Strengthening OSH training

Transcription

1 TERMS OF REFERENCE Strengthening OSH training October 2016 The recognition of capacity building as a crucial element to assist factories in the garment sector to improve compliance, working conditions and competitiveness led to the introduction of Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) training services in Since then BFC has been providing training to thousands of managers and workers from garment and footwear factories. In light of the industry evolution and the recent adoption of a new BFC program strategy, BFC takes a more strategic approach to its training services to maximize their impact. One of its training themes that needs particular strengthening is Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). Based on BFC s assessment data, it is known that noncompliance levels in the OSH cluster are high, with seven out of eight of the compliance points having higher than 50% non-compliance rate. Many areas related to OSH continue to be a challenge for garment factories, due to a range of reasons, including i) legal requirements that are hard to meet (such as undertaking of medical examination prior to contracting workers, the requirements to light intensity in the workplace), ii) insufficient management systems, including OSH policies, procedures and responsibilities in place that are necessary to ensure that OSH requirements are upheld in a sustainable way. BETTER WORK With the inception of BFC in 2001, the foundation for Better Work was also created. Now a program in seven different countries, Better Work focuses on improving working conditions in the world s garment industry. Changing the way the world thinks about work and competitiveness. Mobilizing the world s garment factories, global brands, governments and workers to improve working conditions and drive profitability. The approach creates lasting, positive change through assessments, training and research that change attitudes as well as behavior. As a partnership between the U.N. s International Labour Organization and the World Bank s International Finance Corporation, we know how to bring diverse groups together to work through challenges and create solutions that benefit everyone. betterwork.org

2 2 Recognizing the challenges that factories face around ensuring occupational safety and health, BFC is putting more emphasis on helping factories in developing the necessary management systems through its advisory services and training program. See for detailed information on noncompliance rates and findings BFC s 33rd Synthesis Report on betterfactories.org. The OSH Status in Factories Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is a large cluster in BFC assessments, which includes compliance points related to i) Chemicals and Hazardous substances, ii) Emergency Preparedness, iii) Health Services and First Aid and iv) OSH Management Systems v) Welfare Facilities, vi) Worker Protection and vii) Working Environment. Many areas related to OSH continue to be a challenge for garment factories and are often the result of a lack of proper policies, procedures and division of roles and responsibilities on OSH. The majority of the non-compliance issues for Chemicals and Hazardous Substances were related to improper exposure of workers to chemical substances and incorrect labeling or storage of those substances in the workplace. Emergency preparedness is key to prevent or limit casualties in case of emergencies, such as fire or collapse. Routes not being clear of obstruction in case of an emergency was the leading cause of non-compliance for emergency preparedness. For the Health Services and First Aid sub-category, the highest cause of non-compliance was factories not having a functioning HIV/AIDs committee. With respect to OSH Management Systems, non-compliance levels range from 23.5% for factories not having a written OSH policy, to 54% for factories not having bipartite cooperation on OSH matters. This signals that there is still a high need to work with factories on developing their policies, procedures and responsibilities with respect to managing their OSH issues at the workplace. For the Welfare Facilities sub-category, BFC found that 73% of the factories did not meet all the requirements to have a functioning and accessible nursing room and a functioning day care center. A substantial amount of these factories did provide child care allowance to female workers with children between months. Non-compliance was found for not providing cups or other sanitary means for drinking water in 59% of the factories, this was due to either going long periods of times without providing cups or requiring workers to bring their own cups/bottles. In the Worker Protection cluster, the most common issues remain that factories do not comply with all ergonomic requirements. The biggest non-compliance areas in the Working Environment compliance point relate to adequate lighting, temperature and acceptable noise levels in the workplace. Over 50% of factories did not comply with one or more of these areas in at least a portion of the workplace when levels were measured during factory visits.

3 3 OSH in BFC s Training and Better Work have developed different training programs since 2004 that focus on OSH issues, including welfare facilities; chemical management; machine safety; emergency preparedness; accident prevention; personal protective equipment; the role of the OSH committee; and fire and electrical safety. The current OSH training is a multiple day training, generally well attended by workers and managers (forming the OSH committee in factories). The training is offered once to twice a year at the BFC office and can complement advisory services in the factory. OSH issues are addressed as stand-alone compliance points and their needed remediation. also offers half day industry seminars on specific of OSH issues such as chemical safety and provides one hour awareness training sessions for workers on OSH. Building on the existing training materials and the knowledge from the assessments done in factories, BFC should now develop a strategic training approach on OSH that looks at root causes to tackle the high non-compliance rates in a more systematic way. A strengthened training approach ideally aims at behavioral change, including managers. BFC believes OSH issues should be addressed from a management systems perspective to prevent non-compliance and with continuous improvement principles (e.g. Kaizen) in mind to remediate/maintain compliance. Other BFC trainings that focus on systems approaches are built around Plan, Do Act and Check principles and the development and implementation of policies. The training should be focused on complementing advisory services. In creating a more strategic training approach on OSH, it would be possible to create a foundation training module and (optional) advanced training modules, providing more depth to specific issues or themes. Parts of training modules should also be useable for advisory services. Scope of Work To support BFC in the process of strengthening its OSH training, a consultant is needed. The consultant would need to: Review existing Better Work, BFC and ILO materials on OSH and, as relevant, other OSH materials; Support the development of a specific training strategy for OSH, which can be implemented by the BFC training and advisory team and is relevant to the industry reality in Cambodia. This may include the development of new material where necessary;

4 4 Consolidate OSH training package and materials with a modular approach and adapting them to the different target audiences (e.g. workers, middle- and top management); Develop a Training of Trainers methodology and run the course at least once; Develop a framework and mechanisms of follow-up and measuring its impact (especially in connection with advisory work); Development of continuous improvement processes for OSH issues and concerns (tools and frameworks) to be used by enterprise assessors and advisors. Purpose and Objectives The purpose of this assignment is to develop an integrated modular OSH training methodology and materials, with a strong management systems approach, continuous improvement principles (e.g. Kaizen), for the Cambodian context. Much of BFC s advisory and training services is focusing on supporting advisory factories to take a good look at the root causes of these types of issues and then develop policies and procedures to tackle non-compliances issues in more systemic way. The objective of a strengthened OSH training is to reduce OSH non-compliance rates and maintain compliance through functional management systems and behavioral change. Deliverables ACTIVITY DELIVERABLE TIMEFRAME Assess existing training materials, with a focus on the training approach and topics. Assess detailed non-compliance assessment data on OSH points. 1. Report with a proposal for a modular training approach and topics to be covered by the OSH training. 2. Report outlining which existing material can be used for a strengthened training and where and what new materials will need to be developed. January working days Develop a modular training approach on OSH that is tailored to the specific OSH challenges in Cambodian garment factories. 3. BFC modular training program on OSH (foundation module and advanced module(s)). February working days

5 5 Deliverables ACTIVITY DELIVERABLE TIMEFRAME Develop a Training of Trainers methodology and course materials. 4. BFC Training of Trainer (ToT) program 5. ToT program conducted with 20 people attending at BFC in Phnom Penh. Mid-March working days Design a framework and mechanisms to follow-up on training participants and measure the impact of training in factories 6. Report with a proposal for follow-up with participants and impact measurements in factories. 7. Development of continuous improvements process methods, tools, and frameworks for BFC assessors and advisors. End March working days Requirements of candidate In depth knowledge of OSH systems and continuous improvement methods; Experiences with factories and/or the garment industry in Asia; Experience working in Cambodia an advantage, but not a requirement; Available to start working in January 2017; Working home-based most of the time. Reporting The consultant will report to Ms. Esther Germans, Program Manager of BFC (germans@ilo.org) and will work very closely with the Training Specialist in Better Work, Ms. Minna Maaskola (maaskola@ilo.org) and the Training Manager of BFC, Mr. Dara Nov (dara@ilo.org). How to Apply To apply, send a proposal of maximum 10 pages to Ms. Nyske Janssen (janssen@ilo.org) and copy Ms. Esther Germans (germans@ilo.org) by Sunday 30 October 2016 latest. The proposal should include a timeline for the activities and deliverables, and a budget. Questions In case you have any questions, please contact Ms. Nyske Janssen, Program Support Officer of BFC (janssen@ilo.org).