More than 250,000,000 – that is the number of on-the-job accidents worldwide in the year 2007. A horrible figure in light of the many lives that have been affected, but also alarming in respect of the costs organizations have to bear on account of working time lost – not to mention the burden placed on social systems for treatment and disability payments.

At the same time, an increasing number of companies throughout the world choose to implement occupational health and safety management systems. And where that happens, the number and severity of on-the-job accidents and job-related health damage are in sharp decline. In these companies, workplace health and safety is considered a management responsibility, in order to take better care of employees and to set an example for others. Simultaneously, corporate perspective is shifting more and more towards a process-oriented, holistic view of jobs and work flows, now viewing them from a quality, environmental, and workplace safety standpoint.