Certification of safety services in large Dutch industrial companies

This paper reports a study carried out for the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs to develop criteria for the evaluation of safety services under Dutch law. Because of the comparative lack of research into the effectiveness of functioning of safety services, the criteria were developed from a combination of theoretical considerations and systematic expert opinion. The latter was gathered in structured workshops. The evaluation instrument is based on consideration of the safety system of a company as a problem solving and monitoring system in which the safety service plays a stimulating, advising and monitoring role. Criteria for assessing this role based upon a description submitted by the company and on-site visits by the evaluators are described. The criteria are designed to encourage self-regulation and to cater for variations in the role of the safety service in the total safety system. The paper reports a pilot study of the instrument in 5 companies.