RI&E for your organization

Working safely and healthily: everyone considers this important. And this happens to be the very purpose of the Risk Inventory and Evaluation (RI&E). Yet most people don’t immediately think of the RI&E. And that’s a shame, because it can benefit your organization more than you might initially expect!

Week of the RI&E or not, at De Arbodienst it is always time to put the RI&E in the spotlight! After all, the RI&E is an important subject for you as an employer: besides the fact that you are simply obliged to perform the RI&E, it provides your organization and your employees with a lot of benefits. By addressing the risks within your organization, you not only ensure that employees can work safely and go home safe and sound; you also reduce absenteeism in your organization and increase your employees' productivity!

Every organization faces risks: that’s part of doing business. And as long as everything is going smoothly, a thorough risk assessment may not be at the top of the priority list. But what if something suddenly does go wrong? Like a workplace accident? An employee coming into contact with hazardous substances? Or if an employee is unable to work because they’re performing physically demanding tasks or experiencing excessive work pressure? Then production comes to a standstill, or you lose a talented employee. On top of that, there are the costs of absenteeism and potential repairs. Moreover, such situations can jeopardize your good reputation. In short, significant organizational risks!

An RI&E helps you reduce these risks. We, as De Arbodienst have an idiosyncratic view of safety when it comes to Risk Inventory & Evaluation. We believe that:

The RI&E is the foundation of your occupational health and safety and absenteeism policy
That safe organizations are only created by reducing the risks of working conditions. A good (dynamic) RI&E contributes to a healthy organization and the prevention of health risks.
Good follow-up after the RI&E is important. That is why we want to do it together with your organization.

Conducting the Risk Inventory & Evaluation is a collaboration between your organization and De Arbodienst The implementation consists of three phases: preparation, the inventory, and the drafting (and discussion) of the RI&E report and the Action Plan. The points of attention are reported in the Action Plan, and that is where the real work begins. Through the execution of the RI&E, you have inventoried a great deal of important and relevant information and an action plan has been drawn up. The next step is to take decisive action. The action plan states the priority of this matter and the timeframe within which it must be addressed. What measures are being taken to mitigate the risks? In this regard, prevention is better than cure!

The starting point for the RI&E is the Working Conditions Act. Since the report is tested by certified occupational health and safety experts, the final result is a tested and legally valid RI&E.

In practice, De Arbodienst s core occupational health and safety experts visit many different companies. These companies never have the same risks and/or required measures. Therefore, it is always customized work, which requires knowledge and attention.

Every day a look behind the scenes of a new organization, looking for possible hidden risks and what measures can be taken. Naturally, in compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and with the greatest risks being remedied first.

Our team consists of the following core experts:

The Higher Safety Expert is an expert on safety legislation, the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and uses that knowledge to advise companies on their safety policies.

Our Senior Safety Specialist can guide//support you with the following steps:

• Process safety and employee safety in companies.
• Conducting and reviewing the RI&E.
• Assessing work situations.
• Advise regarding measures to increase safety.
• Instructing employees and/or the Works Council.
• Inspections and controls within the business process for safety policy compliance.

The occupational hygienist is an expert on health-threatening factors in the work environment. She helps you identify the health risks of employees in the performance of their work, and advises how this work can be performed in a healthy environment.

Our occupational hygienist examinations include:

Physical load factors, such as noise, vibration, climatic factors
Chemical load factors, such as exposure to substances in a broad sense. From pure chemicals, mixtures or cocktails of industrial substances, dust particles, nanoparticles, substances in process plants, laboratory-scale experiments, to use in all kinds of work situations such as pesticide industry, construction, health care, painting industry, aviation, metal industry, waste processing plants, research etc.
Biological load factors; exposure to (and infections by) living biological agents, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, amoebas, and their genetically modified variants.

The labor and organization consultant is a specialist in the field of health and sustainable employability in labor organizations. She also advises companies on optimizing working conditions within an organization. The labor and organization consultant can be used for, among other things:

• Consulting on (and researching) health, working conditions and sustainable employability of employees in organizations.
• Advice on optimizing workplace care as a follow-up to risk management.
• Advice on and studies of quality of work.
• Advice on and investigations of psychosocial workload (PSA).

The company doctor is entitled to inspect the Risk Inventory & Evaluation for the organization for which she is hired to assist the employer in carrying out the statutory duties.

Knowledge about the outcomes of the RI&E help the company doctor doctor determine the possible causes of absenteeism, as well as how the employee can resume work. Therefore, the company company doctor is informed about the implementation and outcomes of the RI&E.

De Arbodienst will be happy to help you with the follow-up steps. You can think of follow-up steps such as carrying out in-depth studies; for example, research into the physical load and/or noise studies, or for other themes: such as the Preventive Medical Examination (PMO), workplace examinations, training as a Prevention Officer or providing training and workshops on the RI&E.

For the week of the RI&E from June 12 to 16, health and safety services, Arbo experts, industry organizations and many more, are giving attention to the RI&E. On the website of Steunpunt RI&E you can find more information and videos about starting the RI&E for your organization. You can also easily download the flyer "De RI&E: hoe zit het ook weer?" via our with more information about the legal obligations surrounding the RI&E.