304 Using an online platform to promote and support occupational safety and health – a regulator’s perspective

The purpose of this presentation is to share lessons learned regarding the use of an online platform (the Business electronic Safety Management and Risk Assessment Tool - BeSMART.ie) to enable small to medium sized enterprises (SME’s) to meet occupational safety and health compliance requirements, and to foster and promote a safety culture. BesSMART.ie is a free and confidential online platform enabling SMEs to develop customized safety statements. Since its launch in 2011, BeSMART.ie has achieved over 106,000 users and 1.7 million completed risk assessments. User can register with the platform and/or proceed as guest users. Users select from one of 330 available business types. Each business type is associated with a specific risk assessment profile. To date, 522 hazards and 5,000 controls have been defined. Users can also add or remove hazards as appropriate to their business. The risk assessment follows a checklist format and is based on the IS EN31010:2019 Risk Management- Risk Assessment Technique. Risk assessments are written using simple English. There is no technical jargon or legislative terms. Risk assessments can be shared and reviewed with others in the organisation – enabling employee engagement and consultation. Further safety statements can be continuously updated. The platform also has an education section, supporting learning around best practice in occupational illness and accident prevention. The reporting function in BeSMART.ie, is of use to the health and safety authority in terms of the assessment of reach and use of the tool across different work sectors, and the ongoing development of the platform.