Occupational Hygiene in the Netherlands

1. Occupational Hygiene in the Netherlands Working on a new future Huib Arts, Chairman NVvA

2. Introduction • Occupational hygiene Recognize, evaluate and control physical, chemical en biological factors. • Occupational hygiene in Holland • 1978: official recognition by the occupational physicians (NVAB) • From 1979: MSc program at the Agricultural University in Wageningen • Later: BSc programs besides MSc programs

3. Dutch occupational Hygiene society (NVvA) • Founded in 1983: 30 members • 2005: circa 600 members • Employers: • 70 % occupational safety and health service • 10 % consultancy • 10 % research and education • 10 % others

4. Legal framework (1994) • Working environment act 1994: • Every company (15+) must engage services of certified OSH (occupational safety and heath) service • Every certified OSH service must employ: • Occupatonal physician; • Safety engineer; • Organisational expert and • Occupational hygienist

5. Effects of working environment act 1994 (1) For companies / every employer: • < 1994: every company pays the same amount for sick-leave for every employee • ≥ 1994: sick-leave is directly paid by the employer. => Every employer has a financial stimulus to reduce sick-leave.

6. Effects of working environment act 1994 (2) For OHS services: • A new market (sick-leave) (An offer- regulated market ) • New tasks / employees; especially • Monitoring sickness for clients; • Identifying hazards in the working environment • Employ a: • Safety engineer; • Organisational expert and • Occupational hygienist

7. Effects of working environment act 1994 (3) • A new occupation: • Organisational expert • Stimulus for the employment for the four groups of obligatory employees of an OHS service. • A shift in the mind set of employers and the government about sick-leave

8. Occupational hygienist (1994-2004) • Main task: • Hazard identification and risk evaluation • Too much relatively simple work to be done • Expert skills are unknown • Wrong image: an inspector for the government

9. Competenties for “the old OH” The “every day skills” • Analyze a problem • Finding relevant knowledge ( e.g. by having an information network) The wish of every OSH service: • Generate new work: “Be a salesman” • “Be a consultant” (not an inspector)

10. Act on OSH services 2005 • For companies: • No obligation to have a contract with an OSH- service • For OSH services: • Get rid of a very bad image • Convince a client “we are the best” • Sell consultants that are not well known.

11. Consequences for the prevention professionals • Diminishing of employment • Getting known on a demand-regulated market • Getting rid of a negative image (if an image is present) • Being a consultant in stead of an inspector

12. A new future? • Is our country big enough for the three of us? • Do we need a “shoot out”? • What will we see when the clouds of dust have vanished? => We have to work together on a new future!

13. The differences • We have more in common than what “divides” us • Maybe we have specialized too far: we are all “prevention specialists” • Even each of the three occupations has its own specialists e.g. on a subject or line of business: noise / transport

14. Strategy Of Societies • We define a new “occupation”: the prevention manager. The prevention manager is a generalist: • work with basics of the three disciplines. • give an answer on 80 % of all the questions • We need specialized “problem solvers”

15. The prevention manager Employer and employee Prevention manager Medical manager SE OE OH Gate watcher Social Medical consultant Occup. epidemi- ologist Ergo- nomic advisor etc. Physio- therapist etc.

16. Prevention manager - education Generalist Specialist Occupational Physician PM OH SE OE Physician Optional?: Parts of occupational physician Basics

17. Our specialists • A problem with which a client comes to us is often redefined or given “numbers”. • We need to sell solutions, not redefined problems!! • A specialist has to be able to define a solution and coach an implementation course.

18. Your choice: Being a generalist or specialist • Every occupational hygienist, safety engineer and organisational expert has to make a choice: Becoming a generalist or a specialist • If you stay what you are, you will stay where you are (when you awake).

19. Competencies – the generalist (1) • The client wants a team with a perfect defense and a daring offense. • The “goal” of the prevention manager is to be the counterpart on prevention questions for the occupational physician • There must be enough “common ground” in order to be a “perfect match”

20. Competencies – the generalist (2) Be able to: • Analyze problems • Broaden your field of vision (network) • Influence Be: • Persuasive • Pro active • A “manager” (of problems)

21. Competencies – the specialist (1) • The client wants a problem solved, not redefined. • The most recent and relevant knowledge must be available • He is a “researcher” in the field.

22. Competencies – the specialist (2) Be able to: • Analyze problems • See different solutions • Compare differences Be: • Inquisitive • A walking encyclopedia • A bridge between science and practice

23. Conclusions • Synchronize the course for occupational physician and the prevention manager. • Interaction between the specialists and the occupational physician is limited. • Without interaction we “stand alone” in a complex “network”.