For any enterprise, a special assessment of working conditions is a mandatory procedure. It is organized by the employer in conjunction with a specialized company, which is authorized by the state to carry out relevant activities. The interaction is carried out on the basis of a civil law contract. The methodology for conducting the SOUT is determined by the parties in accordance with the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation.
The essence of SOUT
SOUT - a single set of measures for identifying hazardous and harmful factors in the work environment and the labor process, as well as checking the level of impact of these indicators on employees and comparing them with standards. The audit is carried out on the basis of order No. 33 n “Methodology for conducting the SOUT” as amended on July 19, 2018.
The need to analyze working conditions is due to the introduction of Federal Law No. 426 of December 28, 2013. According to the norms of the act, the audit is carried out sequentially, based on the methodology developed by the Federal Executive Authority, which is engaged in the development and implementation of labor policies. When drawing up the methodology for conducting the TEC, the opinion of the tripartite commission involved in the regulation of relations in the social and labor field is taken into account.
A special type of working environment is evaluated once every five years. Law No. 426 has exceptions to this rule. The five-year period is calculated from the moment of confirmation of the report on jobs created by the company.
Article 17 of the law establishes cases of unscheduled inspections:
- A new organized workplace has been commissioned.
- The company has changed the technological process, replaced production equipment that can affect the degree of exposure to hazardous or harmful factors on employees.
- An accident occurred at the place of work through no fault of unauthorized persons, a disease of the professional type was revealed due to exposure to hazardous or harmful factors of production.
- The composition of the materials and raw materials used has been changed, which can affect the degree of exposure to hazardous or harmful factors on employees.
In the event of the occurrence of one of these cases within six months, the third-party company, together with the employer, conducts an unscheduled SOUT according to the methodology of 33 n.
Stages of a special assessment of working conditions
By order No. 33 n “Methodology for conducting the SOUT” with the changes in 2018, the assessment is carried out in seven stages:
- Evaluation Planning
- Preparation of verification.
- Identification of threats of a potential nature (hazardous and harmful factors of production).
- Detection and measurement of identified factors.
- Testing and measuring hazardous and harmful indicators in the manufacturing sector and the labor process.
- Fixation and registration of the results obtained based on the results of the TOC.
- Drawing up a report on the compliance of working conditions with the requirements of regulatory state acts in the field of labor protection.
Planning and organizing the implementation of the assessment
According to Order No. 33n on the methodology for conducting the TJS, the responsibility for planning and financing the verification procedure lies with the employer. After determining the evaluation period, the company finds a specialized organization engaged in such inspections and enters into a civil contract with it. The company must be selected in accordance with the provisions of Art. 19 Federal Law No. 426.
According to the norms of order 33 on the methodology for conducting the TOC, when choosing a company for verification, the employer must check the company's statutory documents for the condition that the TOC is the main type of its activity (or one of them).
The staff of the inspection organization should include five officially employed experts (or more) who have certificates for the right to perform work on the JUT. In addition to experts, the firm must have a testing center (laboratory) accredited by a national level body specializing in licensing relevant activities.
According to the order No. 33n on the methodology for conducting the SUT, the composition of the evaluation committee and the procedure for its work are approved by order of the head of the enterprise. The same document reflects the schedule of inspections.
Preparation for the verification of the working conditions of employees
In the methodology for conducting the SUT (special assessment of working conditions) it is indicated that after the issuance of the order on the audit, a commission must be formed. It should include an odd number of employees.
The commission consists of the following employees:
- representatives of the organization, including a labor safety specialist;
- union representatives (or another body speaking on behalf of employees);
- head of organization (his representative).
If the assessment of working conditions is carried out by an individual entrepreneur, the commission includes:
- personally IP;
- labor protection specialist (or a specialist in this field invited on the basis of a civil law contract);
- other company representatives;
- union representative.
Establishment of a list of jobs for carrying out SOUT
Before the start of the audit according to the methodology for conducting the SUT, a list of jobs to be verified is compiled. Similar jobs for assessment are also indicated. This category includes the workplaces of employees with a number of characteristics:
- They are located in the same type of industrial premises.
- In these places are the same ventilation system, air conditioning, heating, lighting.
- The premises have employees with one specialty, position, profession.
- At workplaces, a similar labor function is performed.
- The time regime of labor completely coincides.
- The technological process is conducted in the same mode using the same equipment, tools, materials, devices, raw materials.
- The protective equipment for employees at these workplaces is identical.
If during the verification of similar workplaces according to Appendix No. 9 to the methodology for conducting the TJS, workplaces are checked within 20% of the total. The results are recorded in relation to all points of labor in the enterprise.
Identification of potentially dangerous and harmful factors of production
The identification procedure is established by the methodology in question. To some extent, it is similar to job certification. The presence of different techniques for conducting the SUT and AWP allows you to fully explore the enterprise for harmful and dangerous factors that negatively affect the health of employees.
The identification process is carried out in four stages:
- stage one - the establishment and description of production and labor factors identified at the place of work, as well as sources of dangerous and harmful effects;
- stage two - comparison and identification of coincidence of factors in the workplace with the same indicators from the classifier;
- Stage Three - Deciding on a deeper study and measurement of established data;
- drawing up a conclusion on the results of identification.
The entire audit is carried out by a representative of the expert organization, and its results are approved by the commission.
Study and measurement of hazardous and harmful factors of production
In the process of assessing working conditions, all identified hazardous and harmful factors of production are investigated and measured. The list of established indicators is formed by the commission created on the basis of such criteria:
- regulatory state requirements for labor protection;
- characteristics of technological processes and industrial equipment;
- results of measurements and studies conducted previously;
- characteristics of the materials and raw materials used;
- dangerous and harmful production factors;
- employee suggestions.
When studying and measuring negative factors, an enterprise independently determines which research methods and methods should be used, which expert organization to invite.
During testing and research, classes and subclasses of working conditions are determined by the degree of danger or harmfulness. According to the fourteenth article of the Federal Law No. 426, four classes of harmfulness are distinguished.
The first class is optimal working conditions under which there is no negative impact of negative factors or it is minimal. Such enterprises create safe working conditions for people, in which the level of employee productivity is growing.
The second class - permissible working conditions under which the negative impact of negative factors does not exceed the limits established by the norms. At such enterprises, the harmful effects of the influence of production factors disappear during the period between shifts.
Third class - harmful working conditions, in which the negative impact of negative factors exceeds the limits established by the norms. There are four subclasses in this class, depending on the degree of harm caused to the employee’s body, on the consequences, the restoration of which requires more inter-shift rest, to the negative impact, as a result of which serious illnesses arise and develop.
The fourth class is hazardous working conditions under which the negative impact of negative factors significantly exceeds the limits established by the norms. With such work, the employee develops occupational diseases that pose a threat to life.
Factors investigated in the process of conducting SOUT
According to the annex to the methodology for conducting the SOUT in the research process, the following factors are checked:
- Chemical (mixtures and substances settling in the air and on the skin of employees, including enzymes, antibiotics, hormones, protein-type preparations).
- Physical (Appendix 9 to the methodology for conducting SOUT) (aerosols, infrasound, noise, air ultrasound, local and general types of vibration, infrasound, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, microclimatic parameters, lighting parameters).
- Biological (live spores and cells, producing microorganisms, pathogenic microorganisms).
- The severity of labor (indicators of physical pressure on the musculoskeletal system and functioning systems of the body of employees).
- Work intensity (determination of sensory load on the human nervous system and its sensory organs).
For certain types of work, positions, specialties and professions, the Ministry of Labor, together with executive authorities and enterprises, has the right to establish additional dangerous and harmful production factors that must be measured and investigated during inspections. Despite this, the hazard classes remain the same.
Reporting on the results of the audit
The report, compiled in accordance with order No. 33 n on the methodology for conducting the control system, is issued based on the results of the work. The same regulatory act contains a report form. The following information is included in the document:
- Data on the enterprise that checked the working conditions of employees, including copies of documents that confirm compliance with regulatory requirements established by article 19 of the Federal Law No. 426.
- List of workplaces where labor conditions were assessed, listing hazardous and harmful factors identified at these locations.
- Verification cards, which contain information about the organization conducting the assessment, as well as hazard classes at specific sites.
- Test reports, studies and measurements identified negatively affecting negative factors.
- Protocols for evaluating the effectiveness of protection products.
- The minutes of the commission, which contains a decision on the impossibility of carrying out research and measurements.
- Statement compiled based on the results of the assessment of working conditions.
- List of activities recommended by the company to improve working conditions.
- Expert opinion of the inspection organization.
The protocol drawn up as a result of the audit is issued for each identified dangerous or harmful factor. The document is signed by all members of the commission, after which it is approved by the chairman. If one of the members of the commission does not agree with the results of the audit, he may attach his written reasoned objection to the report. The protocols and conclusions drawn up by the assessment of working conditions shall be transmitted to the appropriate body by the expert organization.
The duties of the employer include informing employees about the results of the audit within a month from the date of approval of the commission's conclusion. After that, the results are transferred to the state federal information system for taking into account the results of the TEC.
Submission of a declaration of compliance with working standards
According to the methodology for conducting the control system based on the results of the audit, a declaration is drawn up on the basis of the commission’s conclusion on the compliance of working conditions with the state regulatory requirements for labor protection.
This document is subject to entry in the appropriate register. The form of the declaration and the procedure for its submission is approved by order of the Ministry of Labor No. 80n of February 7, 2014. The validity period of the document coincides with the validity period of the report - five years.
The SUT is carried out in order to check the safety of working conditions for employees and to improve the system of protection of members of the labor collective, if necessary.