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.

At the operational level, fatal and serious occupational accidents in trade and goods logistics occur rarely, so most companies fortunately lack concrete operational experience.

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 Agency for Sustainable and Operational Social Security (DOST) Volunteer Programme in Azerbaijan is a crucial part of the DOST Agency’s activities and applies a new innovative approach to Government to Citizen (G2C) communication. DOST volunteers act as an intermediary within the Agency and beyond it. The programme is focused on the day-to-day operations at the DOST centres, such as guiding citizens, assisting people with disabilities and older persons, conducting satisfaction surveys, and participating in CSR projects of the Agency.

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.

Management systems for occupational health and safety are a fundamental element of prevention. Currently, these models of managing are designed for large, complex or articulated organizations.

Differently the first version of Inail-Cobis Operational Guide SGSL Sistema Casa – 2018, rewarded by ISSA Good Practice Awards – Europe 2019, showed the feasibility of occupational health and safety management system (OSH MS) models tailored for small building and utility companies.

My Vision Zero Youth Short Film Competition of the Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (Kasa Rolniczego Ubezpieczenia Społecznego – KRUZ) of Poland. The aim of the competition is to promote safe work-related behaviour on farms among school and university students, particularly those with an agricultural focus, and to popularize Vision Zero in agriculture.

My Vision Zero Competition is aimed at young people aged between 13 and 21, who are tasked with producing a short film promoting a healthy and safe system of work on the farm.

In 2014, the occupational health and safety department of France’s National Sickness Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale de l’assurance maladie – CNAM) launched a programme initially entitled “Fall Risks in the Building and Public Works Sector” (Risques Chutes Pros Bâtiment et Travaux Publics – BTP) which was later renamed the “BTP Sectoral Programme” (programme sectoriel BTP) and expanded after 2018. With this, they aim to reduce the number of accidents in the construction sector.

The purpose of the Finnish Vision Zero Forum’s regional networks is to bring together the affiliated workplaces in a given province or region. The regional networks meet approximately every six months. These meetings involve visits to the different workplaces of the network members. The visits are not only to learn about current safety, health and well-being at work, but also to meet colleagues from other workplaces. This creates links between the different workplaces, lowering the threshold for cooperation and the sharing of lessons learned in the future.

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.

Occupational chemical hazards involve exposure to or use of one or more dangerous chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic. They are the second most common cause of occupational illness in France and can be found in all professional sectors. They have immediate and/or delayed effects on employees’ health.

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.

The long-standing partners, the Luxembourg Accident Insurance Association (AAA), the Luxembourg Employers Association (UEL) and its National Institute for Sustainable Development and Corporate Social Responsibility (INDR), launched in 2016 national Vision Zero strategy for the promotion of occupational health and safety as part of the 10th Anniversary edition of the Annual Occupational Health and Safety Forum, in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses the Hereditary Grand Duke and Grand Duchess.

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:
 

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for 88 per cent of recorded occupational diseases in France (almost 45,000 cases). Every year, there are also 70,000 handling accidents in the workplace that result in lower back pain and at least four days off work. Most of these MSDs are concentrated in a few sectors, namely personal assistance and care, construction, mass retailing, the food industry, the metal industry, cleaning, and transport logistics.

The consequences of these disorders can be serious for both employees and companies.

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:

The moments immediately after an accident represent a delicate step, as the worker needs to obtain urgently information on how to handle it.

Today, with the project "InailOnLine", this caring, advising and supporting service is carried out in a "proactive" way, with an outbound service, as the worker is directly contacted not later than 48 hours after the accident.

Through a Contact Centre, the injured worker first gets information by telephone and useful documentation by e-mail.

Good Practice: Tools for the Innovation of Health Promotion in the Workplace: Programme “Por un Buen Trabajo” (For a Healthy Job).

This programme, developed by the Department of Preventive Health of the Chilean Safety Association (Asociación Chilena de Seguridad (ACHS)), is intended as a specific methodological tool to develop management skills in the area of health promotion in the workplace. Its general objective is to develop effective strategies in health promotion with a long-term perspective.

The Collective Scheme for Retirement Allowances (Régime collectif d’allocation de retraite – RCAR) has introduced a fully computerized and versatile multi-scheme, multiproduct organizational and technological management platform, consisting of a multi-channel Customer Relations Centre (agencies, a call centre, web/mobile, social networks), a multiproduct Payment Centre, and a computerized Back Office that is integrated with RCAR’s partners.

The Social Security Institute of Guatemala (Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social – IGSS) delivers healthcare coverage through the Sickness, Maternity and Accident (Enfermedad, Maternidad y Accidentes – EMA) programme as a mechanism for life protection. Its primary objective is to preserve or restore health and prevent health problems, covering the risks of sickness, maternity and accidents for affiliates and their family units, including their wife and children under the age of seven.

Biological risk assessment at workplaces is not easy because of the lack of a standard for biocontaminants measurement. INAIL's Technical Advisory Risk Assessment and Prevention (CONTARP) developed guidelines on microbiological monitoring in workplaces, in order to adopt homogeneous methodologies of airborne biocontaminants sampling and samples analysis. CONTARP and DCOD (Directorate for Digital Organization) developed a software programme, whose database contains data about environmental microbiological monitoring in companies.

Practical actions included the integrated reform of the existing counselling systems, the identification of priority customers using reasonable standards, and the case management of identified priority customers.

In terms of outcomes for one year, since its introduction, the number of personnel in charge of various return-to-work programmes increased to 3,285 in 2011, 297 per cent up against 828 in 2010, and the return-to-work rate of disabled workers increased to 70.4 per cent in 2011, 6.3 percentage points up against 64.1 per cent in 2010.

It insures 120,000 enterprises or 1.9 million employees against the consequences of accidents and occupational illnesses. Unemployed persons are automatically covered by the SUVA. The SUVA generates premiums of approximately CHF 4.4 billion. The social partners, employers and employees - together with the Confederation - are represented on the board of directors.

The wage bills of the insured enterprises form the basis for calculating insurance premiums. The old procedure for ascertaining these wage bills was elaborate and prone to error.

While integration is desirable, flexible arrangements are required depending on the size and type of operation. It reflects ILO values such as tripartism and relevant international standards including the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No.155) and the Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161).

In addition to the major factors of removal of legal barriers to extension, incorporation of extension targets in national development plans, special coverage extension campaigns, contribution rate subsidies for vulnerable groups, and integrated collection of social insurance contributions, other valuable means to extend coverage are the introduction of flexible contributions for high risk sectors and linkage of work injury affiliation to the issue of business licenses and work safety permits, etc.

The Social Security Corporation (SSC) launched an Excellence Award for Occupational Safety and Health in the year 2011 for the firms that comply with the occupational health and safety standards. This initiative included an award for individuals to encourage them to provide new ideas and contribute to raising awareness regarding occupational health and safety standards in the work place, and to decrease the probability of work accidents.

On the basis of enquiries by German and Swiss accident insurers that began in 2011 it had become clear that tampering with safety devices on machines in factories had become very widespread. A study carried out by the German Statutory Accident Insurance (DGUV) showed that 37 per cent of safety devices on metalworking machines had been tampered with. Safety devices that have been tampered with significantly increase the risk of using machinery and lead to severe occupational accidents with their attendant suffering and high costs.

For the past nine years, the Mutual for Safety CChC (Mutual de Seguridad CChC) has been showing its social commitment to Chile’s development through the implementation a model of systematic attention and intervention to deal with occupational risks, aimed at looking after the health and safety of workers in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Historically, these businesses have had to deal with problems related to their own survival, without access to prevention resources allowing them to achieve a sustained reduction in their accident indicators.

The web page "Safety and Work" (www.safety-work.org) - developed as part of the working programme for small and medium-sized enterprises of the ISSA’s Special Commission on Prevention - is currently operated and maintained by 21 international partners from seven different countries under the auspices of the BGN. It has been online since 2011 and is available in German, English, French, Italian and Spanish. The partners involved are from non-commercial organisations such as, for example, statutory insurers, employer and employee organisations and welfare organisations.

The response capabilities of the National Social Insurance Fund for Employees (Caisse nationale des assurances sociales des travailleurs salariés (CNAS)) in the area of prevention of occupational accidents and diseases is based mainly on a knowledge of the world of work and the risks likely to affect workers.

Until recently structural and functional-oriented therapy approaches were the main ones to figure among the established procedures for medical rehabilitation. Occupational and activity-oriented treatment approaches had previously been under-represented.

The new system, now in its third edition with the notice published in December 2012, foresees the co-funding by INAIL, up to 50 per cent, of investments made by companies for structural interventions (e.g. factory renovations, buying machinery) or adoption of organizational models of safety management or social responsibility, aimed at improving health and safety levels, beyond the ones prescribed by law.

The work organisation was restructured, a technological solution was established, a virtual office linking all teams at several sites was created and the administrative structure was redesigned. Performance indicators showed that results quickly exceeded expectations. In 2008, there were 9,518 applications waiting to be processed. That number fell to 3,600 in 2012, for a 60 percent reduction. The average time required to process applications for review declined from 85.9 days in 2008 to 44 in 2012.

The DRL has acquired new tools to implement its vision, which is "to be an innovative leader by maintaining a commitment to improved client services provided by qualified personnel." To ensure the proper balance between quality and quantity of work, ensure the sustainability of its methods and minimize the loss of expertise that occurs when employees retire, the DRL designed, developed and deployed the following products in its local offices:

Placing special focus on the provision of eServices, GOSI is always aiming for more efficiency and effectiveness and is constantly targeting higher levels of satisfaction experienced by all relevant parties.

The strategy comprises four CA prevention programmes to face the increase in commuting accidents, namely:

With this new contact point internal and external partners now had the possibility to pass on their concerns via the shortest possible route. The number of cases processed increased steadily. Since the centre was founded the number of cases closed successfully has increased. It was possible to influence customer satisfaction positively through active measures and the majority of insured individuals also view the SUVA's efforts to combat insurance fraud positively.

All companies must comply with health and safety regulations. However, the safety procedures and the spread of information about the subject are not sufficient to avoid accidents. It is really useful for companies to create a network and cooperate actively to improve safety.

ESAW (European Statistics on Accidents at Work) is the European coding system of injuries, adopted by Inail since 2001, allowing the comparison of accidents at work rates in different Member States. The knowledge of causes and circumstances of the occurrence of accidents at work is essential for planning policies for prevention and protection aimed at reducing their frequency and severity, as well as enabling the plan of measures to improve working conditions.

The National Employment Accident Insurance Institute (Istituto Nazionale per l'Assicurazione contro gli Infortuni sul Lavoro (INAIL)) - also to overcome the lack of financial and human resources - is committed to fighting contribution evasion and to improving inspection results in social security matters by computerizing the surveillance system and developing business intelligence activities.

The General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI) implements an occupational hazards insurance, which provides medical coverage against job related injuries and diseases as well as financial compensation if applicable. Through its operations, GOSI observed a steady increase in the number of work related injuries which has prompted it to issue basic standards of occupational health and safety, and promote these standards to employers and employees alike. This has led to a sharp reduction in the number of injuries and has spread the culture of prevention on the national level.