Guidelines for 
Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction

Gruber • Kittelmann • Mierdel
1st Edition • January 2009
ISBN: 978-3-934966-67-3
124 pages • € 16,20

This brochure is addressed to employers in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to qualified persons who support the employers in the assessment of working conditions. 

With the Health and Safety at Work Act European Framework Directive 89/391/ EEC(national implementation of the EU Framework Directive 89/391/EEC of 1989) a comprehensive legal basis for the purpose of occupational safety at the workplaces in all member states of the European UnionGermany was drawn up. 

This Directive aims at securing and improving health and safety protection of the workers at the workplace through occupational safety measures. 

Health and safety protection should be conducted in an anticipatory and precautionary manner, before any specific hazards arise. 

The European Directive 89/391/EEC is valid for all areas of activities. In this way the law provides for a uniform legal basis with regard to occupational safety for all areas of activities in business and administration and for all occupation groups. 

Since 1989 the EU has passed a number of individual directives which must be implemented by the EU member states. In this way, for example, the EU Directives 2002/44/EC and 2003/10/EC were implemented in Germany with the Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance on Noise and Vibration. 

It is just the requirements of the EU Directive for conducting a risk evaluation that many employers perceive when wanting to take on international orders and be competitive. A precondition for international cooperation is that basic terms (of occupational safety, too) are uniformly interpreted. 

The 1st edition of the “Guidelines for Risk Assessment and Risk Reduction” aims at speaking a common language, also in training. Terminology must, therefore, be adapted and explained. Of course, as in the case of previous editions, special care is taken to depict the procedure for assessment of working conditions in a manner relevant to practice. 

In addition to the brochure’s central theme, how a risk assessment can be carried out in an effectively and in a targetoriented and systematic manner, the users will find information on how accidents take place and work-related diseases occur. This basic understanding is very important for the preventive approach. 

As the reasons for health risks may not only lie in the distinct work conditions on site, but in many cases also depend on how the plant is organised. This is the reason why an entire chapter is dedicated to this subject. 

These guidelines are intended to contribute towards implementing the “Health and Safety at Work Act.” not as a bureaucratic “must” but as a pre-condition for sound management. 

The English version on hand contains only European legal sources and standards. National regulations should be taken into consideration when using these guidelines.