Occupational safety, a decisive lever for success

As part of the National Quality Week, the 16th edition of which took place this year around the theme "No quality without occupational safety", the Fez Delegation of Trade and Industry and the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University organised a study day in Fez on 8 November to debate the important role of occupational safety in guaranteeing quality in any company. In this sense, the delegate for trade and industry in Fez, Sadok Driss, stated that the theme of Quality Week this year was chosen with the aim of showing that occupational safety represents a competitiveness issue for companies. "Entrepreneurs must always place quality and occupational safety at the top of their priorities. Indeed, quality and safety are intimately linked, and the failure of one can affect the entire production cycle of the company. For this reason, companies are increasingly tending to implement a global approach that takes into consideration the aspects of quality, safety and risk management," he specified, before adding that the government's strategy for promoting quality is based on three pillars. "The first relates to raising awareness regarding the application of quality standards, the second pillar consists of supporting and strengthening the technical capacities of SMEs, and the third pillar concerns the establishment of a comprehensive legal framework that guarantees and ensures competitiveness in the market, the rights of employees, as well as consumer protection." For his part, Dr Fouad Boulaguigue, president of the Fez Occupational Health Association, focused his speech on the necessity of having a medical service within companies, explaining that the Moroccan Labour Code stipulates that an independent occupational medical service must be created for industrial, commercial and craft companies, as well as agricultural and forestry operations and their dependencies, when they employ at least fifty employees. Occupational accidents were also at the heart of the presentation by Professor Lotfi Aarab, director of the Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules: Structure and Function (L.M.B.S.F) at the Faculty of Sciences and Techniques (FST) in Fez. Professor Aarab indicated that there is an absence of reliable information on occupational accidents (OA) in Morocco, which complicates the use of prevention. "Occupational accidents cost Moroccan companies nearly 1.9 billion DH in 2010, to which must be added indirect and social costs. These costs have a negative impact on the productivity and competitiveness of Moroccan companies. To remedy this situation, prevention is an investment that yields at least a benefit of twice the cost. Nevertheless,

between 60,000 and 200,000 occupational accidents annually, the figures vary, which does not give a clear vision of the situation.

This is how the role of the university is illustrated through its research work, in helping to study occupational accidents, determining exact figures by field, contributing to the development of standards and supporting companies to contribute to the reduction of occupational accidents and the promotion of prevention in the workplace," he explained.

Provider / Source : Afaf Razouki, Le Matin