Expanding the Instrumentation for Occupational Risk in National Practice: A Case Study on the Application of SUVA Method

Abstract The palette of methods, techniques and tools for analysis and assessment of the risks of occupational accidents and diseases that are used in the usual practice of occupational risk management in Romania is extremely limited, given the fact that the labor inspectors themselves impose the use in most cases to the INCDPM Bucharest method. This tendency and reality seriously affects the effectiveness of the process, the results obtained being - not infrequently - formal and devoid of practical purpose. Often, the approach to risk assessment becomes formal, and the assessment becomes a goal in itself, which aims exclusively at compliance in the strict sense with the provisions of the occupational health and safety legislation in force at national level. In this context, this article provides specialists with a complete case study on the application of the SUVA risk assessment method, a tool that facilitates an in-depth and integrated analysis of hazardous events that may occur at a workplace, allowing the determination of residual risks, along with appropriate preventive measures. The application of the method can considerably facilitate the exploitation of the results of the risk assessment, with immediate beneficial consequences on ensuring the safety, health and well-being of workers in various fields of industrial activity.