In the XX century, the question of researching various aspects of risk has become very relevant. By this time, mankind has achieved great success in the process of stabilizing vital functions. The well-being of people as a whole has risen sharply; most European countries have increased life expectancy. However, the risks for mankind not only decreased, but, on the contrary, their frequency increased, the severity of the consequences increased, and the nature of their occurrence was significantly complicated.
Background
One of the risk factors is the globalization of the economic system. It accelerates the movement of the "impulse" of trouble from one point on the planet to another. At the same time, the globalization of the economy affects political, social, financial systems, giving rise to the corresponding risks. As a result, the vulnerability of almost the entire international community has risen sharply. Currently, political and military disasters, warming, the spread of terrorism, and the lack of drinking water are being actively discussed. The concept of "risk" is quite firmly entrenched in modern vocabulary.
World situation
The concept of "risk" is interpreted by different researchers in different ways. According to E. Giddens, he acts as an integral attribute of "high modernity". This element is distinguished by the fundamental uncontrollability of the chain of processes and situations that pose a threat not to individual entities and small communities, but to humanity as a whole. W. Beck believes that risk is a comprehensive characteristic of society at a specific stage of its development, which, having passed the industrial and post-industrial stage of development, becomes a "risk society". Its essence lies in the fact that the production logic of the accumulation and distribution of wealth is transformed into the idea of the mass spread of various types of threats generated by scientific and technical systems. Increasing risks in terms of distribution and scale determine the depreciation of wealth created by society. As a result, global instability arises, the principle of market management is being destroyed.
Security
Interest in the nature of the occurrence of various risks has become the subject of activity of specialists in various fields of knowledge. Currently, there are varieties of threats that scientists pay special attention to. Types of risk, for example, include modernization, political, man-made, civilizational. At the same time, threats are being investigated with respect to different objects and subjects that are in certain conditions. The key concept that characterizes the level of protection against risk is safety. This category is critical for threat management. Security implies the highest possible level of protection of social structures from technological and political influences. This approach is enshrined in Federal Law No. 2446-1 of 1992. It considers security as a state of protection of the interests of a person, society and the state, which are of vital importance to entities and act as a set of needs, the satisfaction of which provides the possibility of progress. This definition illustrates a category from two perspectives:
- Reflection of real threats to health and life, the conditions of normal working activity of individuals, their communities and society as a whole. This approach differs from the official attitudes that existed relatively recently in the minds of people who perceived security as the complete absence of any risks.
- Achieving one or another level of security, which can only come close to one hundred percent. It depends on many circumstances, as well as the availability of economic resources in society.
Occupational risk: definition
This threat is technogenic in nature. The concept of "professional risk" is especially deeply studied in the framework of the formation of mechanisms for compulsory social insurance against accidents in the production process and occupational diseases, the creation of mandatory pension systems. Occupational risk is the probability of loss (damage) of health or death associated with the performance of obligations under a labor contract and in other cases established by law.
Key categories
The regulatory documentation establishes several concepts related to professional risk. In particular, in the legal provisions there is such a category as the degree of injury, morbidity and expenses for insurance coverage, which has developed according to the types of activity of the insured. All these elements form a class of risk in the professional sphere. A systematic analysis is carried out to identify potential hazards and quantify the characteristics of the threats. Professional risk assessment is a verification process based on the results of a threat analysis. It is necessary to determine if the permissible hazard limit is not exceeded. Risk management is an organized activity aimed at bringing the degree of danger into the framework of optimal values. This process involves the analysis and verification of threats, the development and implementation of protective measures, as well as the characterization of their effectiveness. Acceptable is a risk that does not pose a serious threat with existing public values.
Existing problems
The formation of prerequisites for the formation and effective work of insurance institutions is accompanied by the solution of a number of urgent problems. First of all, it is necessary to develop a fundamentally new analysis system for the country. Secondly, it is necessary to create a set of interconnected medical, social, organizational, legal and financial mechanisms that regulate the sphere of industrial safety. If we consider the first task, then the volume of issues requiring solutions is determined by the complex nature of the occurrence of threats, their significant variety, long-term and difficult to predict consequences. The classification of occupational risks includes more than 150 different groups. Inside it stands out about 1 thousand types of threats that pose a real danger to 2 thousand different specialties. Meanwhile, the available list is considered incomplete. The types of professional risks present in it concern only certain aspects of occupational health and safety.
Specifics of occurrence
A fairly wide spread of risks in the professional sphere is caused by a high degree of development of industrial activity. As part of the production, technologies and equipment, biological and chemical substances, energy and penetrating radiation are actively used. All these are occupational risk factors. The development of various industrial areas leads to the fact that almost all spheres of human life, including non-productive ones, are riddled with various kinds of threats. Many experts say that it is currently impossible to completely eliminate the likelihood of dangerous situations in the labor process in the field of material production. Therefore, in the modern world, a comprehensive assessment of professional risk is becoming increasingly important.
Principles of analysis
In the modern OS management system, certain criteria for assessing occupational risks have been developed . The analysis should be:
- Not a spontaneous, but a conscious process, the result of purposeful activity. It should show the interest of both the employee and the employer.
- Quantitatively. This is due to the fact that the levels of professional risks are directly related to the size of the salary. Under certain production conditions, allowances are provided for the employee. At the same time, activities aimed at reducing occupational risks should also have a quantitative expression, since it is also associated with costs.
- Objective, based on principles, approaches, methods, etc., recognized by both the employer and the employee. This means that the analysis should be clear to all participants in the employment relationship.
From the foregoing, it follows that occupational risk assessment methods should:
- Provide data in quantitative terms. In this case, it is allowed to use different scales: rank, interval, etc.
- To be simple and visual. Methods for assessing occupational risk should ensure that representatives of different parts of the administrative system can apply, including foremen, site managers, foremen, and foremen.
- Assume reproducibility of the results with a given accuracy. For example, in the event of a labor dispute, confirmation of compliance, analysis of the effectiveness of preventive measures, etc.
Probability Damage Matrix
Professional risk can be quantified without directly calculating the forecast of events. For this, a probability-damage matrix is used. The essence of this approach is that the specialist for each case determines the rank of the possibility of its occurrence: low, medium, high. In accordance with this, potential damage is revealed: large, medium, small. This method is considered very common in developed countries due to its simplicity. However, this approach is extremely subjective. When establishing a risk, a professional expert can be based both on his own knowledge and experience, as well as on personal feelings. This means that after a while it can output a completely different result under the same initial conditions.
Verbal functions
To eliminate subjectivity, by establishing the probability with which a risk may arise, a professional expert compiles a description of various situations. The essence of the method is that for each quantitative value of the possibility of the occurrence of an event corresponds to the characteristic of a particular case. When describing each probability, the specialist is guided by a number of rules:
- Any situation that does not correspond to this characteristic refers to another.
- No virtual or real case can correspond to 2 or more descriptions at the same time.
- The wording of a specific condition for the probability of a situation should be associated with a specific protective measure, which must be provided for the complete exclusion of this circumstance.
- When implementing a protective measure that relates to a description element, the event moves to the next, increased level at which the risk is reduced.
Degree of compliance with safety requirements
Occupational risk can be analyzed on the basis of the assumption of the probability of taking into account all or most of the dangers provided for in regulatory enactments (local, state, industry) for occupational safety, fire and industrial safety. It is assumed that compliance with the established requirements in full ensures the absence of threats at the workplace. The last statement, however, is erroneous. This is due to the fact that the risk that is associated with an activity or an object cannot be completely eliminated without terminating the corresponding activity or eliminating the source. Nevertheless, at the initial stages of the implementation of measures to improve working conditions, this statement can be considered valid.
Elmery System
It is considered one of the indirect methods for assessing occupational risk. Elmery's system assumes a separation by security index. It means a percentage, the value of which is from 0 to 100. For example, an indicator of 60% means that out of a hundred points, 60 meets the established requirements. As a drawback of this system, experts call the equivalence of factors affecting the safety of operations. For example, one point of non-compliance is assigned in the absence of fences during high-altitude work, and with insufficient width of the aisles between tables in the accounting department. To a certain extent, this distorts the real picture of the dangers that may arise at the enterprise, which, in turn, does not allow for the proper planning of OH&S activities, depending on the significance of the threats and the priority of the measures. Nevertheless, the use of the Elmery methodology makes it possible to develop a security system not aimlessly, but specifically to eliminate the detected deviation.
OVR Index
A more adequate risk assessment is carried out using the advanced Elmery method. Similarly to the previous system, the indicator is expressed in the form "corresponds - does not correspond". However, in this case, the separation is carried out in 3 ranks. So, in paragraphs with the index "O" contains Mandatory safety requirements. If they are not observed, the highest level of professional risk arises - the likelihood of injury or illness. Such requirements, for example, include the serviceability of tools, the use of personal protective equipment, the presence of locks, protective screens, etc. The items with the “B” index contain important instructions that, if not observed, will not result in personal injury or illness, but there is an insufficient degree of organization of work for OT or violations can lead to aggravation of the consequences of what happened. Such requirements, for example, include the condition of the aisles, the completeness of first-aid kits, etc. The points with the “P” index contain recommendations related to the organization of workplaces and the labor process. By themselves, they are not considered mandatory, however, they indicate the attention of employees and managers to occupational safety issues, testify to industrial culture and discipline. The performance of each of the items presented is rated at 3, 2 and 1 points. As a result, it is possible to determine as accurately as possible the actual degree of danger and indicate the measures to be carried out in the first place. With regular measurement of the RIA index, changes in labor safety can be traced. The OVR index is used as a specific and objective form of feedback from measures taken to reduce risks and improve working conditions.
Social insurance
In this area, occupational risk is considered as the likelihood of accidents for a particular group of employees involving loss of wages and requiring expenses to compensate for the costs of treatment and subsequent rehabilitation. A key characteristic of the institution of compulsory social insurance is the provision that the subject of its activity includes legal and economic relations regarding the negative social consequences of professional activity. In this regard, in the analysis and determination of the degree of danger, approaches are used, including cost categories, by which the volumes of necessary compensation payments are calculated.