis and have been continually updated.

They were designed to assist employees in dealing with the various problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdown. They included counselling, support in the form of webinars and upbeat articles, and surveys to regularly assess employees’ psychological state.

Expanding its services from assisting up to 1,200 jobseekers with employment injuries or illnesses annually in 2008, Social Security Organization (SOCSO) now delivers employment services to all categories of job seekers in Malaysia through the establishment of the MYFutureJobs National Employment Services, a framework similar to the Public Employment Services defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Osseointegration for lower limb amputees represents an innovative approach that allows a direct bone-prosthesis connection, avoiding the use of traditional sockets. Thanks to its demonstrated improvement effects on patient prosthesis embodiment and quality of life, osseointegrated implants are a reliable alternative to the traditional solutions.

The “Oxygen at Home” (Oxígeno en Casa) system of Mexico’s State Employees’ Social Security and Social Services Institute (Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado – ISSSTE) is a technological tool that manages the prescription of home oxygen to eligible patients. It also provides monthly monitoring of how the service is being delivered in all medical units with a view to strengthening this health insurance service that protects, promotes and restores health, thereby improving patients’ quality of life.

Argentina’s Superintendency of Occupational Risks (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo – SRT) has a project named Prevention 4.0, which consists of analysing and studying technological tools that can be implemented in the workplace to prevent work accidents or occupational diseases.

Preventive management at work establishes the aim of protecting workers, based on the Occupational Accidents and Diseases Act (Act 16.744 of 1968).

Today, around the world, we are dealing with a COVID-19 pandemic. Many countries are affected, including Chile, with great problems keeping people, including workers, safe and maintaining continuity of operations for businesses.

The project Escuta (escuta means “to listen” in Portuguese) of the National Institute of Social Security (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social – INSS) was conceived and developed by a team from the southern region of Brazil, the Health and Quality of Life at Work team, to meet the needs of employees who, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, have to observe social distancing to perform their professional activities.

From the beginning of the pandemic, the Medical Directorate of Mexico’s State Employees’ Social Security and Social Services Institute (Instituto de Seguridad y Servicios Sociales de los Trabajadores del Estado – ISSSTE), rolled out Project Harley “El Tuerto” (The one-eyed dog), the world’s only intervention providing emotional support and humanitarian assistance through canine therapy to health personnel working in COVID-19 care with a view to reducing their psychological stress.

For some ten years, the National Social Security Fund (Caisse nationale de prévoyance – CNPS) of Cameroon has been resolutely committed to sustainable development and corporate social responsibility (CSR).

By leveraging its wide scope of action (employers, workers, recipients of benefits, health and social campaigns through hospitals and schools, etc.), the CNPS has stepped up its environmental commitment over the last three years through the implementation of an action plan that has significantly reduced its carbon footprint and hence its greenhouse gas emissions.

When the SARS-CoV-2-occupational safety and health standard came into force in April 2020, it appeared that film productions in Germany would no longer be able to film without complying with rules on social distancing, hygiene measures and masks. Since the needs of the film industry differ significantly from other sectors in this area, an urgent need for action was recognized, for example, to avoid jeopardizing cost-intensive film projects and the associated jobs.

During the current COVID-19 pandemic, the whole country’s government mechanism is mobilised to manage the impact of the pandemic. The Social Security Organization (SOCSO) of Malaysia plays its role in the social security and provides economic stimulus for the country.

In response to COVID-19 pandemic, the Social Security Corporation (SSC) of Jordan launched the Sustainability Programme (Istidama) in accordance with the Defence Law, issued by the government in 2020, represented by a package of procedures, aimed at securing workers in the activities and sectors most affected; providing temporary income that enables them to meet their living requirements because of the decrease in their wages.

Lower-limb amputee (LLA) patients are required to prove their ability to use the artificial limb through functional evaluations. The results guide the prosthesis-rehabilitation treatment. Patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMs) allow getting information on the patient’s ability based on the patient’s perspective. The approach may have a huge impact on decision-making processes because it may help clinicians to develop patient-specific treatments.

Organizations with a positive safety culture have internal communication based on mutual trust, shared perceptions on the importance of safety and trust in prevention measures. As a consequence, organizations with a high level of safety culture are able to significantly reduce the occurrence of accidents and occupational diseases.

With the declaration of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 as a pandemic in March 2020, the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social – IMSS) set up two new digital services for its beneficiaries which are available 24/7:

The mandate of the National Social Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale – CNaPS) of Madagascar includes occupational accidents and diseases. Within this remit, CNaPS also promotes early intervention, encouraging preventive action to address risks arising in the workplace. The aim is to increase awareness and motivation on the part of employers and workers as regards the need for a safe and healthy work environment.

The COVID-19 pandemic was one of the largest threats to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The lockdown was about to force employers to terminate their employees because of the inability to pay their wages. The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) of Saudi Arabia was quick and agile in submitting to the legislators a recommendation by which employers are not required to pay wages of employees, employees can keep their jobs and the unemployment insurance (SANED) would compensate those employees.

To contribute to preventing and reducing serious and fatal accidents, Mutual for Safety CChC (Mutual de Seguridad CChC) in Chile has focussed on adapting training to the real situation of workers, seeking methodologies orientated towards adult learning.

The adverse health effects of occupational exposure to crystalline silica have long been known. Silicosis can be considered a generalised systemic disease that originates in the lung and often affects other systems and organs.

Silicosis is an incurable lung disease caused by inhaling dust containing free crystalline silica. Silica is a chemical compound found in crystalline and amorphous (non-crystalline) forms.

The Occupational Exposure to Silica in Chile (Situación de Exposición Laboral a Sílice en Chile) report (Ministry of Health, 2015) estimated that 5.4 per cent of the workforce is at high risk of exposure to silica.

Supporting Registered Employment of Women through Promoting Educated Childcare Givers Operation (EDU-CARE) is about supporting certified caregivers and promoting registered employment of women. Financial support is provided to working mothers at risk of withdrawing from the labour market and who employ educated nannies. It is designed to promote the childcare giver profession and qualified women employment.

Integration of the materials for information and training on occupational prevention and safety, already owned by the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – INAIL), with specific products coming from the territory and companies of South Tyrol.

“Studiare il Lavoro” is a specific e-learning training project realized by the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – INAIL) for students between 15 and 18 years old. It has been designed and implemented using an innovative teaching method using animated graphics and advanced techniques of communication to keep the right level of attention.

The Motor Vehicle Accident Fund (MVAF, hereafter the Fund) of Botswana was established in 1986 and its mandate is to promote road safety, compensate, rehabilitate, and support those affected by road crashes in Botswana. In 2018, the Fund embarked on a project to develop the case management strategy to support the main five-year corporate strategy.

With a view to providing a more rapid response to its users and reducing the strain on its customer-service phone lines, and thus focusing its efforts on dealing with more complex enquiries, Argentina’s Superintendency of Occupational Risks (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo – SRT), a national public body, decided to launch a chatbot that would be available on its website 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Despite specific legislation and efforts of institutions and trade unions to improve health and safety conditions, construction is still one of the sectors where the frequency of injuries is the highest.

Chile’s Mutual for Safety CChC (Mutual de Seguridad CChC) has formed a multidisciplinary team to develop and implement a care model for its patients with sequelae. Tailored to the needs of chronically ill patients, the model allows appropriate monitoring of related risks with a view to preventing bio-psychosocial complications that can affect how such patients maintain their residual capacity in the long term.

The use of robots in rehabilitation has widened the treatment options and improved the outcomes for patients with neurological disabilities. These devices promote functional recovery of the upper or lower limb movements through neuroplasticity and motor relearning processes. The cybernic treatment combines interactions between man, machine and information to improve, enhance and support the wearer’s limb mobility function. It regenerates the patient’s own brain-neuro-physical functions through the signal interactions between human and robot.

Occupational trauma can affect a wide range of individuals exposed, including not only the people who experienced the traumatic event first-hand, but also those who witnessed the event, the primary victim’s family and friends, bereaved family members and those who feel responsible for the event, police, firefighters, and people engaged in an emergency service.

A worldwide epidemic of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with cases among agricultural workers, and others performing manual labour, especially in Central America, known as CKD of unknown cause (CDKu). The objective of this study was to verify prevalence of rural/city workers with CKD and associated factors.

In Peru, 10.4 per cent of the population has a disability. It is estimated that only 33 per cent of persons with disabilities of working age participate in the labour market, given that educational level and job training are key factors for access to employment. With this in mind, the EsSalud - Social Health Insurance Institute (EsSalud - Seguro Social de Salud) of Peru established the Vocational Rehabilitation Centres (Centros de Rehabilitación Profesional – CERPS) for persons with disabilities over 14 years of age.

Superintendency of Occupational Risks (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo – SRT) Resolution No. 219/2016 established a model for management by objectives and results with a view to providing quality services. This is one of the main management tools required to achieve the goal of meeting citizens’ needs and expectations more successfully.

SRT Resolution No. 260/2016 also provided for the first Customer Service Quality Management System; this was implemented at the Call Centre for Worker Assistance. The main objectives included:

• There are learned behaviors among men that make them feel like “superheroes”: hiding pain, postponing visits to the doctor and minimizing any physical indication that something is not right.
• This results in an increase in diseases and in male mortality in Mexico.
• Our campaign seeks to foster a culture of prevention and self-care among men in Mexico.

The National Campaign for the Prevention of Accidents at Work (Campaña Nacional de Prevención de Accidentes de Trabajo – CANPAT) is an initiative by Brazil’s Labour Inspectorate Subsecretariat, part of the Ministry of Finance – Secretariat for Social Insurance, and consists of a set of principally preventive actions designed to promote a culture of health and safety at work.

In Brazil, on average, more than 550,000 accidents occur at work every year, resulting in death, mutilation, sick leave, and permanent and temporary disabilities.

The National Social Security Institute (INSS) is the body responsible for granting and maintaining social security benefits in Brazil. One of the main challenges for the INSS is to provide the conditions for workers who exhibit consolidated after-effects from illness or an accident to be able to return to the job market, so that they can support themselves without relying on the social security system.

The strategy described in this account consisted of identifying a quadriplegic worker, but who had the possibility of returning to work.

The Listening and Guidance Centre (Centre d’écoute et d’orientation – CEO) at Madagascar’s National Social Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale – CNaPS) helps to improve the living conditions of those CNaPS members who are more vulnerable, in psycho-social, health and economic terms.

The good practice refers to a manual that brings together Chilean Safety Association (Asociación Chilena de Seguridad – ACHS) methodology and experience in the implementation of effective health promotion strategies.

The manual systematically describes all the phases, activities, considerations and tools involved for the effective implementation of a workplace health promotion strategy.

The manual makes it possible to share the most effective method of workplace health promotion with other workplaces, organizations and countries. 

The Gabon National Social Security Fund (Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale – CNSS) did not have a separate directorate responsible for issues relating to occupational safety and health (OSH). Before November 2017, all the institution had as part of its core activities was one section lacking visibility and leadership. The General Directorate therefore decided to enhance this unit’s status by turning it into a Directorate on the same footing as the other operational Directorates (the Technical Benefits Directorate and the Registration and Collection Directorate).

In 2017, Djibouti’s National Social Security Fund (Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale – CNSS) progressively implemented an occupational risk prevention policy. Prior to this initiative, the CNSS activities in the field of workplace accidents were limited to providing compensation and redress. The important role played by preventive work in averting the causes of accidents instead of allowing these accidents to come to pass, as well as in improving conditions in the workplace, underpinned the choice of this approach.

This good practice aims to streamline the administrative procedures related to occupational risks and disability in accordance within the following legal framework:

Personal Information Navigator for persons injured at work is a project of the Social Insurance Fund (SIF) of the Russian Federation that started in 2017 and was extended to all the regions of Russia in 2021. The main goal of the project is to introduce a system of advance notice for persons who suffer from labour accidents through which the regional offices of the SIF of the Russian Federation can inform them of their rights to technical means of rehabilitation, prosthetic and orthopaedic devices and other such appliances, whether as initial supplies or as replacements.

Special Assistance (Ayuda Extraordinaria – AYEX) is a non-contributory benefit provided by the Social Insurance Bank (Banco de Previsión Social – BPS), aimed at responding to the socio-educational needs of persons with disabilities covered by the social security system.

The purpose of the benefit is to enable persons to regain skills, compensate lost functions and obtain a maximum degree of autonomy and a better quality of life, with their abilities and aspirations.

The National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Istituto Nazionale per l’Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro – INAIL) Regional Directorate for Campania has co-financed research that led to the creation of tools for the prevention of fire safety risks in the workplace, deriving from the energy retrofitting of buildings.

In the course of its activities, the medical board of Côte d’Ivoire’s Social Insurance Institute – National Social Insurance Fund (Institution de prévoyance sociale – Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale – IPS-CNPS) found itself facing a number of significant problems:

Since 2016 the National Social Insurance Fund for Employees (Caisse nationale des assurances sociales des travailleurs salaries – CNAS) has conducted a national programme financed by its prevention fund. The aim of this information and awareness-raising programme for interns and apprentices on vocational training for the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases is to be proactive with future workers by providing them with knowledge and good practices in the field of occupational health and safety.

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), called job accommodation, is a programme of the National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social – INSS) of Brazil, which aims the reintegration of workers with disability in compatible activities.

Because of the lack of standardisation of repetitive manual activities, it is very important to share criteria to make the risk assessment homogeneous, focusing on the following critical elements: use of tools, identification of technical actions, force, posture and cycle time.

Return to work is often not seen as a primary function of workers’ compensation systems, particularly in the United States. The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards & Commissions (IAIABC) is making a concerted effort to create a movement to help system stakeholders not only understand the value and benefits of return to work programs, but support them within their own organizations and in partnership with other system stakeholders.

Industrial and commuting accidents in Malaysia continue to be a burden to the working population, most especially road accidents related to their occupations. Prompt treatment of the injuries is of the essence to ensure better clinical prognosis and outcome, reduction of disability and continued employability of the contributors. However, in several cases the provision of the surgical implants during acute treatment maybe prolonged due to financial hurdles or processing delays when claiming from the social security organization.

There is a growing white collar workforce and more and more employees are falling ill due to unhealthy workloads. An increasingly borderless work life creates difficulties for individuals to set limits on the working day. What one person experiences as an advantage, can feel stressful for another.

Often, the interests of workers and employers are not the same, so addressing absenteeism as it relates to the health and safety of workers is an ethical and social commitment.

This good practice aims to reduce absenteeism arising from respiratory, musculoskeletal, mental and cardiac diseases, which are among the most frequent conditions among workers of the Catholic Workers’ Circle of the Uruguay Mutual Fund (Círculo Católico de Obreros del Uruguay Mutualista – CCOUM).

Medical committees issue decisions determining the percentage of disability caused by occupational accidents or diseases. Moreover they intervene in the cases of discrepancies over treatment or advice concerning return to work, and to determine the occupational nature of an accident. The management model used is entirely digital and provides a simple, effective and rapid tool for workers, reducing the time taken to process each step and offering the possibility of providing medical consultations when the application is made by the worker, thereby improving the service.

The statutory social insurance institutions for accident, health and pension insurance carried out a pilot project in cooperation with ground handling managers at Hamburg Airport and the company Lifebonus GmbH, with the aim of reducing sickness absence due to back injuries. The project sought to improve cooperation and consistency in service provision creating synergies for insured persons. In terms of content, the focus of the project was to introduce a training satellite and job simulator for the loading staff at Hamburg Airport.

Roll-out of an online auto-diagnosis tool “DIAGNEO SANTE ET SECURITE” for entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized enterprises for the management of health and safety. It makes it possible to draw up a report on the quality of strategic decisions, the evaluation of risks, the implementation of prevention plans, and the entrepreneur’s capacity to engage with employees.

The international community discusses the impact of noncommunicable diseases (NCD) such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, tobacco-related diseases and cancer, among others. NCDs account for 60% of morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. In Argentina, this percentage is even higher, reaching 80%, according to the study published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014: Noncommunicable Diseases (NCD) Country Profiles 2014.

Mexico has the highest mortality due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in people over 45 – 27.2 per cent compared to an average of 7.5 per cent (OECD, 2013). For the Mexican Social Security Institute (Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social – IMSS), cardiovascular diseases have been the main cause of years of healthy life lost due to premature death and disability since 2015. They are also the main cause of emergency department visits and the most common reason for consultations.

In March of 2015 the German Statutory Pension Insurance Scheme (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund) launched a new consulting service specially tailored to the needs of employers and firms. One of the aims of this service for firms is to reinforce preventively and sustainably employee health.

For more than 20 years, the Employment Injury Insurance scheme for workers has provided cash benefits/compensation. In 2014, BPJS Ketenagakerjaan was mandated to reform its social security system. In order to fulfill that mandate, we proposed the Return to Work Programme to the Indonesian Government as a part of social security reform that provides a holistic approach.

The Social Security Corporation (SSC) has started to assess the work place according to the occupational health and safety standards since January, 2014. This initiative is based on the legislative reform that took place in the Social Security Law number (1) for the year 2014. This assessment also stems from the increase in the numbers of work place accidents and occupational diseases that have occurred. Therefore, the main objective of this initiative is to enhance the culture of occupational health and safety standards in the work place.

The project SA.SI.A is based on the integration of technology into the current security procedures in the corporate sector industry. It starts from the experience of Si.S.Ca. "Active safety on construction sites.", validated as a good practice by the Ministry of Labour in 2013 and awarded a recognition in the ISSA Good Practice Award competition for Europe in 2013. The platform SA.SI.A allows real-time monitoring over all working areas with special attention to the following risks:
 

In 2012 social security agencies in Germany decided to use the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as a model in their own organization. Social security institutions were to be model employers. Anyone insuring the social risks of people must also take human rights into account. All those working in social security have to live up to these on a daily basis whether they work in prevention, rehabilitation or claims.

Therefore this tool will encourage the management of organizations, especially small and medium sized enterprises, to allocate resources in OHS prevention. The costs of the lack of safety in Italian enterprises are very high (some 47 billion euros), a big part of these costs are paid by firms. Therefore some organizations do not know the real costs behind accidents and ill-health that they have to bear in terms of loss of work time and money. This is especially true for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) where the culture of safety is not so deeply understood.

Following an analysis of the occupational accident statistics for 2012 from the health institution of the Catholic Workers’ Circle of the Uruguay Mutual Fund (Círculo Católico de Obreros del Uruguay Mutualista), a target was set to reduce the frequency and severity of occupational accidents by at least 15 per cent. To this end, we introduced measures through the Occupational Health and Safety Commission (Comisión de Salud y Seguridad Laboral), which is made up of representatives from both trade unions and institutions.

The National Prevention Programme for Different Branches of Activity formulates policies to prevent occupational risks in a multi-sectoral manner. In terms of risks and the impact of work accidents, the particularities of different branches of activity, both from goods and service industries, has motivated the Superintendency to undertake the initiative of launching this program.

The National Prevention Programme for Different Branches of Activity (Programa Nacional de Prevención por Rama de Actividad – ProNaPre) of Argentina’s Superintendency of Occupational Risks (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo – SRT) is an instrument for the implementation and regular evaluation of national occupational safety and health (OSH) policy.

Malaysia is experiencing an increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Social Security Organization (SOCSO) had noted an increase in the number of claims made for invalidity and survivors' pensions due to NCDs, and the impact may continue to rise even further.

Preventing professional risks requires teamwork and network efforts. Our experience as a Mutual Fund that employs 2,233 officials and provides care services of every sort to approximately 83,000 associates indicates that it is essential to work on the continuous improvement of the promotion, prevention, and health care in the workplace.

The project (Sistema di Sicurezza Cantiere edile (SISCA)) uses RTLS technologies to control and evaluate safety levels in construction sites. This approach is based on the use of particular indicators or control parameters, measured during work activities. This method uses a "hardware-software" platform implying the following four evaluation parameters: