Systematic work environment management in Sweden

Systematic work environment management is being used in 40% of Swedish workplaces, according to a report by the Swedish Work Environment Authority. This system, which came into force in July 2001, is designed to incorporate work environment management as an integral part of everyday work.

It is planned to present the results of a number of on-going studies on systematic work environment management in the near future. During November 2002, an evaluation (pdf file; in Swedish) of employers’ attitudes, knowledge and on-going experiences of systematic work environment management (SWEM) was carried out. The study included 2,127 randomly selected workplaces throughout Sweden.

The resulting report published in 2003 showed that about 40% of employers claim that SWEM has been introduced in the workplace and is functioning well. 65% say that they have investigated the work environment and made an assessment of the risks, while 70% say that they have a ‘good’ (or ‘very good’) knowledge of SWEM. However, about 40% think that SWEM demands too much administration resources.

What is SWEM?

SWEM refers to the requirement by every employer to investigate work environment issues of an ergonomic and a physical/chemical nature as well as psychosocial conditions. It encompasses the decisions made and measures taken to manage efficiently any problems arising and to prevent accidents and injuries. Essential activities have to be documented and followed up on.

During the late 1960s, considerable attention was paid to complaints made by Swedish workers of their working conditions. They described their jobs as dirty, physically demanding, unhealthy, dangerous and insecure. As a consequence, workplace problems came to political attention, and this resulted in the occupational health and safety reforms of 1974 and 1978 (Frick, 2002). The provisions of the Swedish Work Environment Authority on systematic work environment management (SWEM) are a development of the former ‘Internal Control’ which began in 1993. SWEM came into force in July 2001 (AFS 2001:1- pdf file ). For the most part, they correspond to the measures of the EU Framework Directive 89/391.

SWEM procedure

The provisions of this systematic work environment approach stipulate how work environment management should be organised in order to make it an integral part of everyday work. In its guidelines (pdf file), the Swedish Work Environment Authority recommends starting with the following checklist:

• investigate working conditions;

• carry out risk assessment;

• decide who is to deal with issues and who is to follow up;

• deal with risks which have been identified;

• draw up an action plan for items not to be done immediately;

• follow up on the measures taken;

• formulate a work environment policy;

• draw up allocation of tasks;

• make sure that the people who are to take part in work environment management acquire the necessary knowledge

The head of the company is primarily responsible for the systematic work environment management, but it is emphasised that employees have a role to play in the programme, e.g. by observing and reporting risks, illness, accidents and by suggesting measures to be taken. Within the Swedish Work Environment Authority, 10 districts of the work environment inspectorate supervise the overall work environment, particularly hazardous situations, and also monitor that SWEM is being properly used. In all, there is one work environment inspector per 10,000 employees in Sweden.

Reference

Frick, K., ‘Sweden: Occupational health and safety management strategies 1970-2001’, in Walters, D., Regulating health and safety management in the European Union: a study of the dynamics of change , 2002, pp. 211-234.