What is Safer Production?

Safer Production comprises the tools, guidelines, and management principles implemented at site and local level to ensure both the safety and health of workers in facilities that manufacture, store, handle or use hazardous substances, as well as the prevention of releases of these substances into the environment.

At the strategic level, Safer Production approaches are part of an industrial safety culture such as the one promoted by the European Seveso II regulation and other legal instruments such as the more recent REACH Regulation. Standing for “Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals” this regulation mandates the registration of chemicals manufactured in or imported into the European Union, bringing with it an added emphasis on chemicals risk assessment.

Safer Production in industrial sectors and processes involving the manufacture and use of chemicals is also directly aligned with the aims of UNEP’s Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), on the sound management of chemicals.

Being local-level oriented, Safer Production usually starts with the implementation of Process Safety Management (PSM) or occupational health and safety programs.

The benefits of Safer Production are:

• It enables clear identification and awareness of process risks at site.
  
• It provides a systematic approach to risk reduction and communication.
  
• It provides safer work practices including safer storage and handling of hazardous substances.
  
• It can result in improved productivity through minimization of absenteeism.
  
• It provides improved worker protection and better compliance with relevant occupational health and safety regulations.
  
• It helps prevent accidents.
  
• It helps prevent releases of harmful substances in the environment.
  It helps reduce the severity of accidents at site and local levels.