Objectives

Among the most dangerous activities in the world are those of the iron and metal industries.

The ISSA International Section for Prevention of Occupational Risks in the Iron and Metal Industry is one of the eleven International Prevention Sections of the International Social Security Association (ISSA). Its aim is to further and to improve the working conditions in the iron and metal industries by means of world-wide cooperation, in the field of prevention of occupational risks.

The Section's scope of action covers all types of activities in industrial production from ore dressing (outside the extracting enterprise) to smelting, and to the completion of the final product in the metallurgical plants including foundries.
The means of action of the Section to reduce the high accident risks and to avoid damages to health are:

• Exchange of information and experiences
• Organization of international conferences and symposia
• Investigations and  studies as well as the promotion of research in the field of safety and health at work
• Dissemination of information on safety and health at work in international conferences as well as by publishing reports, brochures and guidelines.

For more information please consult the standing orders in French [ 1 - Standing Orders.pdf 168,81 kB ] or in German [ 4 - Standing Orders.pdf 178,78 kB ].

Work Programme

Project 1:  Prevention in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the EU 27

Duration : November 2007 to December 2011

Aim : To contribute to ensure an equally high level of health and safety at work in all EU countries with special focus on SMEs

Target Group : SMEs

Contents : International Working Groups elaborate Guidelines for the practical implementation of the EU-Framework Directive and of individual Directives in SMEs in the EU member states.

Partners : International Section of the ISSA on Electricity, Gas and Water and the International Section of the ISSA on Machine and System Safety Section.

Output :  Within the project international working groups elaborate brochures destined for SMEs. These brochures are elaborated in German, English and Spanish as well as in the languages of the project partners (for instance Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Polish….). The following brochures elaborated in 2008, some of which are available for download:

1 Guide for Risk Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises: Noise
2 Guide for Risk Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises: Hazards Arising from Machinery, Equipment and Materials
3 Guide for Risk Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises: Chemical Hazard
4 Guide for Risk Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises: Slipping and Falling from A Height
5 Guide for Risk Assessment in Small and Medium Enterprises: Mental Workload

Working Groups:

In the frame of the project "Prevention in EU-27" the following five topics are scheduled to be worked on in the year 2009:

6 Physical Strains
7 Hazards Arising from Electricity
8 Hazards Arising from Whole-Body and Harm-Arm-Vibration
9 Hazards Arising from Fire and Explosions
10 Risk Assessment - General

Brochures on the above topics will be available at the end of 2009. For more information, please contact Helena.weiss@auva.at

If you are interested in cooperating in one or several of these international working groups, please contact the Secretariat of the Section for Prevention of Occupational Risks in the Iron and Metal Industry.

The following related brochures are also available for download:

Guideline For Identifying Hazards And Strains And Implementing Measures In Small Enterprises

Guideline For Safety And Health In The Family Enterprise

Project 2: Prevention of Work Accidents and Occupational Diseases of Apprentices, Young Workers and New Recruits in SMEs

Duration : September 2009 to December 2014

Aim : Prevention of work accidents, occupational diseases and work-related diseases of young workers and new recruits in SMEs.

Contents: Compilation, discussion and comparison of good practice examples with measurable results. Selection of particularly interesting projects. Testing in selected branches.

Partners: the International Section of the ISSA on Education and Training for Prevention, International Section of the ISSA on Electricity, Gas and Water and the International Section of the ISSA on Machine and System Safety.

Teams :

Team 1: Prevention through integration of safety and health in training at vocational schools and in SMEs, Training of news recruits in SMEs, Project leader: Laurent Théveny

Team 2: Prevention in SMEs, Project leader: Dr. Harald Gruber

Languages : English, German, French, Spanish

For more information on Project 2, please contact Harald.Gruber@mmbg.de or see the following document >>.

Structure

The Section for Prevention of Occupational Risks in the Iron and Metal Industry is composed of members. Its two executive bodies are the General Assembly and the Bureau .

The General Assembly consists of the full members of the Section. Members are entitled to propose subjects they wish to be treated within the scope of the Section's working programme.

The Bureau of the Section elected by the General Assembly is composed by the President, two Vice-Presidents and the Secretary General of the Section. The Secretary General of the ISSA belongs to the Bureau in a consultative capacity.

The Section is a financially autonomous body with its own membership. It is financed by the membership fees and voluntary contributions of its members.

Members of the Bureau

President: D. I. Peter Vavken
Generaldirektor, Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt (AUVA), Adalbert-Stifter-Strasse 65, 1200 Vienna, Austria.
T: (43-1) 33111 200, F: (43-1) 33111 212, E: Peter.Vavken@auva.at.

Vice-Presidents:
Georg Kunze
General Manager, Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Maschinenbau- und Metallberufsgenossenschaft Hütten- und Walzwerksberufs- genossenschaft, Kreuzstraße 45, 40210 Düsseldorf, Germany.
E: hgf.sekr@mmbg.de

Rafael Torres Tercero
Asociación para la Prevención de Accidentes (APA), Portuetxe, 14 - Edificio Ibaeta,
20018 San Sebastian, Spain.
T: 943 31 62 01, F : 943 31 62 00, E: apa@apa.es

Secretary General: Dominique Dressler, MA
Direktorin, Allgemeine Unfallversicherungsanstalt (AUVA), Adalbert-Stifter-Strasse 65, 1200 Vienna, Austria.
T: (43-1) 33111 200, F: (43-1) 33111 212, E: dominique.dressler@auva.at.