Practical use of workplace improvements checklists for occupational health teamwork

The spreading use of workplace improvement checklists for occupational health and safety teamwork is reviewed in this paper. These checklists present practical improvement options in the action form and are used in different settings. Typical settings include small enterprises, agriculture, ergonomic interventions, needle stick injury prevention, mental stress reduction and various training workshops. Many concrete improvements have resulted in materials handling, workstation design and physical as well as psychosocial environments. The effectiveness of the checklists is found to derive from their practical nature. First, the check items present practicable improvements selected from among local good practices, including low-cost improvements achieved locally. Secondly, the checklists are suited for looking at multiple technical areas. Thirdly, the concise composition and the action form can facilitate participatory steps for planning and implementing practical improvements for risk reduction. Each checklist refers to basic occupational hygiene and ergonomics principles, and therefore is favorable for linking the checklist use with the process of risk management. The checklists reflecting local achievements can thus be effectively used in prioritizing necessary improvements. It is useful to design such checklists by adjusting the check items to good practices in different work settings and use them in teamwork involving local people.